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We lost one of music’s legendary figures this week (March 4th), as news broke that the vibraphonist, record producer and composer Roy Ayers passed away at the age of 84. Continue reading to learn more about the musical icon and his impact.
Roy Ayers was born in Los Angeles, California where he grew up in a musical family. His father played trombone and his mother played piano. He was given his first vibraphone mallets at the age of five. Ayers grew up in South Central (once known as South Park), which was at the center of the Southern California Black music scene. While he attended Thomas Jefferson High School, he sang in the church choir and played steel guitar and piano for a band he fronted named the Latin Lyrics.
In 1962, Ayers began recording as a bebop sideman. The following year he released his debut studio album
West Coast Vibes. Although he was making a name for himself, it wasn’t until he dropped out of Los Angeles City College and joined jazz flautist Herbie Mann in 1966. Next, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, his own band, was formed in the early 1970s. After spearheading the highly-regarded soundtrack for Jack Hill’s 1973 blaxploitation film
Coffy, Ayers moved from a jazz-funk sound to R&B. The albums
Mystic Voyage (1975) and
Everybody Loves the Sunshine (1976) masterfully showed off his new sound. In 1977, he had his biggest hit with “Running Away.” Over the coming decades, Ayers’ career as a solo artist continued and it’s safe to say that the rest is history.
The pioneer is often credited as one of the key figures in the development of jazz-funk and acid jazz. His blend of smooth jazz, funk and soul heavily contributed to the evolution of Black music. Ayers’ ability to seamlessly move between genres kept him relevant over the decades, making him a beloved figure in both the jazz and broader music communities. His career, which spanned over 5 decades, has and will continue to inspire contemporary musicians and producers. Speaking of, Ayers collaborated with numerous artists and influenced countless more. That influence has oftentimes led to other artists (within music and film/television) frequently sampling his music and his tracks being included on television shows and movies. To give him the flowers he rightfully deserves, we put together a gallery of R&B songs and shows that used a track that we are all familiar with, ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine.’ Let us know which ones are your favorites and if we forgot any. Rest In Peace to the Godfather of Neo-Soul, Roy Ayers!
