Jazz-funk musician Roy Ayers died on Tuesday after a "long illness," his family announced in a statement shared to his social media accounts.

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.

Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk pioneer known for the hit “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” has died. He passed away on Tuesday (March 4) in New York City following a long illness. He was 84.