Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Roy Ayers, who wrote the oft-sampled “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” and the soundtrack to Coffy, has died. He was 84. Ayers’s family broke the news of his death to Variety, writing ““It is with great sadness that the family of legendary vibraphonist, composer, and producer Roy Ayers announce his passing which occurred on March 4, 2025 in New York City after a long illness.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Ayers first became enamored with the viberaphone at 5-years-old, after seeing Lionel Hampton’s Big Band. Ayers went to Los Angeles City College to study advanced music theory. His first album, West Coast Vibes, dropped in 1963.
Ayers wrote and produced the soundtrack for Coffy in 1973. The blaxploitation film stars Pam Grier as a nurse who goes on a roaring rampage of revenge against the drug dealers and mob bosses in her city.
Through samples and features, Ayers maintained a presence in music throughout the decades. His work is sampled in such songs as A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebaum” and Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Get Money,” and he performed on Tyler the Creator’s “Find Your Wings.”
His band, the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, released “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” in 1976. The song has been covered by D’Angelo, Cibo Matto, Seu Jorge, and more. The song has been sampled or interpolated over 150 times, according to Whosampled. Notable samplers include Mary J. Blige, Tupac Shakur, Common, the Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, and even Björk.
Sources
