Roy Ayers was born in Los Angeles. Thanks to his trombone playing father and piano teaching mother, he became immersed in music from day one and the story goes that he was given his first set of vibe mallets by his hero Lionel Hampton at the age of 5. Constantly performing and recording since the 1960s, he is one of the most famous jazz vibraphonists. He has produced some of the most loved modern soul-jazz records of all time such as, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", most influential afro-jazz with musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (Africa - Centre Of The World) and the most seminal jazz-funk, such as "Running Away". And that's just the surface. 2004 saw the release of "Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981" which were 'lost' sessions tapes that he had discarded. Gilles Peterson described this as the equivalent of finding a lost Beatles album. No doubt this helped him win the Gilles Peterson 2004 Worldwide Lifetime Achievement Award. Roy Ayers is ageless and evergreen and as per the title of another one of hits, remember "We All Live In Brooklyn Baby".
Timeline
Ayers started recording as a bebop sideman in 1962 and rose to prominence when he dropped out of City College and joined jazz flutist Herbie Mann in 1966.
In the early 70's, Roy Ayers started his own band called Roy Ayers Ubiquity, a name he chose because ubiquity means a state of being everywhere at the same time.
Ayers was responsible for the highly regarded soundtrack to Jack Hill's 1973 blaxploitation film Coffy, which starred Pam Grier. He later moved from a jazz-funk sound to R&B, as seen on Mystic Voyage, which featured the songs "Evolution" and the underground disco hit "Brother Green (The Disco King)", as well as the title track from his 1976 album Everybody Loves the Sunshine.
In 1977, Ayers produced an album by the group RAMP, Come into Knowledge, commonly and mistakenly thought to stand for "Roy Ayers Music Project". That fall, he had his biggest hit with "Running Away".
In late 1979, Ayers scored his only top ten single on Billboard's Hot Disco/Dance chart with "Don't Stop The Feeling," which was also the leadoff single from his 1980 album "No Stranger to Love", whose title track was sampled in Jill Scott's 2001 song "Watching Me" from her debut album Who Is Jill Scott?
In the late 70's, Ayers toured in Nigeria for six weeks with Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, one of the Africa's most recognizable musicians. In 1980, Phonodisk released Music of Many Colors in Nigeria, featuring one side lead by Ayers' group and the other lead by Africa '70.
In 1981, Ayers produced an album with the singer Sylvia Striplin, Give Me Your Love (Uno Melodic Records, 1981). He has also worked in collaborations with soul songstress Erykah Badu.
Ayers performed a solo on John "Jellybean" Benitez's production of Whitney Houston's "Love Will Save The Day" from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney. The single was released in July 1988 by Arista Records.
Ayers has played his live act for millions of people across the globe, including Japan, Australia, England and other parts of Europe.
Ayers is known for helping to popularize feel good music in the 70's, stating that "I like that happy feeling all of the time, so that ingredient is still there. I try to generate that because it's the natural way I am". The types of music that he used to do this consisted of funk, salsa, jazz, rock, soul and rap.
1990s to present
In 1992, Ayers released two albums, Drive and Wake Up, for the hip-hop label Ichiban Records.
In 1992, Ayers collaborated with Rick James for an album and is quoted to have been a very close friend of his.
In 1993, Ayers appeared on the record Guru's Jazzmatazz Vol.1 featuring on the vibraphone in the song "Take a Look (At Yourself)".
In 1994, Ayers appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African-American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.
During the 2000s and 2010s, Ayers ventured into house music, collaborating with such stalwarts of the genre as Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler.
Ayers started two record labels, Uno Melodic and Gold Mink Records. The first released several LPs, including Sylvia Striplin's, while the second folded after a few singles.
In 2004, Ayers put out a collection of unreleased recordings called Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased recordings 1976–1981 which allowed fans to hear cuts that didn't make it onto the classic Polydor albums from his more popular years.
Roy Ayers hosts the fictitious radio station "Fusion FM" in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008).
In 2015, he appeared on Tyler, The Creator's new album Cherry Bomb on the track "Find Your Wings".
A documentary the Roy Ayers Project featuring Ayers and a number hip hop producers who have sampled his music and other people who have been influenced by him and his music has been in development for a number of years.
Pharrell Williams cites Roy Ayers as one of his key musical heroes.
Ayers is a recipient of the Congress of Racial Equality Lifetime Achievement Award.
http://www.royayers.com
http://www.bassics.de/ayers.html
http://www.discomuseum.com/RoyAyers.html
Coffy Is the Color
Roy Ayers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coffy is the color
Coffy is the color of your skin
Coffy is the world you live in
Coffy is the color
Coffy is the color
Coffy is feeling something deep
Yeeeeeeaaah
Yeeeeeaaaah
Coffy is the color
Coffy is the color
Coffyyyyyyy
Coffyyyyyyyy
Coffyyyyyyyy
The song "Coffy Is The Color" by Roy Ayers is a tribute to the black woman or the African American community. The song talks about how the color of coffee accurately represents the skin color of the black woman. The color of coffee is a rich, dark brown, which is also the color of skin for many black people. The lyrics highlight how being black is not just about the color of the skin, but it is also about the experience of living in a world where black people face discrimination, inequality, and injustice.
The repeated phrase "Coffy is the color" serves as a reminder of the significance of blackness and how it is a major part of a black person's identity. The song goes on to say that "Coffy is the world you live in," which suggests that black people are not separate from their environment. Instead, their environment reflects who they are and vice versa. Furthermore, the song speaks about feeling something deep, indicating the passion and intensity with which black people experience their lives and their struggles.
Overall, "Coffy Is The Color" celebrates and honors the black experience, acknowledging the beauty, richness, and depth of blackness.
Line by Line Meaning
Coffy is the color
Coffy refers to a physical object that has a color
Coffy is the color
Coffy is associated with a specific color
Coffy is the color of your skin
The color of Coffy is similar to the color of your skin
Coffy is the world you live in
Coffy is representative of the environment you exist within
Coffy is the color
Coffy's color is significant enough to be mentioned multiple times
Coffy is the color
Coffy's color is one that is personally meaningful to the singer
Coffy is feeling something deep
Coffy's existence is associated with a profound emotional experience
Yeeeeeeaaah
A vocalization expressing intense emotion or agreement
Coffy is feeling something deep
The artist associates Coffy with a deep, significant feeling
Yeeeeeaaaah
A vocalization expressing intense emotion or agreement
Coffy is the color
Coffy's color remains significant throughout the song
Coffy is the color
Coffy's color remains significant throughout the song
Coffyyyyyyy
A repetition of Coffy's name and associated qualities
Coffyyyyyyyy
A repetition of Coffy's name and associated qualities
Coffyyyyyyyy
A repetition of Coffy's name and associated qualities
Contributed by Brody O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alanahodges5207
The soundtrack Roy made for Coffy was amazing. I love every bit of it!
@BTrapr40
Roy Ayers 🙏🏽. The father of Neo Soul 💪🏽. No one utilizes the Rhodes 🎹 & xylophone better & that’s no cap
@WillsJazzJoint
It's actually a vibraphone rather than a xylophone.
@norellpolk1626
We own the nightlife when driving with this song
@markbennett2960
i havent got a car, i cant drive but i feel what youre sayin'
@MikeL-7
Truth
@rodknockz494
Very well composed.... classic!
@markbennett2960
believe
@olander666
Absolutely BUMPIN' TRACK! Got here by way of the 2-disc set Evolution: The Polydor Anthology of Roy Ayers. Man, this dude has the CHOPS on vibes.
@keepdafaithinyou2429
Absolute Legend Coffy sure is the colour ✊🏿