Roy Ayers, a legendary jazz vibraphonist, keyboardist, composer and vocalist known for his spacy, funky 1976 hit “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” that has been sampled by such R&B and rap heavyweights as Mary J.

Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk vibraphonist known for the album Everybody Loves the Sunshine which has been sampled countless times since it was released, has died. He was 84. Ayers died Tuesday in New York after a long illness, his family announced in a statement, describing him as “highly influential and sought after as a music collaborator.”