Everybody Loves the Sunshine
The title track of the 1976 album, a staple of his live shows and a record that hip-hop producers have sampled well over a hundred times.
Roy Ayers, from Everybody Loves the Sunshine (1976)
- Written by
- Roy Ayers
- Released
- 1976
- Length
- 3:59
- Album
- Everybody Loves the Sunshine
"Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is the eighth track on the album, 3:59, written by Ayers. He told The Guardian in 2017, as quoted by NPR and KQED, that it was so spontaneous and felt wonderful, and that he knew the sound he wanted: vibraphone, piano and synthesizer. A search summary adds that the phrase came on a hot sunny day and that it was recorded at Electric Lady, which was not confirmed on a primary page. Pitchfork ranked it 72nd on its 2016 list of the 200 best songs of the 1970s.
Wikipedia says it has been sampled nearly 200 times, NPR and KQED over 100; samplers include Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige ("My Life"), Tupac and The-Dream. It has been covered by D'Angelo, Takuya Kuroda, the Robert Glasper Experiment and Seu Jorge, and KQED says it was a staple of his live shows for decades. Whether our upload is the studio take or a later one is unknown.
Covers and versions
- D'Angelo Listed among its covers.
- Robert Glasper Experiment Listed among its covers.
- Seu Jorge Listed among its covers.
More songs by Roy Ayers
Where to go next
Writing and criticism
- KQED: Roy Ayers dead at 84 An obituary with the Guardian quote.
- NPR obituary NPR's obituary.
Sources
- Everybody Loves the Sunshine, Wikipedia
- Roy Ayers dead at 84, KQED (2025-03)