Roy Ayers (September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer… Read Full Bio ↴Roy Ayers (September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk with his band Roy Ayers Ubiquity. He is a key figure in the acid jazz movement, which is a mixture of jazz into hip-hop and funk, and has been dubbed by many as "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He is most well known for his signature compositions "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" and "Searchin", and is also famous for having more sampled hits by rappers than any other artist.
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
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
I Wanna Touch You Baby
Roy Ayers Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Roy Ayers:
Ain't No Sunshine Ain't no sunshine when she's gone It's not warm when she's…
Aragon On a rainy night, you showed up at my door Child…
Baby I Need Your Love Baby, I need your lovin' Baby, I need your lovin' Although y…
Black Family see'est dans ma galère que la go Antou m'a quitté oh…
Bonita Bonita cpplebum, I got it going on Bonita, Bonita, Bonita B…
Chicago Chicago, Chicago Chicago, Chicago Chicago, Chicago Chicago, …
Coffy Is The Color Coffy is the color Coffy is the color Coffy is the color…
Coffy Is the Color (Soundtrack Version) Coffy is the color... Coffy is the color... Coffy is the col…
Coffy Sauna I have often walked Down the street before, But the paveme…
Don't I don't know how to love him What to do, how…
Don't Stop The Feeling Don't stop Don't stop the feeling Don't stop Don't stop the …
Everbody Loves The Sunshine My life, my life, my life, my life in the…
Everytime I See You Life it seems, slips away Just like any dream All I want…
Evolution Evolution Evolution Evolution Evolution Evolution Evolution…
For Once In My Life For once in my life I have someone who needs…
For You I guess you wonder where I've been I searched to find…
Funky Motion shes got funky motion shes got a row like a ship…
Gotta Find A Lover She gotta find a lover Gotta find a lover Oohhhhhh Aahhhh Oh…
He Gives Us All His Love He gives us all his love He gives us all his…
Hey Uh-What You Say Come On Coming with the realness lyrics of life Some people need to…
Holiday Ooh, you're a holiday, such a holiday Ooh, you're a holiday,…
HOT Baby won't you stay enough to do it your way Maybe we…
I Am Your Mind If you believe in yourself You′ll know the real you It's com…
I Love You Michelle Stephen Marley: Oh yeah (Skat) And she said she needs more t…
In the Dark It's late at night You want your lover right there by…
Keep On Walking I've gotta keep walking To someone I love This empty house i…
Long Time Ago Long time, long time ago Long long long long long time…
Love My life, my life, my life, my life in the…
Love From The Sun Sun, Sun We came from the sun? Sun sun There's enough for ev…
Love Will Bring Us Back Together Wave your hands in the air Just party like you just…
MASH Theme Through early morning fog I see Visions of the things to…
My Life In The Sunshine For once in my life I have someone who needs…
Mystic Voyage You wanted to be free, yeah you never did love me,…
Papa Was A Rolling Stone It was the third of September; that day I'll always…
Poo Poo La La Let me kiss you... on your poo poo la la Let…
Pretty Brown Skin Yellow ribbons in your hair Red and pink ones in the…
Red Black Red black and green If you think about it you know…
Running Away I am, I, I feel I am, I I close my eyes…
Searchin' Searching searching Searching searching Searching searchin…
Searching Searching searching Do you hear what I hear Can you see…
searching feat erykah badu Searching searching Do you hear what I hear Can you see…
Slip 'n Slide im free baby cant see wouldnt you like to know with me…
Stairway To The Stars Let's build a stairway to the stars And climb that stairway…
Sunshine My life, my life, my life, my life in the…
The Boogie Back Who get back yeah Who get back Who get back ohh yeah Who…
The Third Eye Baby baby baby Look to the sky Baby baby baby Look to the…
This Guy You see this girl, this girl's in love with you Yes,…
This Guy's in Love With You Stephen Marley: Oh yeah (Skat) And she said she needs more t…
Time Long time, long time ago Long long long long long time…
Turn Me Loose Loose me, vibe me, turn me loose, loose me Loose me,…
We Live in Brooklyn WE LIVE IN BROOKLYN BABY ******We live in Brooklyn, baby We …
What You Want do for Love I guess you wonder where I've been I searched to find…
You Send Me Darling you send me I know you send me Darling you send…
Your Love Baby, I need your lovin' Baby, I need your lovin' Although y…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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A'Doris A
This song is EVERYTHING! The vibe (no pun intended) of this song is quintessential 70's cool, chill, relaxed. When I hear this song, the feelings of those carefree days come back to me. I was a teenager and how sweet life was back then. This song is the epitome of sexy-cool. It's like the song was written from the pages of my mind; every musician encounters a song they wish THEY had written. This is a song I WISH I had written. The descending chord progressions in this song SEND ME........DAMN.....like an orgasm for the ears. Yayssssss!!!!
skinfan jay
💯
soulpeanuts888
That Bassline is just AMAZING!!!!
Paul
One of my all-time favorite Roy Ayres tunes. Carla Vaughan's voice is so nice on this one.
Cathy Johnson
ROY'S VIBES JUST MESMERIZES MY SOUL.
skinfan jay
Roy is playing the electric piano on this song
Music fiend
Word!
Andrea Miller
I had the pleasure of being on the same stage! Very laid back and cool! Music is smooth and meaningful
Peggy Bennett
Absolutely.
Music fiend
No words can describe the impact of this album by Roy Ayers. I’d played many of the tracks over the air when I was a college radio DJ in upstate NY