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
My Life In The Sunshine
Roy Ayers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone I’ve needed so long
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I’ll be strong
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew
Someone warm like you
Who have my dreams come true
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once I have someone I know won't desert me
I’m not alone anymore
For once I can say
This is mine you can’t take it
As long as I know I have love I can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
For once I can say
This is mine you can’t take it
As long as I know I have love we can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
The lyrics to Roy Ayers's song For Once In My Life describe a feeling of newfound hope and security that comes with having a loving partner. The singer has finally found someone who needs him as much as he needs them, and this realization has given him a sense of strength and the courage to face whatever life throws his way. He feels unafraid of the future and believes that with his partner by his side, he can overcome any obstacle.
The lyrics also convey a sense of gratitude and contentment. The singer recognizes that he has finally found someone who fulfills the dreams he had long before he even knew them. He feels lucky to have someone warm and loving in his life, someone who has made his dreams come true. This newfound love has given him a sense of peace and happiness that he has never known before.
Overall, the lyrics to For Once In My Life celebrate the power of love and the joy that comes with finding someone who truly understands and supports you. The song is a testament to the transformative power of love and the way it can change our lives for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
I finally have someone who depends on me and requires my love and attention.
Someone I’ve needed so long
I have been longing for someone like this for a very long time.
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I’ll be strong
I am no longer afraid of the unknown and I have the confidence to face whatever life throws my way.
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
I am now able to experience and enjoy something that I had only dreamed of in the past.
Long before I knew someone warm like you
I had been hoping for someone who is as loving and caring as the person I now have in my life.
Who have my dreams come true
The person I have in my life has made my wishes and desires a reality.
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
I have decided not to let sadness and pain affect me anymore.
Not like it's hurt me before
I have been hurt in the past, but I am now strong enough to deal with it and prevent it from happening again.
For once I have someone I know won't desert me
I have found someone who I can trust and who I know will always be there for me.
I’m not alone anymore
I have someone special in my life, so I don't feel lonely anymore.
This is mine you can’t take it
I have something that is very important to me and I won't let anyone take it away from me.
As long as I know I have love I can make it
Having the love and support of someone special gives me the strength to face any challenge.
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
I am thankful and happy to have found someone who loves and relies on me.
As long as I know I have love we can make it
Together, with the love and support we have for each other, we can overcome any obstacle.
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
I am grateful to have someone in my life who needs and appreciates me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ronald N. Miller, Orlando Murden
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonkid6978
Who else just laying down and listening to this like Dr.dre in the movie
@oscarmadrigal378
🙋♂️
@geoboy700
yesssssss from STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON!
@geoboy700
@@oscarmadrigal378 yesss big time!!!
@andrecejnar317
Yeeesss
@jayjames4941
Yuppp high asf
@soneil
You don’t listen to this....you feel it.
@Agent1W
Feel what I feel when I feel what I feel when I feel it...
@bwes2250
FACTS
@yajiidaj.2439
Facts