Music fans suffered a massive loss when Roy Ayers passed away at the age of 84 in early 2025. The tributes focused on one of his best known and loved songs, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” which is going to be a summer cookout jam forever.
Ayers’ collaborations with Eric Benet, Erykah Badu and a host of other Neo-soul artists earned him the title of the “Godfather of Neo-Soul.” Ayers was a jazz musician who came to the attention of the public playing be-bop in the 1960s and jazz fusion in the 1970s before adding funk, soul and Afro-Caribbean music to his artistic quiver.
That jazz training meant that Ayers could reimagine a song as beloved and well known as Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” and make it his own. Cooke was the master of the two minute pop song, and his buttery vocals and the dreamy arrangement made his 1957 a chart topper in 1957. Ayers took “You Send Me” and did what the greats do when reworking a classic. He found a way to make it his own, and that’s why this underappreciated cut is featured as a SoulTracks Lost Gem.
Ayers stretched the tune out to eight minutes and 27 seconds, and made it a duet and a love conversation by bringing on Carla Vaughn as a duet partner.
Vaughn’s power packed and rangy vocals combined with Ayers signature cool delivery makes for a compelling contrast. The arrangement combines the orchestral strings with Ayers’ distinctive brand of sensual jazz funk fusion. Check out Vibe Master, the late, great Roy Ayers magisterial reimagination of “You Send Me” here.
By Howard Dukes
