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.
You and Me My Love
Roy Ayers Ubiquity Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Calling the sun to warm the skies
Her ivory hands hold so tightly
To the hope of morning
And in this house
I hear a voice
The paintings of all
The faces that lie beyond these halls
And carry the weight of love and loss
Facing time on her own
She mourns the day her love let go
But in her burdened heart she knows
Peace will come
With morning
Her memories they hang like ghosts
Up on the walls the widows pass those
The faces that lie beyond these walls
And carry the weigth of love and loss
Ohhhhhh
And in this house i hear a voice
The paintings of all
They tell the tales of
The faces that lie beyond these halls
And carry the weight of love and loss
The lyrics of "You and Me My Love" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity tell a story of heartbreak, mourning, and hope. The song describes a woman who is suffering the loss of a loved one and how she clings to the hope that the morning will bring some peace. The opening lines, "Her heart lies awake at night, calling the sun to warm the skies," suggest that the woman is restless and unable to find solace at night. She longs for the warmth and light of a new day, hoping that it will bring some relief. The next line, "Her ivory hands hold so tightly to the hope of morning," emphasizes her desperation and the strength of her hope.
The song then transitions to the image of a house, where Ayers hears a voice that seems to narrate the stories of the past. The paintings on the walls are a symbol of the memories and tales of the people who once lived in the house. Ayers emphasizes the importance of these tales by stating that they carry the weight of love and loss. The widows who pass these tales are reminiscent of the woman mourning her lost love. They are both haunted by the past, even as they hope for a better future.
The chorus repeats the previous imagery, reminding the listener of the stories that the paintings tell. With each repetition, the imagery becomes more intense, with the voices becoming louder and the weight becoming heavier. The final "Ohhhhhh" seems to express Ayers' pain and empathy with those who are suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Her heart lies awake at night
The woman is restless at night, unable to sleep due to some emotional turmoil.
Calling the sun to warm the skies
She longs for a new day, a fresh start that can bring warmth and happiness to her life.
Her ivory hands hold so tightly
She clings onto hope with great desperation, seeking a way out of her current struggles.
To the hope of morning
She believes that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and looks forward to a brighter future.
And in this house
The setting of the song is in a particular house.
I hear a voice
The singer hears a voice from someone or something in the house, giving her company.
The paintings of all
The paintings in the house are quiet witnesses to the stories of the people who lived there before.
They tell the tales of
The paintings have a story to tell about the people they depict.
The faces that lie beyond these halls
The faces in the paintings are of people who have passed away, and are now only memories.
And carry the weight of love and loss
These memories weigh heavily on the artist, who is struggling with her own issues.
Facing time on her own
The singer is going through a difficult time alone, without any support.
She mourns the day her love let go
She is heartbroken over a lost relationship, and grieves for what could have been.
But in her burdened heart she knows
Despite her pain, she still has a glimmer of hope and knows that things will get better.
Peace will come
She believes that eventually, she will find solace and contentment.
With morning
This peace and contentment will arrive with a new day, bringing fresh opportunities.
Her memories they hang like ghosts
The memories of her past seem to haunt her, and she can't escape them.
Up on the walls the widows pass those
The widows who lived in the house before her have left their mark, and their memories linger on the walls.
Ohhhhhh
A vocalization expressing strong emotion of some sort.
Writer(s): Roy Ayers
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.