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.
Keep on Walking
Roy Ayers Ubiquity Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To someone I love
This empty house in jeopardy
Living with out you
It seems I keep falling
For someone somewhere
One single house of someone real
Now I really don't mind that it's been so long
That somewhere in this world you exist
and it really won't seem like it's been so sad
just as long as I know I've been missed
And time is on our side
'Cause somehow I know you're there
We've been talking
Bout someone like you
I love you
in my loneliness
and it keeps me walking on
Hey hey baby
I love you, I need you
Keep on walkin (Ooh I'll keep on walking)
I gotta keep walking
To someone I love
My faith and your reality
It keeps me hanging on
(Oh Woaa-ooaah)
The lyrics to "Keep on Walking" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity express the sentiment of a person who is determined to keep moving forward in order to reach someone they love. The singer is living in an empty house, feeling the emptiness of life without their loved one present. Despite the loneliness they feel, they remain resolute in their determination to keep walking until they find their love.
The first verse of the song establishes this sense of duty: the singer feels that they must keep walking in order to find someone real, someone who can fill the void left by their absent loved one. There is a sense of longing and urgency in the way the singer repeats the phrase "keep on walking," as if this action is both necessary and urgent.
The chorus is filled with emotion, with the singer repeating the phrase "I love you" over and over. The repetition serves to underscore the depth of the singer's feelings, and the intensity of their desire to be reunited with their loved one.
Throughout the lyrics, there is a sense of hopefulness and faith: the singer believes that time is on their side, and that somehow, they will find their way back to the person they love. This faith is what keeps them moving forward, even in the face of adversity and uncertainty.
Overall, "Keep on Walking" is a song about the power of love to motivate us and keep us going, even when times are tough. It speaks to the universal human desire for connection and companionship, and the tenacity and resilience required to achieve it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've gotta keep walking
I need to keep moving forward in search of someone I love.
To someone I love
I'm searching for the one I love somewhere out there.
This empty house in jeopardy
My life feels threatened and lost without the love of that person.
Living without you
Being without your love feels unbearable and lonely.
It seems I keep falling
I keep discovering new people who make my heart skip a beat.
For someone somewhere
I keep searching for that one special person who'll light up my world.
One single house of someone real
I dream of finding one real person with whom I can share my life and love.
Keeps me hanging on
The hope of finding true love keeps me going and never giving up.
Now, I really don't mind that it's been so long
It doesn't matter how long it takes to find my love because I'm willing to keep looking.
That somewhere in this world, you exist
I just know that someday, somewhere in this vast world, I'll find the one I love.
And it really won't seem like it's been so sad
All the sadness I've felt during this time will seem insignificant once I find my love.
Just as long as I know I've been missed
Knowing that someone out there misses me, too, gives me hope and strength to carry on.
And time is on our side
I'm not in a rush because I believe time will bring me closer to finding the love of my life.
'Cause somehow I know you're there
It feels like destiny that the person I'm meant to be with is out there waiting for me.
We've been talking 'bout someone like you
I've been discussing with friends the qualities of the one I'm searching for, someone like you.
I love you in my loneliness
Even in my solitude, I still love you and long to find you.
And it keeps me walking on
The thought of you and the hope of finding you keeps me motivated and persevering.
Hey, hey baby
Caring term of endearment for the person I hope to find.
I love you, I need you
I already love and need the person I've yet to find.
Keep on walking (Ooh, I'll keep on walking)
I'll never stop searching and moving forward until I find my one true love.
I gotta keep walking
I must continue moving forward to find the one I love.
My faith and your reality
I have faith that my soulmate's reality is out there waiting for me to find.
It keeps me hanging on
The thought of finding true love keeps me holding on and never losing hope.
(Oh Woaa-ooaah)
Sound effect indicating emotional intensity.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GINO VANNELLI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind