Musician Roy Ayers, 84, unexpectedly passed away on March 4, 2025, after struggling with an unknown illness. The news was confirmed through a heartfelt statement shared on behalf of Ayers’ family on Facebook, saying that he would be missed by everyone. The post also disclosed that a celebration of life is planned in the upcoming days.
Notably, Ayers was known as the “Godfather of Neo-Soul” for a long time. The record producer had a successful career as a solo artist, and he also established a band called Roy Ayers Ubiquity, alongside working as a composer. His fortune was estimated to be $10 million, as stated by Celebrity Net Worth.
Roy Ayers was also an expert in playing vibraphone, and while speaking to Bonafide magazine in 2021, he opened up about his fascination with the instrument, saying:
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“I became fascinated by it when my family bought me a set of vibes, so it was like a very important vehicle. I was gonna play the vibes naturally but when I was listening to certain songs that are using the same thing, it really made me feel good about it.”
In the same interview, Roy Ayers expressed his happiness that people sampled his music and that his favorite was Mary J. Blige, who sampled his single My Life. He also disclosed that he had loved collaborating with William Allen, Charles Tolliver, and Harry Whittaker.
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The Los Angeles, California native was active in the musical world since the ’60s. Celebrity Net Worth stated that he trained himself in instruments such as the piano during childhood and later started singing in the church choir.
However, his successful journey started after he obtained a recording contract, leading to the release of his first major project, West Coast Vibes. He also collaborated with Atlantic Records for three more albums, including Virgo Vibes, Stoned Soul Picnic, and Daddy Bug.
Although Roy Ayers had an opportunity to work with multiple record albums, he released more than ten albums with Polydor. A few of them also managed to reach the top of the Billboard chart, such as Mystic Voyage and Change Up the Groove. Apart from these, his album Everybody Love the Sunshine was sampled by many artists. He addressed the same in his interview with Bonafide magazine, by saying:
“I just wanna get paid, I just wanna get paid for all the hard work that I’ve done. I’ve done 91 albums, most of my peers haven’t done half of that.”
While speaking to the Nottingham Post in 2016, Roy Ayers also said that he had performed as part of tours in different cities and wanted to play in Middle Eastern countries. He also mentioned the reasons for the same, saying:
“That’s because so many of them are having problems, like Syria and Egypt. I always wanted to go to Egypt. But I’ve been to almost every other country in the world. I’ve been to China, Russia, Brazil, and of course I work a lot in the USA.”
Outside his solo career, Roy Ayers also composed the soundtrack of the action thriller film Coffy. He also played in the albums of other artists like Curtis Amy, Herbie Mann, and Jack Wilson. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Congress of Racial Equality in 2011.
Roy’s survivors include his wife, Argerie, and their children, Mtume and Ayana.
Edited by Maithreyi S
