Roy Ayers, a legendary jazz vibraphonist who was perhaps best known for his famous song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” has passed away after battling an illness, according to the announcement made by his family.
According to a statement that was posted on his Facebook page, his family has confirmed that the legendary musician passed away on Tuesday in New York City after a protracted battle with sickness. The did not provide any information on the sickness that he was suffering from.
They came to a conclusion in their statement by noting, “He lived a wonderful 84 years and will be greatly missed.” It is requested that you respect the privacy of his family at this time. A memorial service honoring Roy’s life will be held in the near future.
One of Ayers’ most successful songs was titled “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” His songs have been sampled or recorded by a wide variety of artists over the course of the last several years, including Kanye West, Common, Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, and Tyler the Creator, among others.
His contribution to the film “Coffy,” which was a blaxploitation film directed by Pam Grier, was the catalyst that brought his music to broad audiences. With it, he released the song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” in the year 1976.
To give you a sense of how enormous “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” is, the song has been streamed more than 130 million times on Spotify as of this moment.
His family includes his wife, Argerie, and their two daughters, Ayana and Mtume. He is leaving in his wake.