Roy Ayers plays the vibraphone like it's a weather system. Everybody Loves the Sunshine is less a song than a state of being -- three minutes of warmth that hip-hop has been sampling for 40 years. A jazz vibraphonist who went electric in the 1970s and became the godfather of neo-soul before the term existed.

He started playing with hard bop giants -- Herbie Mann, Jack Wilson -- but found his lane when he formed Ubiquity and started making jazz-funk that was as breezy as it was deep. Searching. Running Away. The vibraphone -- that shimmering, liquid sound -- became a lead instrument in a genre that had no use for it until Roy Ayers invented one.

He's been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and literally hundreds of hip-hop and r&b artists. Still touring, still vibing, still wearing the white suit. Everybody Loves the Sunshine. The vibraphone king. The sun is still out.

Roy Ayers -- Everybody Loves the Sunshine. The vibraphone king. Sampled by Tribe, Dre, and everyone. Still vibing.