# Roy Ayers, jazz-funk pioneer behind Everybody Loves the Sunshine, dies aged 84

Family announces on Facebook that the musician died in New York City after a long illness.

## Roy Ayers, jazz-funk pioneer behind Everybody Loves the Sunshine, dies aged 84

Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk pioneer whose hit Everybody Loves the Sunshine has become a summer staple across the globe, has died aged 84.

A post on the musician’s official  page said: “It is with great sadness that the family of legendary vibraphonist, composer and producer Roy Ayers announce his passing which occurred on March 4th, 2025 in New York City after a long illness.

“He lived a beautiful 84 years and will be sorely missed. His family ask that you respect their privacy at this time, a celebration of Roy’s life will be forthcoming.”

Ayers was born in Los Angeles on 10 September 1940. His mother, Ruby, was a schoolteacher and local piano instructor while his father, Roy Sr, worked as a parking attendant and a trombonist. Ayers began learning the piano from an early age, and went on to be taught by  who lived nearby. He studied advanced music theory at Los Angeles city college before releasing his debut album, West Coast Vibes, in 1963, which led to a string of solo records.

He then formed his band Roy Ayers Ubiquity and developed his signature jazz-funk sound that featured him on vibraphone, an instrument he was inspired to learn after meeting the jazz musician Lionel Hampton, who gave him a pair of mallets when he was five years old.

After the release of his debut album in 1963, Ayers’ output was prolific. By the time Everybody Loves the Sunshine was released, Ayers had already put out more than a dozen albums, earning himself the title of Godfather of Neo Soul. In the early part of his career, Ayers collaborated with Herbie Mann, with the pair working together for four years and playing at Newport jazz festival.

When asked about his genre-hopping approach to music, Ayers said: “I don’t think I’m really so unique. What we call ‘soul’ has been around a long time. It comes out of a particular culture that is African in origin, but influenced by 250 years of slavery, as well as other forms of racial oppression.”

Ayers had several hits in the UK. Get on Up, Get on Down; Heat of the Beat, and Don’t Stop the Feeling all reached the top 50, and in 1973 Ayers composed the score for the . The film starred  who would go on to become a , but Ayers’ soundtrack was critically acclaimed in its own right, and featured vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and Harry Whitaker on piano.



In 1976 he released his most famous track, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, a mellow song about lazy summer days. In 2017, Ayers told  behind the hit.

Ayers recorded it at Electric Lady studios in New York on a hot summer day. “I just got this phrase in my head,” he said. “‘Everybody loves the sunshine.’ I started singing: ‘Feel what I feel, when I feel what I feel, what I’m feeling.’ Then I started thinking about summer imagery … It was so spontaneous. It felt wonderful.”

The song became one of the most sampled jazz records ever. Mary J Blige’s My Life, Common’s Book of Life and Mos Def’s Life Is Real all feature elements of the track, and its popularity ensured Ayers was a regular feature at festivals around the world, including London’s Maiden Voyage, which .

“The song changed everything for me,” Ayers said. “It’s still the last song of my show. People always join in and it’s been sampled over 100 times, by everyone from Dr Dre to Pharrell Williams. It seems to capture every generation. Everybody loves the sunshine – except Dracula.”
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