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.

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.

Vibraphonist and soul jazz pioneer Roy Ayers died on Tuesday at age 84. His stunning 1976 anthem "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" has been sampled hundreds of times by artists from Tupac Shakur to Mary J.