Roy Ayers (born 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. 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.
Biography
Early life
Ayers was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in a musical family, where his father played trombone and his mother played piano. At the age of five, he was given his first pair of vibraphone mallets by Lionel Hampton. The area of Los Angeles that Ayers grew up in, now known as "South Central" but then known as "South Park", was the epicenter of the Southern CaliforniaBlack music scene. The schools he attended (Wadsworth Elementary, Nevins Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School) were all close to the famed Central Avenue, Los Angeles' equivalent of Harlem's Lenox Avenue and Chicago's State Street. Roy would likely have been exposed to music as it not only emanated from the many nightclubs and bars in the area, but also poured out of many of the homes where the musicians who kept the scene alive lived in and around Central. During high school, Ayers sang in the church choir and fronted a band named The Latin Lyrics, in which he played steel guitar and piano. His high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, produced some of the most talented new musicians, such as Dexter Gordon.
Coming with the realness lyrics of life Some people need to watch what they say Watch what you're saying Someone's gonna hear exactly what you said Soon you'll be paying in the dead of night They'll be nowhere to run while you were laying Laying for the doom that's coming to a head, no kind of praying Is gonna save us from the past that will surely come Warning, rappers be like boring they're sleeping It's deep man, so peep in closely when I'm speaking Weaklings, it's obvious you can't like up to Your petty pointless words, yet and still you love to Run off your jibs, now there come a time for judgment Punishment, what if we take away your ornaments And strip you down to the raw deal then I'd reveal the evidence 'Cause you don't really represent Watch what you're saying Someone's gonna hear exactly what you said Soon you'll be paying in the dead of night They'll be nowhere to run while you were laying Laying for the doom that's coming to a head, no kind of praying Is gonna save us from the past that will surely come Listen here, I'm getting tired of you shooting lip You better tighten up or you will really slip up And say something that you mean to do Turn around and it'll be on you To save yourself from your call and blunder And bury your [unverified] like the world it's under And like a fool you'll sit and wonder What, who do you wanna know? Wish no water No magic spell can save you from your self made hell You've made your bed and you know darn well You got a lay it in the [unverified] and there's no magic potion To save you from the wheels you've set in motion The stone is cut, the die is cast, what were you thinking? Watch what you're saying Someone's gonna hear exactly what you said Soon you'll be paying in the dead of night They'll be nowhere to run while you were laying Laying for the doom that's coming to a head, no kind of praying Is gonna save us from the past that will surely come I can't understand it, they should ban it, can it? Too much weak talk and not enough real hip-hop I sense a purpose is filling me to display credibility And show responsibility, willingly I'll take on any Johnny Dangerous Pull his file, for he knows, he cannot hang with this The illest king, I smack the jokers No hocus pocus, a real MC when I kick vocals Watch what you're saying Someone's gonna hear exactly what you said Soon you'll be paying in the dead of night They'll be nowhere to run while you were laying Laying for the doom that's coming to a head, no kind of praying
Like say you sample an A minor and it’s a cool sample from Roy Ayers and you’re loving it and now you’ve got to add a bass line ... and do you have plans to hit more cities? I would love for this show to be seen in various locations, but of course, L.A.
Among her recommendations was a Charlie Mingus record, who she said was “really one of the greatest jazz performers ever”, as well as Roy Ayers’ ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, which Harris described ...
“First of all, Charlie Mingus, really one of the greatest jazz performers ever. “One of my favourite albums of all time. Roy Ayers, Everybody Loves the Sunshine... .
Despite being nestled away in the album’s middle stretch, a case can be made for declaring the seductive “Juna” the thesis of “Charm.” Alongside funky backing reminiscent of Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s ...
Meanwhile, Roy Ayers – my father, with whom I have never had a relationship – was riding high on his 1976 hit song Everybody Loves the Sunshine... How we made Roy Ayers’ Everybody Loves the Sunshine.
Summer is almost half over, and I’m still looking to see what the “song of the summer” is going to be ... Every summer used to have its song — or songs ... Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” brings the mellow side of the 1970s back to mind ... .
Summer is almost half over, and I’m still looking to see what the “song of the summer” is going to be ... Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” brings the mellow side of the 1970s back to mind ... For example ... ]]> .
Summer is almost half over, and I'm still looking to see what the "song of the summer" is going to be ... Every summer used to have its song – or songs ... Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" brings the mellow side of the 1970s back to mind ... Galarneau.
Then Richard played his take on Roy Ayers’ 1976 classic “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”. “Everybody loves the sunshine – except June in Houston,” he joked before launching into his version of the song, ...
Also in the haul was Roy Ayers’ ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, which Harris described as one of her “favourite albums of all time” and a “classic” ... “Mingus, Ayers, ...
Rest with God, my Love... “What You Won’t Do for Love” is heavily covered, featuring renditions from Roy ayers, Michael Bolton, and lately, Snoh Aalegra ... Love,” released in Feb.
The Keene Sentinel
12 Aug 2023