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-soul vibraphonist and bandleader behind 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' whose music became the backbone for younger artists, dies at age 84.

A multi-genre music legend known as the Godfather of Neo Soul is dead at age 84. Roy Ayers, the jazz vibraphonist best known for the 1976 hit “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” died Tuesday in New York City, according to Variety. A cause of death was not announced, but his family said he had “a long illness.”

He helped introduce a funkier strain of the music in the 1970s. He also had an impact on hip-hop: His “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times.

Musicians have been paying tribute to the "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" icon, whose influence has shaped R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul.