Roy Ayers, the Godfather of Neo-soul, celebrates 84 years around the sun this year!
Born September 10, 1940, Roy Ayers is one of the seminal artists of the past century who has helped define both R&B and jazz. He is known as the pioneer for the jazz-funk/acid-jazz genre. Roy’s incredible talent allowed him to successfully erase the boundaries between various genres and styles of Black music in America.
Roy Ayers’ Childhood
Roy’s affinity for music started from his upbringing. His mother, Ruby Ayers, was a local piano instructor and his father, Roy Sr., a trombonist. As it often happens in a household filled with the love and the appreciation which for music, Roy began to demonstrate his musical aptitude by the tender age of five, by which time he was playing boogie woogie tunes on the piano. He turned to the steel guitar by the age of nice, had stints during his teens playing flute, trumpet and drums before embracing the vibes as his instrument of choice.
Vibraphone
Roy helped changed people’s perceptions of the vibraphone. First commercially produced in 1924, the vibraphone is an electric-powered tuned percussion instrument played with mallets whose sound is glassy and tinkling. It was almost exclusively associated with the world of straight-ahead jazz until the 1970s when Ayers placed the vibraphone at the center of a new musical universe, one that blended jazz with funk, soul, disco, and pop.
Roy Ayers’ Big Break
Roy started recording as a sideman in the early 60s, landing a spot working with legendary jazz flutist Herbie Mann. After being featured prominently on Mann’s hit Memphis Underground album and recording three solo albums for Atlantic under Mann’s supervision, Ayers left the group in 1970 to form “Roy Ayers Ubiquity.”
The new group issued their eponymous debut album in 1970 that showcased his groundbreaking evolution of jazz styles, slinky soul, and driving dancefloor funk.
Roy’s broad vision took shape throughout the early 70s, coming to fruition on his smash 1976 album, Everybody Loves The Sunshine. The track of the same name, is a vibrant, feel-good anthem that has inspired countless artists, each reinterpreting its warmth and optimism with their unique musical language. From Mary J Blige to D’Angelo each artist successfully pays homage the ubiquitous jazz-funk classic.
Describing how the song came about, in 2007 Ayers revealed: “I was in a studio and reflecting on my childhood. Up until I was about 14 years old, the sun rays in Los Angeles were really bright, but in 1954, the sun started to vanish and this smog started to conceal its brightness. The sun was beautiful that day so I thought about this line ‘Everybody loves the sunshine,’ and then came up with ‘My life, my life, my life in the sunshine.’”
During the ’80s, besides leading his bands and recording, Ayers collaborated with Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, formed Uno Melodic Records, and produced and/or co-wrote several recordings for various artists.
Hip Hop Influence
As the merger of hip-hop and jazz took hold in the early ’90s, Roy heavily influenced the sound of hip hop for the following decades. According to the site, WhoSampled, Roy’s music has been sampled nearly 1000 times. The hip hop artists featured in that list include, Junior M.A.F.I.A, Naughty By Nature, Dr.Dre, Joey Bada$$, Kendrick Lamar and countless others.
It’s clear, Roy Ayers’ music career is a masterclass on nostalgia and innovation beautifully coexisting. His music serves as a reminder that true classics transcend genres, inviting generations to find new meaning.
Happy Birthday Roy Ayers!