OPINION: The jazz-funk pioneer passed away in New York City on March 4th; his catalog is essential to the experience of so many in the Black community.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I grew up in a musical household, you know one where music was playing all of the time. I was one of those kids who dug through the various albums that made up my parents’ collection, often getting as much joy from an album’s cover as its musical contents. To that end, a song that I grew up listening to that is part of the fabric of my musical soul is Roy Ayers Ubiquity, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”
You know this song. Your auntie knows this song. Your cousin knows this song. I know what sunshine sounds like because of this song. I’d bet that even Jesus would agree. The song is part of Black culture. It is a summer “outside” staple along with Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness” and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime,” which is built from pieces of the Kool & The Gang record.
“Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” released in 1976 is perfect, produced and crafted by jazz-funk pioneer and producer, Roy Ayers, the man often cited as the Godfather of Neo-Soul since so much of the music that would come to define the genre that took off in the mid-90s owes a debt to the breezy, funk-laden sounds of Roy Ayers and his band, Roy Ayers Ubiquity. Roy Ayers was the first person I saw playing vibraphone that made me think, “you know what, I think I need to get on those sticks!”
Roy Ayers passed away on March 4 at age 84 after suffering from a long illness.
One thing Roy Ayers did was create a significant amount of music that will live on forever. Of course, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” is his legacy piece—his song that will outlive any of earth’s creatures known for outlasting the best of us. But there are several other songs composed, produced, and/or performed by Roy Ayers that you know, even if you don’t know that you know that they’re his work. Go listen to his entire catalog, but also, these special five in particular, then think about how you may have heard them before.
1. “We Live in Brooklyn Baby” from “He’s Coming” (1972)
If you’re a hip-hop fan, you know this record. Rapper Yasiin Bey (at the time known as Mos Def) made it a centerpiece of his song “Brooklyn” from his 1999 classic album, “Black on Both Sides.” Rapper Chi-Ali used the opening notes for his first single, 1991’s “Age Ain’t Nothin But a #.” But even if you’re not a hip-hop fan and you love jazz-funk fusions, this song is par exemplar for the sound.
With its funky drumming, strings, guitars, vibraphones, and urgency, this song literally transports you to the romantic idea you might have of Brooklyn. True story, when visiting my best friend who lived in Brooklyn, I would sometimes pull the song up on my iPod and listen to it while walking down Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy. Corny? Yes. But I wanted to know what Brooklyn sounded like in real-time.
2. “You Can’t Turn Me Away” by Sylvia Striplin from “Give Me Your Love” (1981) produced by Roy Ayers
As soon as you hit play on the record, the 90s called and said, “Welcome back.” Why the 90s? Well, the Striplin record, produced by Roy Ayers and released on his Uno Melodic record label, is the foundation of many hip-hop records, but most famously serves as the sample for Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Get Money,” largely considered to be Lil Kim’s coming out record. Go ahead, keep dancing; I’ll wait to move forward.
3. “Running Away” from “Lifeline” (1977)
I was late to the game on “Running Away.” The first time I ever remember hearing it was during a house-music dance break during “Fashion Friday” at Spelman College in the spring of 1998. DJs would set up at Lower Manley as vendors sold t-shirts featuring Nat Turner and jewelry that harkened to our innate connection to Africa. I heard so much music I’d never heard before and I vividly remember the first time I heard “Running Away.”
Then I was informed it was the sample used for A Tribe Called Quest’s (ATCQ) record, “Description of A Fool,” from 1989’s album, “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.” ATCQ would come to sample several Roy Ayers records, like Ayers’ “Feel Like Makin’ Love,”—itself a cover of Robert Flack’s song of the same name; Flack also recently passed away—for “Keep It Rollin’” from 1993’s “Midnight Marauders.”
4. “Searching” from “Vibrations” (1976)
“Searching” is another one of those songs that I’d wager almost everybody has heard at some point in life. I don’t even know why, but I’d heard before I heard it, ya dig? The life that this record has taken on, though, owes to the power of R&B and hip-hop. For instance, the national treasure that she is, Mary J. Blige, used the record for her song “Searching” from her 1997 seminal work, “Share My World.” My favorite use of the sample though is none other than Amerie’s work, “Rolling Down My Face,” from her 2005 album, “Touch.” It is a certified banger.
5. “The Memory” from “Vibrations” (1976)
“The Memory” is a record that I think could be reworked today—note for note—then be released and be a hit from anybody with even half a voice. The pocket on this record is so magnificent that the first time I heard it via sample for a song that maybe 100 people have heard—Lil ½ Dead’s “That’s What You Get,” (word to Snoop Dogg)—I was enthralled (yes, I actually achieved enthralled) by how the record unfolded over the course of its four-minute and thirty-two second run time. I wanted to hear it over and over and on club speakers. If you need a jam to give you all of the feels, “The Memory” is your jam.
Rest in peace to the great music maker who made us feel and remember the best of life.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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