Roy Ayers was a musician and composer whose work on the vibraphone helped push the boundaries of jazz, soul, and funk through works like his 1976 classic, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”
- Died: March 4, 2025 (Who else died on March 4?)
- Details of death: Died in New York after a long illness at the age of 84.
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Roy Ayers’ legacy
Ayers grew up surrounded by music and played throughout his youth, first learning the piano at age five but also playing guitar, trumpet, drums, and singing before embracing the instrument that stuck, the vibraphone, at 17. He largely played traditional bebop jazz when he first went professional in the 1960s, but that all changed in 1970 upon the release of “Roy Ayers Ubiquity,” an innovative LP that charted the musical course for his explorations to come.
Throughout the ‘70s, Ayers and his band explored his soul, funk, and R&B compositions through a jazz lens, creating music that managed to have both deep grooves and a warm, feel-good spirit. Albums like “He’s Coming” (1972), “Change Up the Groove” (1974), and “Mystic Voyage” (1975) presented a sound all their own, making their way to dance floors of the era and to rap samples in the years ahead.
Ayers’ best-known work is arguably “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” which went to No. 10 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums charts in 1976, buoyed by the song of the same name. His follow-ups, “Vibrations” and “Lifeline,” went to No. 11 and No. 9, respectively. He showed no signs of slowing down in the proceeding decades either, releasing a steady string of albums in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and working with artists like Fela Kuti (1938–1997), Stanley Clarke, Rick James (1948–2004), and in the 2000s, modern soul legend Erykah Badu. He also played on Tyler, the Creator’s 2015 record, “Find Your Wings.”
Ayers had dozens of albums to his name, most recently 2023’s “Good Vibes/Bad Vibes,” and has also produced many for other artists. He was honored with a Congress of Racial Equality Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and his career was spotlighted in the documentary, “The Roy Ayers Project.” His work has been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Pharrell Williams, and many other notable rap acts.
Tributes to Roy Ayers
Full obituary: NPR
