Roy Ayers, jazz-funk pioneer, dead at 84
Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk pioneer behind songs like ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, has died at the age of 84.
Ayers died on March 4th, 2025, after suffering from a long-term illness. A statement from his family, shared with Variety, read, “It is with great sadness that the family of legendary vibraphonist, composer, and producer Roy Ayers announce his passing which occurred on March 4, 2025, in New York City after a long illness,” they said.
His family also described Ayers as “highly influential and sought after as a music collaborator.”
Born and raised in Los Angles, Ayers was surrounded by music from a young age and quickly became a formative part of the Central Avenue jazz scene during his high school days. As he honed his skills on vibraphone mallets, singing, steel guitar and piano, he found the talent that would fuel his life’s work.
After playing in several other bands, Ayers started his own group, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, in 1970. From then on, he not only wrote, performed, and recorded his own music but also produced records for other artists and made music for soundtracks.
Ayers also played alongside some of the most talented people in the history. In the late 1970s, he toured with afro-beat pioneer Fela Futi, and in the late 1980s, he contributed to recordings for Whitney Houston.
His song, ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, from his 1976 album, has become a timeless hit. Beloved as a song in its own right, it has also been sampled to no end by other artists.
Throughout his career, Ayers was on a mission to popularise and spread feel good music. “I like that happy feeling all of the time, so that ingredient is still there,” he once said, “I try to generate that because it’s the natural way I am.” As he worked across jazz, funk, soul, salsa, rock, hip-hop and beyond, that mission took many forms through his genre-less career.
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