Roy Ayers, the iconic American vibraphonist, composer, and jazz-funk pioneer, has passed away at the age of 84, according to his family. He died in New York City on Tuesday after battling a long illness. While the exact cause of his death has not been revealed, his family shared the news on social media. They remembered him as having “lived a beautiful 84 years” and expressed that he would be greatly missed.
Often referred to as the “Godfather of Neo-soul,” Roy Ayers had a remarkable career that spanned more than 40 years. He gained widespread recognition for his 1976 hit “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” which was released by his band, Roy Ayers Ubiquity.
Born in Los Angeles, Ayers grew up in a musical household. His mother, Ruby Ayers, was a piano teacher, and his father, Roy Sr., played the trombone, as noted in a biography on his website.
Ayers’ musical talent became evident at a very young age. By the time he was five, he was already playing boogie-woogie tunes on the piano. He later explored various instruments, including the steel guitar at age nine, and played the flute, trumpet, and drums during his teenage years. Eventually, he chose the vibraphone as his primary instrument.
By the 1960s, Ayers had established himself as a versatile professional musician, often working with the legendary groove innovator, Herbie Mann.
Roy Ayers transformed the sound of the vibraphone, taking its smooth, elongated tones and moving it away from the uptempo jazz style popularized by Lionel Hampton. With Ayers playing, the vibraphone became a tool for atmospheric and experimental musical exploration.
As Philip Woo, who played keys on “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” recalled in a 2017 interview, Ayers often worked without written music or charts. “He had one chord, which he would move around all over the place, very intuitively,” Woo explained.
Ayers continued to influence music, even in recent years, collaborating with modern hip-hop giants like Kanye West. He also made a mark in cinema, composing the score for Coffy, the 1973 blaxploitation film that helped launch Pam Grier’s career.
His song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has garnered over 130 million streams on Spotify and has been covered and remixed by artists such as Mary J. Blige and Tupac.
Rolling Stone described his music as a blend of “lush soul, elastic jazz, and tight funk.”
The family has asked for privacy during this time, but they mentioned a celebration of Roy’s life would be held in the future.