QLS Classic: Roy Ayers

Jazz funk pioneer Roy Ayers talks about his early days in South Central LA, the strange way Miles Davis had of saying hello, learning from the great Fela Kuti in Nigeria, plus so much more.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
episode was produced by the team at Pandora. Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to Quest Love Supreme. Uh, this is Quest Love
Supreme Classic and this is Roy Airs episode in July
fIF twenty seventeen. We go back in time and explore

(00:23):
Roy's life and music and jazz and soul and funk
and disco and yeah, he's kind of the the proprietor
of Neil Soul. So we hope you enjoyed this QLs
classic with the Roy Airs.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Supremo Suprema Ro, Supremo, Supremo, Ro, Supremo, Supremo, Ro, Supremo
Supreme Us.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Loving the sunshine. Yeah, of the summer's sun. Yeah, should
we do? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:08):
Supreme Supremo Role, Calme Suprema.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Sock Supremo Role.

Speaker 5 (01:15):
My name is Fante yea. Some say I'm crazy, Yeah,
because we live there in Brooklyn, Baby.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
Rome Supreme So Supremo Role, cal Suprema something Supreme roll call.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
My name is Sugar. Yeah, I'm a little on moody. Yeah,
it's been a month since.

Speaker 6 (01:37):
Yeah, I got some star booty Supremo role.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Hospitals not crazy, Yeah or cuckoo. Aha. Yeah, but let
me kiss you on your poo pool.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
Supremo, role cal Suprema Son Son Supremo.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Roll call on paid bill. Yeah, came to share. Yeah,
I love the Sunshine. Yes, and Roy.

Speaker 4 (02:13):
Son Supreme Supremer Son Sign Supremo.

Speaker 7 (02:18):
Role call you.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
Yeah, what's your infatuation?

Speaker 7 (02:23):
What Roy is? It's the vibration.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
So we know we still doing Rome. My name is Roy.
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, I'm just trying trying
to forget that I'm playing.

Speaker 8 (02:43):
Roll Supremo, roll call, Suprema Son Supremo, roll call, Suprema
Son Suprema roll call Suprema some some supreme a roll call.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Damn you, Steve, those prop comedies. Steve actually had a
copy of Roy Star.

Speaker 9 (03:14):
Steve, you've been thinking about that for a long time,
even waiting I won.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
You've been winning. He's been winning for like the past. Like,
let's move on.

Speaker 10 (03:23):
I don't like you don't like the Sunshine Spotlight the
next transition.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Of course, that album was was done here, so yes,
we know made famous and juice here. Wait a minute,
we'll find out. Hello, this is your show? Can I
get him in a degree?

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Ladies, welcome to another classic informative episode of Quest Love Supreme. Yeah,
I am quest Love, I'm your host. I am on
the pictures now. And we have Fico on first base.
We got Bossville on the catcher's position.

Speaker 11 (03:58):
What is more of a cash No, no, no, no,
you know anyway, we got Sugar Steve in the center field.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Like the left field.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yeah, unpaid Bill is our third basement, and we got
ak Margaret. She is our shortstop.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
You're a sports references. We are on it and with
us the day. He's a quarterback. Who's the quarterback? And
with us the day.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Uh is a gentleman who has quietly stood the test
of time. UH for starting out in the burgeoning jazz
era of the sixties Los Angeles. UH, to the jazz
funk fusion of the seventies to the electro funk boogie
of the eighties. UH just to come full circle and
to watch his work come back in the form of

(04:55):
classic hip hop samples that have stood the test of
time in the nineties, and then to the neo soul
era of the early aughts and tens and basically our
guests Roy Airs to me is the black music world's
jeans and T shirt he sold Music's tuxedo something that
will never ever ever go out of style. Ladies and gentlemen,

(05:17):
please welcome back home to Electric Lady. This is Roy AIIRs.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
How you doing? Yes? All right?

Speaker 1 (05:29):
So we okay, all of us have been dying to
know because we are in the a room of Electric
Lady Studios in the village of New York. When's the
last time you were here?

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Well?

Speaker 1 (05:41):
Well, first of all, you've been here a few times
in recording, you know, with Erica and Kanye. But I
mean like during the Polydor years, Like how often did
you use the studio?

Speaker 3 (05:54):
I can't even remember, but now I can vaguely remember.

Speaker 6 (06:00):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
I used the studio so much that that I wore
engineers out. Really I wore engineers out because people like
Jerry Jerry Solomon, my god, Jerry Solomon and his wife
they said, wait, Roy, this is ridiculous. Jerry Solomon and

(06:22):
his wife they decided they were gonna go okay, And
so it's I said, get another engineer.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
So you would how long would your sassons be.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Sometimes, uh, you know, a day, the whole the whole day.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
So in true jazz mode, you would record an entire
album within the three days, No.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
No, no, I would I would do about three songs. Oh, okay,
three songs A lot, a lot, that's a lot. Yeah.
And what the song? Would you write them in the
studio at that time or would they be pre written?
Usually the written right right out. I paid putaid everything,
you know, like everybody loves the sunshine, just made it up. Really,

(07:12):
most of my most of my compositions were spontaneous. Really
they want to spontan Yeah, the spontaneous key. Everybody else
is doing doing whatever they do. But that's what I did.
It was really a lot of fun.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
Is it something about this room that makes people just
write on the spot and not prepare.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
Right like that? That seems to be a running thing.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
That's the only good narrative of studio am I I'm
assuming that Did you record in Studio A or Studio
B or I.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Did both both studios, both studios. They were really fantastic.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
Really, And what made you want to choose Electric Lady
of Like I know that a lot of artists that
have chosen the studio for the folklore Jimmy Hendrix and
just the location in the village.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
It was it was Jimmy, it was for Jimmy is right.
Jimmy was a wonderful person. Man.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
So even as a jazz guy, you you had respect
for the folklore of oh yeah really.

Speaker 7 (08:08):
Oh yeah, but you knew him, right, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
I knew Jimmy, but but I didn't know him that well,
you know, I knew him.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Okay, So yeah, knowing that you grew up in Los
Angeles part of my ignorance. But it's like for me,
I've I've already studied. I've always studied the history of
most jazz guys that came to New York, right, But
I never always knew that, like most guys in Los
Angeles felt similar to hip hop, that New York was

(08:40):
a real snobby place for the culture, and you know,
it was slow to give respect to them. So tell me,
especially in the sixties when you were were coming up
in in in the jazz world, like, what was the
jazz scene like in Los Angeles? Was there a scene
similar to New York like what New York had in
the forties.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
It was. It was a very very cool scene. You know,
people like uh, Teddy Pendergrass, I'm sorry, Teddy Edwards, I'm sorry,
excuse me, Teddy, Teddy Edwards and Harold Land and the
Gerald Wilson Big Band. My god, those all those, all

(09:20):
those guys were just fantastic. And I worked with Curtis
Curtis Amy, uh and and I worked did records with
Jack Wilson, did Jack Wilson Quartet. Oh man, it was
really a great thing. Uh. It was a great experience
for me. Truly a great experience.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
But was there I mean as far as the scene
was concerned, I know, like here, you know, Cats were
hardcore as far as like you being up on your
chops and and they're quated down you. I mean, most
people know the story of of Bird getting the symbol
thrown at him?

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Do you know the story?

Speaker 6 (09:59):
No?

Speaker 10 (09:59):
You know?

Speaker 3 (10:00):
Okay, now just se yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
I want to verify if you know it, then I
can explain, Uh, Charlie Parker, who's you know? I mean
one of the virtuos is of all time of sex
when he was first uh I forget not Men's Playhouse,
I forget the name of the club that he was in.
But Cats thought he was so bad that at one
point the drummer just took the riode symbol and threw

(10:21):
it aber to get him to.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
Stop playing to him.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
That was like, oh, I got to go back and practice,
and then he came back murdered a monster.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
He came back a monster.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
So what was it was it? Was there any other
viberphone players that was like, you know, eyeing your spot,
like okay, and Bobby Urchison he's also La based.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
Yeah, Pasadena, Pasaidva, California. I'm getting ready to go do
a what do you call it? A predude to his huh,
his demise he died? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you
know did you know? Didn't you know that? No?

Speaker 1 (11:01):
No, I knew he passed away, right right, Yeah, that's all.
But I didn't know he was from Los Angeles, Pasadena,
that's right, Pasadena, California.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
But when they had the Rose Parade and he was
like a genius. Man, he's a genius as far as
I'm concerned.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
Oh yeah, So was was receiving Lonald Hampton's drum You
told me the story before of Lonald Hampton giving you
a pair of right?

Speaker 3 (11:29):
Was that? What is that?

Speaker 1 (11:30):
What determined you to play vib phones or were you
a drummer or did you do others?

Speaker 3 (11:35):
I was I was really stuck on the vibes, you know,
I wanted to play the vibes. So lion Old Hampton
gave me a cent of vibrol phone malice, and of
course that that was I was five years old. I
always wanted to play the vibes. Lonah Hampton was my
was my he was my mentor. You know, everything was
wonderful man.

Speaker 1 (11:56):
Okay, So it's how would you were you? How are
you able to even practice or that? Because the vibraphones
are not the things that are easily transportable in that
time period. I know now you have devices that you
can pack up and you know, electronic vibraphones or whatever,
But how what was your practice method?

Speaker 3 (12:18):
Like? Uh, I played for quite a while, but I
was just on the piano. I had a piano there.
My mother played piano and taught piano lessons. But I
played the piano because I didn't have a set of vibes.
My folks bought me a set of vibes when I
was like seventeen years old. I drove them crazy.

Speaker 10 (12:44):
So for the instrumental dummies, though, miss Airs, let me
ask you what's the big What are the differences.

Speaker 7 (12:48):
Between the vibes and the the the piano?

Speaker 10 (12:50):
Like how hard was it to transition to the's the
same keyboard.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
It's a xylophone, you know. The xylophone is the same
as you know. So it's black kiys, white kids, you know,
the same thing.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
You grew up in South Central correct, it's right, South Central, La. So,
knowing what I know well, knowing what movies have told
me about South Central, I don't know if I can
trust the information or not. You know, if a lot
of times, you know, the problem is that most people
get their views of black people's lives via entertainment, the

(13:26):
music they produce in the movies and the television shows,
and they think that's real life. What was South Central
like during your childhood?

Speaker 3 (13:36):
Growing up? It was basically a drag sounth Central was was,
you know, I mean South Central? If you look at
all the guys like and I never met a lot
of the young guys, the younger, younger guys. It was
quite different. Man. It's quite different because I wouldn't even

(14:00):
exposed as as far as I got the exposure during
the time I was with Jeral Wilson and Jack Wilson
and and and it's really crazy.

Speaker 1 (14:11):
Growing up in your early childhood, what was South was
South Central Plague with gang activity was south Central mired
in trouble as as what I've known it to be
in the eighties or nineties, Like did you guys have
or were Did your parents take you out of that
and constantly keep you in music?

Speaker 3 (14:29):
My folks they loved me. They spent four four four,
four hundred dollars on my on a on a record
that I did. People don't even know about it, really
correct exclusive wow, no, no, but they don't even know

(14:50):
that I was a singer. Okay, I sang, you know,
I sang at a young, young, young age.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
I was like, so even before the Atlantic record.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
Oh you you were saying way before right? Oh damn,
I did not know about nobody. Nobody knew that. Where
are these records? At? Uh? Source? It was the Vowels
of Love. The group was called the Vowels of Love
and uh the Latin Latin lyrics with the Vowels of

(15:27):
Love and it's on Embassy Embassy records? So was this
close to uh like do wop or dop? Okay, Okay,
Ryan is woping?

Speaker 11 (15:40):
Man?

Speaker 3 (15:43):
I see?

Speaker 1 (15:44):
So what what drove you to jazz music?

Speaker 3 (15:48):
I mean, did you improvisation? Yeah? You know, improvisation? I
was I was. I was good. So you know, I
kept I kept playing and and H kept grooving. Do
Williams do you remember Deucy Williams? Familiarize me? He was
a producer on that album. Okay. Uh we did the
Vowels of Love and uh we did a song called

(16:12):
Stranded in the Jungle. Okay, God my god, it was
very nice. We did one record. Okay, do you still
have copies of those records?

Speaker 9 (16:24):
No?

Speaker 1 (16:25):
I have one copy still in your possession right now.

Speaker 3 (16:28):
I have one copy. Right, somebody sent it to me.
It's like a forty five record. Yeah, it's a forty
five right.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
Okay, which one of us is going to volunteer to
go digitize it so it could be preserved in history.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
I got that. I want to hear it. I want
to I want to hear this.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
So, so, when did you get serious about jazz music?
Like leaving oh, leaving doop?

Speaker 3 (16:55):
And I was always serious about jazz, you know, so,
I you know, I was a very serious serious about it.
It was very very personal to me, you know. Uh.
As a as a matter of fact, Uh, I had
uh I had most most not not everything, but most

(17:17):
of Linoampton's records. Okay, and of course the m j
Q and and uh Bobby Hutchison. Bobby. Bobby did very
well with me. He was a very progressive vibeist. As
a matter of fact, I looked at looked at his plane.
I looked advanced, its performing, and it was fantastic. He

(17:41):
was a year younger than me. Oh really when he
passed in nine, seventy five, seventy five years old. I'm
seventy six. So it's kind of weird. It seems like
I'm getting all the work now. No, I'm serious, but

(18:03):
I'm getting so much work, which is good. I'm not complaining.
I'm just saying I'm be getting all of it now.
But but it's all right, it's all right, it's cool.

Speaker 7 (18:13):
But what's that like? A seventy six though? What is
that like like?

Speaker 3 (18:16):
Now?

Speaker 7 (18:16):
You you tour a lot.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
I mean it's great beause tour all the time, right
all the time. I just came back from Australia.

Speaker 10 (18:23):
Wow, what is that like though for you? Now that
you getting just so popular and like I'm tired.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
I no, no, no, but I'm tired when I'm when
I when I when I'm get tired. But you know,
so I'm awake. When I'm awake, I'm kicking ass. I'm serious.
You know I've seen you. I know you are, that's right. Yeah, No,
you came to my city. This was I think it

(18:48):
was a year two ago.

Speaker 5 (18:49):
You played the Article Festival in Durham, North Carolina, and
I came and saw you.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
It was it was amazing, Thank you, It was amazing. Yeah,
I just say that.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
Even we did a show with you once, the Roots
that I showed with you in Brighton, England, and there
was a trick that you used to do with the
solos where you know, all of you stopped playing your
instruments and you just start scatting the solos the Roots.

Speaker 3 (19:13):
Try that once once, never again. No, it's just because you.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
One thing we didn't know is that you are easily
out of breath after nineteen seconds of scatting, and you
know these guys were doing efforts effortlessly for like six minutes.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
So yeah, that was that.

Speaker 1 (19:32):
Was a short lived you know, I understand that that
was hard to do. So how did you hook up
with Herbie mann h.

Speaker 3 (19:42):
A friend of mine, Reggie Workman from Philadelphia. Yeah, Reggie,
Reggie Workman from Philadelphia, E said Roy Herbie Man's in town.
He needs a bye player. I called him up, got
in touch with him. He said, hey, can you can
you come play with me tonight? I said, no problem.
I hooked up the gig. The rest was straight ahead.

(20:04):
It was great with Herbie Man, it was wonderful. Man.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
How many years did you I did?

Speaker 3 (20:10):
Four years? Really four years. I was also his roadie,
also a member of this band. Okay, you're also the
road and yeah, which y'all helped me to understand the road.
The road. Understand it's very complicated. Sometimes it can be

(20:30):
very confusing, you know.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
So you would also drive the trucks in the equipment and.

Speaker 3 (20:34):
Well, you know, whatever we had to do. We flew everywhere. Okay,
Herbie did very well. Okay, now explain this to me
because again, like with.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
The way that I tour, now, there are backline rental
companies there at your beck and call to set things
up for you exactly and.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
To have it there.

Speaker 1 (20:58):
How like did you live in a fifth story walk
up apartment? Like how would you get your viberphones two
and from gigs effortlessly or would they already be because
not like a piano, it's not like it's something that's
just commonly there. So how do you get your your

(21:19):
your instruments to and from gigs?

Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, yep, we'd have a special truck, a special guy
to transport it. They would actually put put it away,
you know, put everything away based based drums, piano, guitar,
and Herbie Mann, and sometimes we would add other individuals
like you know, Jimmy Owens, who are or whoever? Wow? Yeah,

(21:47):
yeah it was. It was nice orgasm.

Speaker 6 (21:50):
So did you play on any Herbie Mann albums?

Speaker 3 (21:55):
Oh? Yeah, he was on Atlantic, right, he's on Atlantic.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, I did Live Out, you got your deal with
Atlantic initially Picnic and all that stuff.

Speaker 3 (22:05):
I was performing with Jack Wilson the first time, Jack
Wilson Quartet okay Man, and then we did Herbie Man
with with the of the organization. Was very nice.

Speaker 1 (22:20):
Did you have a relationship with I met Urdigan and
Jerry Exley like the cats at Atlantic, Like.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, I know, I knew. I knew both of them,
but uh.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
Because he only stayed for like three records, And always
wondered because you know, they they seem like, at least
from my perspective, a jazz friendly label. But for some
reason I always noticed that a lot of their artists
would leave after somewhere between three to five years to
go somewhere else to do right. You know, the same
with Coltrane, like, you know, to have a fruitful career exactly.

Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, I agree with that. I agree with that.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
So was it that you just felt that they were
more of a soul label and really not adapt to
marketing jazz?

Speaker 3 (23:02):
Believe? I believe that they could everything. They could do everything.
They did everything everything, okay, jazz, blues, soul, whatever, they
did a lot of stuff, man, you know, you know
it was. It was a good record company, man, very
good company. Okay.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
So what made you what made you go to Polydor
in the early seventies.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
I left the company. I went to another company. It
was a better deal. Oh okay, it was a much
better deal. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:32):
I was going to say, you and James Brown I
believe were the first James Brown, Yeah, you, James Brown
and mandrou I believe were the first signees to Polydor Records,
and I was there before him.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
In nineteen seventy correct.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah, yeah, so for you it was just a better
deal business wise, and yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah it was very nice. It was a very nice deal.

Speaker 1 (23:59):
I guess infusing funk music into your jazz. I mean,
it seemed like a radical idea at the time. So
can you talk about the effects of the idea of
fusion not playing straight ahead jazz, but more or less
cats starting to infuse rap music into their jazz and

(24:21):
soul music into their jazz, and.

Speaker 3 (24:24):
You know where people were.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
Did you see this as the future adding more rhythm
to your jazz as opposed to just straight ahead shuffle,
which you know, I mean, there was no evidence of
that by the time you got to If anything, I
think you planted the seeds of what will be neo
soul absolutely twenty years later. So I'm just explain what
was your philosophy as far as the music you wanted

(24:47):
to present, like just with the whole mysticism and the
vibes and just like what was your philosophy, Like what
were you trying to present to the people that was
way different than your straight ahead stuff.

Speaker 3 (25:00):
I was just trying to present the music and that
I love, and uh, I can tell that it was
it was. It was represented through uh the trials and
tribulations of the music to that I felt the vibe,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I can get it.

(25:21):
I felt the vibe. It was just the vibe, the
vibe to teach, especially to teach like the songs like
searching and and and and the beautiful things that I'd said,
I'd set it musically.

Speaker 6 (25:34):
So besides jazz stuff, what what what other types or
what other bands were you listening to at the time
that you were nick in the early seventies, were in
the sixties, Well, you know.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
I was listening to Herbie Hancott and to uh, you know,
Chick Korea, several different styles, and of course, of course
I always had my favorite Miles Davis. If Miles Davis,
this is my favorite artist, you know.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
So at the time when uh like on the corner
and a lot of Miles is more deeper.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
Post pitches and stuff, were you digging that? Because I
know a lot.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
Of jazz heads were like, I don't know, Miles, you
might have felt the deep end, but did.

Speaker 3 (26:16):
That speak to you? I was checking him out, of course.
Of course that that did teacher teach me. It taught
me a lot, taught me a lot about music. You know,
Miles was an innovator man. He was great. Miles Davis
was one of the great ones, as far as I'm concerned, did.

Speaker 7 (26:35):
You ever get a chance to meet him or talk
to him?

Speaker 3 (26:37):
Yep? Did. The great thing about it that Herbie Hancock
told me, you know, when you meet Miles, Miles will
hit you in the stomach. And he hit me in
the stomach. He knocked, knocked the fuck out of me.
You know it's coming. I knew it was coming, but

(26:58):
he didn't know I was coming. He said, oh, you're
in shape. So it was funny. So Miles Davis was
so great. Uh oh he was. He was wonderful. But
when I went to his house, I wanted to film
him because I wanted to film, get get him on film,

(27:20):
and he didn't didn't didn't let me. I bought a
camera in but I told the cat take it home.
Uh he was. He was magnificent. He's a great guy.

Speaker 1 (27:35):
What's the concept of the ubiquity albums? Because some of
your albums were straight up roy Airs and then there
were roy Airs ubiquity, Like was it meant to b
side projects?

Speaker 3 (27:47):
Also?

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Was Edwin Birdsong a part of that? Or was he
just so collaborate?

Speaker 3 (27:51):
Edwin Burdsong was part of that, that's right, okay, part
of the whole Ubiquity family. But by God, Evan Birdsong
is in California, also with Murder Williams and Mariana Williams
is the individual that told me get get got me
interested in in ubiquity. And I said, what does that mean?

(28:11):
She said to me the state of being everywhere at
the same time, mm hmm, And I said, all right,
so I can tell people I can be everywhere if
you have one of my elbows. So you know, no,
it's caught on very well, it's very it's a very

(28:31):
good line. Uh, you know, it's uh, it's interesting. I
use the ubiquity now now I use roy Air's production period.
You know. Uh, I guess we changed with all the
all the enlightenment, enlightenment everything of everything else.

Speaker 1 (28:49):
You know what I'm saying, Bill, Yeah, yeah, you have
on an old logo earth Winding Fire T shirt that
told me it's development to today. Why why is your
old logo earth wind Fire?

Speaker 9 (29:02):
It would actually be more relevant if I was wearing
some white shorts and some white sneakers because it's a
reference to the song.

Speaker 10 (29:10):
Oh yes, because just what he was.

Speaker 9 (29:15):
To do the earth, Because he says what he's wearing
in the song that he's talking about. He was wearing
his white white T shirt with with earth, wind and
fire inscribed on the front, and his white shorts and
some white sneakers.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
And you couldn't tell you. You couldn't tell he wasn't clean. Steve,
he beat you. You couldn't tell you.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
Technically, Yes, Steve, we gotta take it back.

Speaker 3 (29:37):
Technically. Let's how you guys roll taking back? I get
it now. You got way deep on that.

Speaker 7 (29:46):
Yeah, you still tell that so every every show you
do too?

Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah, I do do it everyere everyone. I love that.
I love that record. I love that record. It's it's
pretty difficult because you have to do it. You add
on things to it.

Speaker 7 (29:59):
I thought you were.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
I did.

Speaker 3 (30:03):
So somebody says, uh, you do. I'm not gonna do
that one tonight. And I do that one tomorrow night,
and they'll let you audience cool, that's right, It's okay.

Speaker 10 (30:15):
Okay, you not being an audience like to tell me
about it.

Speaker 1 (30:21):
Add on to it like the aristocrats joke, like have
more things?

Speaker 3 (30:26):
Okay, yes, something else? I mean that.

Speaker 1 (30:30):
I have so many questions about your your your songs
in particular. First of all, was it what was your
what was your ideology as far as trends were concerned,
because when I really got familiar with you, I was
six or seven years old when Freaky Deey was like

(30:54):
immensely popular and unavoidable on black radio.

Speaker 3 (30:58):
And you know, it's like.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
I thought of you as a disc artist. I mean
because again I'm seven years old, that's you know what
I mean, Like you be on soultry and all that stuff.
So I didn't realize of your jazz background and knowing
that stuff. And really like not until hip hop did
I really put all the pieces together that you just
morphed into whatever. But you know, by the time the

(31:26):
mid seventies came around.

Speaker 3 (31:28):
Did you.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
I mean, was it label? Was it label pressure like okay,
you got to come up with something, or was it
just like you wanted to hear your clubs and disco
You want to hear your music and discos now?

Speaker 3 (31:40):
And I don't know, you know, it's it's a versatility,
is like is my key this being versatile and very creative?
And I guess when you look at it though, the

(32:00):
whole spectrum, the whole spectrum of music, you just gotta
just deal with it. As as far as I'm concerned,
you gotta deal with the fact the facts of grooving.
You know, just the groove is is in the ansence
of what I'm talking talking about.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
So disco was not a four letter word to you,
not like well, you.

Speaker 3 (32:26):
Know, everything everything is relative to me, Everything is related.
All the stuff is related. You know. I've I've seen
a lot of artists uh uh play play funk. When
when Herbie Hancock plays funky, it's it's funk. But if
you if you check him out, everybody's been with me

(32:47):
several times, several times on several albums, and he is
it's so so fantastic with his creativity. His creative level
is so immense, it's it seems it's crazy. I mean
when you when you think about Herbie, Herbie had Herbie

(33:08):
had cock and and you really talk about his music,
He's enormous. It's incredible. So uh, you know, it's it's
so fantastic.

Speaker 5 (33:23):
It's funny you mentioned uh, I mean you were talking
about your first time you remember hearing his music was
with Freaky Dicky. I think my first a song I
can remember hearing on the radio. I was god, I
couldn't been him one of five years old, but it
was actually it was Program for Love, man and and
and I didn't put it together until later on that like,

(33:45):
oh this is the same guy that did everybody loved
the Sunshine like it was because you know when you
talk about how everything was relative to you, the thing
I always thought was about your music was that you
never you always seem to wherever the trends were whatever,
like the younger cats were doing. Always like that, you
seem to embrace the younger generation, like just from what

(34:07):
I could tell, I mean even with a record like
Program for Love at that time that was like a
drum machine record, but it had you still playing and
it sounded current. It sounded like something that was on
the record that was like eighty five eighty six on that.

Speaker 3 (34:20):
But yeah, I always thought that was dope.

Speaker 5 (34:22):
Has that always been just a driving philosophy of yours to.

Speaker 3 (34:25):
Look at the youth and try to help him or
that was produced by produced by James? To me, it
makes perfect sense.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Wait, so it's something I went hot, Yeah, I'm trying
to program it's like a slow joining. When he was
on Soul Train, that was his second song Chang, Yeah
that's my ship.

Speaker 5 (34:52):
But that was that was the first as record I
remember like hearing as a kid and uh yeah, man,
it's crazy.

Speaker 3 (34:58):
James the gas Man. He's a great guy. Man, he's
a great, wonderful guy. So on on your on your
earlier records.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
The a lot of the themes of afrocentricity are definitely,
uh uh just prevalent throughout all all of your works,
you know, with.

Speaker 3 (35:22):
Speaking of Africa.

Speaker 1 (35:23):
And and and infusing red, black and green imagery and
and you know, black skin and those things like for you,
like what made you even want to go in that
direction when you know the idea of afrocentricity.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
Was rarely a thing heard.

Speaker 1 (35:44):
I know, like a lot of you know, maybe the
Earth whenever, Yeah, like self discovery was just coming into play,
but you know that the idea of afrocentricity was still
brand new. Like what made you, especially with those first
five records on Polydor go there?

Speaker 3 (36:01):
Yeah, Africa, That's that's it. The key is Africa. Africa
is in the center of the world. The world is
rounding and stuff like that. But it's Africa is so beautiful, man,
it's so so so beautiful. Fella Kuti. He is in
the mind. He grabs your mind, he grab me, grabbed

(36:25):
my mind. Certainly. Man, it was so wonderful. I mean,
you have to understand everybody doesn't relate to Africa, but
they relate to Africa, but they don't. They don't really
go to Africa. They don't go there. I've got one
you first go there, man, first time I went there?
By God, Wait a minute, that's a good question. Okay,

(36:53):
I went there in nineteen seventy nine, seventy seventy seventy eight.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
The first time you went with FLA it's I was
with the failure with oh Man, and that was that.

Speaker 7 (37:03):
I went to Nigeria. Is that straight? In Nigeria?

Speaker 3 (37:07):
I went to Nigeria and I went to say that again?

Speaker 1 (37:10):
What was it like at this? I assume you went
to the shrine?

Speaker 3 (37:13):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (37:14):
What was that experience like to go to the shrine
in its prime?

Speaker 3 (37:17):
Like? What was it like? Heavy? And how did you
two hook up?

Speaker 6 (37:23):
Like?

Speaker 3 (37:23):
Who hooked you to up? I had an attorney, an
attorney that was dealing with the Africans, African people and
he is from from uh He's from from Nigeria, Nigeria,
r He's from. He said, you you should go to Africa, Roy,
you should go to Africa because there's a musician, I

(37:44):
want you to meet. And I went over there to
meet Fella and I paid for the whole tripnetto uh
the musician and an engineer. My god, I paid for
all the It was very expensive, man, and.

Speaker 1 (38:03):
You went there a sight unseen, like just based on it.

Speaker 3 (38:05):
I just yet. It was based on conversation with him,
with the African, the African brother. But it was it
was wonderful. I mean when when when I when I
met Fella, you gave me a big hug. It was
like it's like it was like it very very very

(38:26):
weird when you when you saw these people and all
the people he bought about seventy people and everybody, this
is this is my family. Oh oh man, it was
it was, it was, it was. It was fantastic. You
can't imagine. Well, my head was was spinning, man, it was.

(38:47):
It was a motherfucker my language it was something else.
It was. Uh, it's it's heavy when you think about that,
you know, and you think about the thoughts that think
about the craziness. And then I did a rehearsal with

(39:08):
with Fella. Oh man, these all these musicians, they don't
read any music, but they conceptually the saxophonists, all all
of everybody, the dances, the dances, all his wives are dancing.
Oh it's it's, it's, it's, it's it's unbelievable. When you

(39:29):
see it, you say, oh, ship, because you can't believe it.
It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable because this guy was really a genius.
Man he was. I couldn't believe how you could teach
teach everybody their parts. Oh man, Oh wow, it was amazing.

(39:51):
It was amazing. So how songs go for it? Like?
How long was the average show? Sometimes when the power
goes out, Oh, the drums, the drums remained playing, the
drums playing, So they wait till the power goes back on,
and then he keeps on. He played for at least
three hours. Oh man, it was, Oh it was it

(40:15):
was great. I wish I had a time and scene
just to go back to see that.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
What did you guys ever record and you kind of
see that, No, did you record it on your own personal?

Speaker 3 (40:24):
I have something I'm cool with it.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
I get the feeling that your storage unit. I know
for a fact that your storage unit has magic in
it because the first time, the first time I met
you and you were just casual, like, yeah.

Speaker 3 (40:48):
I gotta you know.

Speaker 1 (40:50):
You said to me, I got about sixty yeels that
pobly door and never seen.

Speaker 3 (40:55):
This is right before.

Speaker 1 (40:59):
Yeah, And he was just like, yeah, I got a
lot of artifacts you know that people haven't seen yet.

Speaker 3 (41:03):
And I was like, yo, man, make you know.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
Do you need historians to rummage those things just to
hear you?

Speaker 5 (41:12):
So you would record stuff and then just not turn
it into the labels? Is that how you Is that
how you work?

Speaker 3 (41:17):
Exactly? That's that's how I did work. That's what's up man,
word up finess. You really understand the whole industry. It's
like it's real fucked up. It's real fucked up up?
Is it roight? Hey man? It's very fun up.

Speaker 7 (41:39):
Bullet the most fucked up about it.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
But they take all the money? Well, is that they
take all the money?

Speaker 1 (41:45):
Was there ever a law in your uh in your business? Like,
was there ever a time it's like damn, I can't
get no work? Or I always felt like you were
constantly I mean because you did projects of Wayne Henderson
and the Crusaders, I believe and for it, So I'm
thinking that you're always working like.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
Well, I'm I work most of the time.

Speaker 1 (42:08):
So down period where it's like, okay, I don't know,
this might be the end of the road, and well.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
That's a down period. But the down period it gets
better and it continues to get better as you, as
you will probably grow in your life, you'll see it
to get better. I see, how did your records? How
would they selling and polo at the time, and what
was the standard for what they considered a successful record. Oh,

(42:39):
it's interesting. Uh, you know, I was making two hundred
two hundred thousand dollars some two hundred two hundred period
four hundred thousand a year for every time you turn
the record, every time a record, right, every time I
turn the record. They had it so fucked up. Excuse me,

(43:00):
but they had so fucked up. And I was sitting
on the record, and the promotion people said, hey, he's
got another album coming out, and we haven't finished with
this single, which is the other single. They were crazy,
So you're moving too fast for them. Well that's right,
they were moving too fast. Seriously, they were moving too fast,

(43:25):
and I was fucked up. You know this, Oh ship,
this is great, you know.

Speaker 1 (43:31):
So you were basically saying you were basking in the
glory of that time period and kind of glory of
the dollars I.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
See, right, every day everything was cool, but they started
getting too organized and then they fucked it all up. Well,
they fucked it up. They fucked it up.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
That leads me to your production projects, because there's two
side projects that you worked on that, although it didn't
make initial noise when they came out, Uh, both of
them found life years later once hip hop both discovered them. Uh,
Sylvia Straplan and A Striple I'm sorry, and the RAMP project.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
Right.

Speaker 1 (44:19):
So is RAMP basically the roy As Bigger Ubiquity Record
minus roy Airs or was that a total?

Speaker 3 (44:28):
Actually r a M P. Roy As Music Productions right? Right?

Speaker 1 (44:32):
But that particular band was was that also the band
that you utilized for your projects or you they were
separate from.

Speaker 3 (44:39):
I got a completely separate band and I used them
to to create the group.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
Okay, you know because in my head I just thought
that they were the band that you would use on
Running Away and all the other stuff without you on it,
per se. Right, But but let's go there, they were
holding their entity exactly. Could you explain those projects and
why you chose to work with them. Are they from Ohio?

(45:06):
They're from Ohio, Okay. I discovered them on social media
recently and they're you know, like they're from Ohio doing
tours and that sort of thing. So how did you
how did you run into those guys?

Speaker 3 (45:19):
I met him? I can't I can't even remember when
I met her, but I know I met the the
leader of the band. It's named John Uh. Uh yeah, John.
I met him and and and he agreed with me.
John Manuel Manuel.

Speaker 1 (45:35):
Damn right, that's supreme.

Speaker 3 (45:40):
We do our home. We Google. You didn't. I don't
even Google.

Speaker 1 (45:45):
That's like Google, You're Google?

Speaker 7 (45:51):
Right, good things, John Manuel.

Speaker 3 (45:54):
But I met him and he produced helped me produce
the records. Man, I signed a contract with uh ABC
ABC Records? Right? So yeah, so was what was the deal?

Speaker 1 (46:11):
Why did why didn't you bring that project to Polydor
as opposed to another Why did you bring into another label?
Or you just had a separate production deal with a separate.

Speaker 3 (46:25):
Production deal with with with uh what's that guy's name? ABC?

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Black Bob uh the president of ABC. The vice president
just passed away. Damn Now I needuary.

Speaker 3 (46:46):
I wrote, did you say you say the vice president
a president?

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Well, I know that he this particular guy was fond
of the project even though it didn't sell that well
for him on the label. But I'm forgetting his name
right now. But he recently just passed away. Damn, I'm bad.
This is this is a fail for Quest Love Supreme.

(47:11):
We'll go back to it. I have no problem.

Speaker 3 (47:14):
But uh, it was a good deal. It's a great
deal as a matter of fact.

Speaker 1 (47:21):
H I don't I don't think probably did you did
you feel vindicated like once hip hop had discovered it
and really brought it to life, because I felt that
that album really didn't.

Speaker 3 (47:32):
Oh didn't it really didn't do the max or whatever?

Speaker 1 (47:36):
So were you were you shocked in the nineties when
suddenly like it's you know, it came I'll say that
of the Holy Grail Records too, to own or obtain
that ramp to find you know, a copy of that
ramp red everybody knows the right.

Speaker 3 (47:53):
Yeah that that was like they like, yeah Daylight right, well.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
They had a copy of they had a version yeah
kwai as it kept. Yeah, the brand newbie version of
Everybody Loves Sunshine on that ramp.

Speaker 3 (48:07):
Yeah, but that paid for that, so it sold sold
a lot of records. They sold a lot of records.
They didn't tell you, guys whatever, but they sold a
lot of records.

Speaker 1 (48:19):
I know because I paid a lot for it, exactly.

Speaker 3 (48:22):
That's what I'm saying. They sold a lot of records.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
So talk about the Sylvia, uh, the Sylvia Strepplin album,
Like what was at the time? How did how did
you you guys? Was she always a part of your
camp or how did you guys meet?

Speaker 3 (48:39):
Well? I met her and she was she was working
at the Whiz and uh, Stephanie Mills. Stephanie Mills never
ever got sick at all. She was Stephanie Mills assistant
and she was going on stage. She never she never

(49:03):
went on stage. She never ever went on stage period
because Stephanie was never ill, ill or anything for the Wiz.
But the Wiz okay, I didn't know she was so
so what happened is that she died. She died. I
didn't even know that she died. This is only a

(49:25):
few more she died. Oh my god, I was a
manager and she died. But this is all when when
when I took place, when she got on the label.
Oh man, I didn't even know that she died. She
was so sad.

Speaker 1 (49:45):
So what were those sessions, like, I'm sorry, the sessions
with Sylvia?

Speaker 3 (49:50):
Oh, they were wonderful. She was Oh she was great.
She was great. She was a very unique, very unique artist.
And a lot of people are still requesting, did I
sell sell those sell those things?

Speaker 1 (50:02):
Hell yeah, I mean Chicago alone considers give me a
love classic that has saved me many.

Speaker 3 (50:10):
A night out of Chicago DJ Gig.

Speaker 1 (50:12):
I learned early like if you're if you're set is failing,
you turn that on and blamoy, your party comes alive. Oh,
it comes super alive. You signed to Sony? I believe
CBS did Lark and Arnold signed you to? Uh say
that again, Lark and Arnold? Did he sign you to

(50:34):
your Columbia deal in eighty three?

Speaker 3 (50:37):
I did No. I never did work with Arnold? Okay, okay,
I never worked with him.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
How did you come to Sony or Sony Columbia back then?

Speaker 3 (50:46):
Barty Door signed to Sony. Really, I never even knew
about it until I found out.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
I was Oh, ship, I'm on another lab, I'm on
another So they just transferred.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
You to Sony. They didn't give a damn. That's right,
that's crazy. I know, but that this is intermingling is
up there of the industry? Oh man, sucked up right?
I did not know that. Yeah, it's crazy. Man.

Speaker 1 (51:17):
The things I learned when quest of Supreme one one
question I had, Well, see, I felt that they were
super supportive of you because there's a moment and Michael
Jackson is the way you make me feel video.

Speaker 3 (51:34):
And which.

Speaker 1 (51:38):
They used your your hot song. Yeah that was hot
songs like freaking thirty seconds like at the beginning, and
never really noticed like.

Speaker 3 (51:47):
Have you seen so the first thirty seconds right when
Michael's like, hey, I complained about it. You didn't think
that was great? Wait? No, I complained about it because
they didn't ain't me it's any money? Whoa, oh that said,
where's the money?

Speaker 1 (52:06):
I see, it's it's see that's where in my head.
I was like wow, like because you know, back they
were still running Michael Jackson's yea, they would stop TV right,
And I felt like, oh man, this is really a
good look for roy Airs.

Speaker 3 (52:23):
Not if they ain't paid that man no money. They
didn't give me no money. It ain't funny. It ain't funny, man,
they ain't give me the money. I said, Oh, shit.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
So you you didn't see it as oh, I'm getting
exposed to new artists or to a new audience and.

Speaker 3 (52:45):
Exposed me. Man, I put all my cousins down with them.

Speaker 1 (52:48):
I'm like, oh, this is Roy Airs who and like
explained to him what hot was because you know, and
also like how you said James and too many produced
that entire record.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
No, no, he produced one, two, three, four songs O
four songs. That's right.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
Who produced the hot single? The lead single Hot?

Speaker 3 (53:08):
I'm trying to think, what's what song you say? Did
you say, uh, hot? Oh? That hot?

Speaker 1 (53:15):
James them to me, That's what I'm saying, Yeah, okay,
did it feel good to have that?

Speaker 10 (53:20):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (53:20):
Man, well that was a comeback single for you at
the time, so we had.

Speaker 3 (53:23):
A groove you damn that was very very nice. I
was being fantastic with James and to me and then
uh uh what's sash? Bon't play this? Garry No no trump?

Speaker 5 (53:42):
Right?

Speaker 3 (53:42):
They were both good, good producers, man, very very good.
And Rick James is very good. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
I was gonna say, because you did a lot of
work right on everyone else's records, I believe that's you
scatting at the end of the fire and desire on
street songs. That's right on the fade out street songs.

Speaker 3 (54:02):
That is that you do. That's right, that's right. I
played played on that and that was real nice. And
he told me, uh Rick James told me. He said,
he said, because this, he said, this guy's this. This
works with me. He says, you gotta watch this, watch
this guy, because he would stab you in the back.

(54:24):
I got a contract with him before he died. My god,
did he die? I didn't that damn it died just
so quick.

Speaker 10 (54:33):
Man.

Speaker 3 (54:33):
You two were going to do a project together. No,
we already did a project. We did the project, we
got got the the music is being sold right now,
double trouble. I think it was.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Hey wait, you've heard this.

Speaker 3 (54:45):
They got a version of Everybody Loves the Sunshine. Hey man, James,
he got version version of Everybody Loves such it's the
best version of all of all. Is this available one?

Speaker 5 (55:00):
I have it?

Speaker 3 (55:00):
I have it available. I will personally, No, I'll give
you a record, take the record. I should have bought
it today. Damn fucked up. I tried. Wow that damn

(55:21):
how did this? I don't have to sneak past me
because it's interesting. Right, people don't even know what's happening. Right,
you have a copy of Yeah, I got a copy of.

Speaker 6 (55:32):
No?

Speaker 3 (55:33):
I've you got copies? I don't. I don't have a copy.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
I don't like a copy. I don't have a copy.
But yeah, h Bill has a copy. Wow, shocker. So
what did you When did you first meet brick James?

Speaker 3 (55:47):
Oh? Years ago? That was he the villain. This is
gonna be the best story you're going to tell. It's
probably been very good. It's a very good story. But uh,
he was Uh my god? Is that research? You know?
He was very aware of, aware of He was very defiant.

(56:10):
M hm. He defied. They didn't want to funk with
him a motile. They do that, they have to kill him.
I'm serious. I'm serious man. He was a rebel. It
was some very freaky ship. I'm serious, man. I believe

(56:33):
you because he said, Hey, don't fuck with me because
I'm Ricky James. That's right, I'm serious man. He was serious. Man.

Speaker 1 (56:45):
What other what other albums have you or songs have
you appeared on that we might not know of? At
least during that time period. I appeared on a very
a very very very good guy. Uh, Yeah, what's this
guy name only he's crazy? But that's almost only saying
that he looks a little crazy. But uh uh, who's

(57:09):
who's who's the the guy.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
Is on Sony Uh Tony Records. It's a big artist,
big big who is that? Said Billy Joel? Billy Joe?

Speaker 7 (57:24):
What's what fun?

Speaker 3 (57:25):
It was almost like this, Yeah, what's Billy Joe?

Speaker 7 (57:33):
What you want to what happened to him?

Speaker 3 (57:35):
No? No, no, Steve was joking about Billy Joe. There's
the guy that it plays on Sony plays.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
I think keyboard John Legend, Uh keyboards, Sony?

Speaker 3 (57:54):
I need is he?

Speaker 1 (57:56):
Is?

Speaker 3 (57:56):
He a young he's young, young, young, he's probably twenty
years old, twenty twenty forty twenty two right.

Speaker 7 (58:04):
Now, right man, I play I played his wrong room.

Speaker 3 (58:08):
Wait, we have this guy like, how could I this is?
This is he'sheny. He's a young guy. Now this is today.
Maybe he's twenty two, you know, twenty three or something
like that. But you know what, and he plays, Wait,
I know that you are on Tyler the Creative. Here
we go again. That's right, damn okay.

Speaker 7 (58:27):
That song is dope.

Speaker 3 (58:28):
He called me and he said he said, they said
I want you he said, let me, let me, let me,
let me, let you play some music. I'm good, let you.
I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (58:38):
When when Tyler was on the Tonight Show, I remember
him running up to me saying, yo man, in the
same sort of ambiguous, puzzling way.

Speaker 3 (58:47):
He just laid to me like ran off and I
was like okay.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
And then later on and now now suddenly the circle
the story comes full circle before you is later like,
oh that's what.

Speaker 10 (59:02):
No, wait, how did Tyler get the golden ticket to
get you? Because I'm sure he's not the first young.

Speaker 3 (59:06):
Dude he called me up. He had people called me
up and I said, yeah, this is Roy. He said,
Roy did yeah, you could you do some something on
my album? I said, sure, you send it up. He
sent me the record. It was three songs. He said
to put it on all of them. I put it
on all of them, all of them, and I played it.

(59:30):
He's a very he's a very nice artist.

Speaker 7 (59:32):
He's I liked him, he's interested.

Speaker 1 (59:37):
Wait now, now I think about it. Now, I'm thinking
of every Rick James production, every knowing that we're vibrantphones
on it. So I guess I can also assume that
that's you on All Night Long at the end of U. Yeah,
the vibe from Yeah, well, well the song the songs

(59:59):
I played on.

Speaker 3 (01:00:02):
I forgot the name of it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
You're definitely all on it along. I mean, assuming that
you're that viberphone it's doing the same time period. Yes,
I believe that is you. You were also on the
Jasmin Taz project Google. That's the first time I met you.
What I didn't know was the the the album the

(01:00:26):
first time that you collaborate with the roots.

Speaker 3 (01:00:28):
When we did.

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
Proceed for the Red Hot you wantative sing right, Yeah,
I remember.

Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
I want to know why y'all didn't do that? Man,
I gotta done that, man. You know it was put
on as the last minute.

Speaker 1 (01:00:45):
But what I didn't know was that time magazine declared
that album album of the year.

Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
Oh it did the Red Hot and Cool. Yeah. When
I did my research, I was like, oh, that.

Speaker 10 (01:00:58):
Was an awesome album like that Proede.

Speaker 1 (01:01:07):
So yeah, I meant for you know, we were slumming
in London at the time, but no, it was it
was that that to me, that that whole experience that
was the.

Speaker 3 (01:01:17):
That was the first time.

Speaker 1 (01:01:20):
I mean, excluding Cassandra Wilson and and and Steve Coleman,
who even though they were jazz monsters in their own rights,
like we all, we almost felt like they were more
family than anything. Like I didn't know how powerful Cassandra
Wilson was until I really did the research.

Speaker 3 (01:01:39):
So like, in my eyes, like the first true like
star guest that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
We've ever done anything with was you know, working with
roy ayres that that that was a masterful moment when
you're discovering that hip hop is sampling your work. I
mean there's two ways to look at it. I've known
some guys that were just like, well, you know, it's
it's not art, and it's theft and it's whatever, it's

(01:02:09):
not really art. And then I know some people that
are just like, wow, now my music is now expanded
to another audience. Was what side of the fence did
you fall on?

Speaker 3 (01:02:20):
Once? I follow on both sides, like I love this?
Where are my money?

Speaker 7 (01:02:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:02:29):
But that's I fall on both sides. I'm serious, man,
I follow every everybody's side. We're just a musicians. You know,
the musicians are usually you know, kind of fucked up.
They are kind of fucked up as far as the
business and stuff that's concerned. Man, they are they all

(01:02:51):
fucked up. Make sure they're into music. They're into music,
you know, so the musicians, you know. I talked to
George and I said, George, what's up. What we're gonna do?
He said, Prince Prince got killed. I said, oh, okay,
fuck that. You know these sound bites, He's the original meme.

(01:03:18):
Like so for you, were you?

Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
Was it a relief to see that suddenly your catalog
was was there was a renewed interest in it, and
then people were going back to it and discovering you.
And you know because when I really started seeing you
on the circuit, especially at Ronnie Scott's, you know, there
was there was this what was the genre they tried

(01:03:52):
to put us in the first not Neil Soul.

Speaker 3 (01:03:56):
Like like for you?

Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
When the nineties came, was there ever a fear like okay,
well you know, will I still be a thing?

Speaker 3 (01:04:04):
Or or is this it? And well, you know what,
there's so many, so many people have died that it's
just it's just a release because now I'm working my
ass off. Do you understand what I'm saying. I'm working

(01:04:24):
my ass off. I'm not complaining about it, but I'm
working my ass off. I'm glad you are, which which is?
Which is? And I'm glad too, But I'm talking about
I'm working my asshof So so it ain't nobody out there.
Ain't nobody out there. The motherfuckers is dead, man. The
groups have died, have died, you know, but you.

Speaker 9 (01:04:46):
Know what.

Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
That that may be true, but your music is going
to last forever. Thank you, and that that to me
is the most important thing, because thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:05:00):
You're right. Yeah, you're not getting worked because everybody else
is dead. You're getting work because you're a legend, right
because I'm still alive. I'm still alive. I'm still still alive.
That's a beautiful thing.

Speaker 7 (01:05:16):
But what does it feel like now?

Speaker 10 (01:05:17):
Because I was talking to somebody about you the other
day and I said, wow, like Roy, you can go
to a show. It may be a grandparent, a parent
and a kid and.

Speaker 3 (01:05:25):
They all late.

Speaker 10 (01:05:27):
You are still cool, Like your music is still You
go to a club in any ages and you might hear,
you know, see people dancing to it. What does that
feel like a seventy six years old and not a
lot of people that can say.

Speaker 3 (01:05:36):
That if they work and they're not alive, they work
the record, they worked the hell out the record. I
mean probably Door Group.

Speaker 7 (01:05:43):
They worked the records, but you made the record I made.

Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
I made it, but they worked it. You know, they worked,
they worked hard, and you know, you know, I may
be seventy six years old, but hey, I'm glad I'm
still here. You know what I'm saying. I'm serious, Yeah,
it's serious. One question I had regarding your song the

(01:06:07):
Third Eye, is that you're singing. Yeah, that's that's with
the lyrics. Would you write those like in the studio
at the time or maybe exactly exactly almost every song,
almost every song beautiful. I just like that, just sponsored
spontaneous feeling. It's wonderful. Man. You gotta try it. Sometimes

(01:06:30):
it's all right, but you gotta try it one once
or twice. You know.

Speaker 6 (01:06:34):
I have a question sure about one of your songs. Uh,
we live in Brooklyn. Were you living in Brooklyn?

Speaker 3 (01:06:44):
Oh? No, Harry Whittaker wrote, wrote the song Harry Whittaker,
and he.

Speaker 10 (01:06:48):
Died, I'm still here. You and George I was assuming
you made Clinton.

Speaker 3 (01:06:58):
So I'm like, yeah, that's you said.

Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
Edwin Birds song is still so yeah, yeah he is.
He's still occasionally uh there his daughters in Vegas. But
when I play there sometimes they come to the gig.

Speaker 3 (01:07:11):
They come to the gig.

Speaker 1 (01:07:12):
Yeah, one time I played us the daft punk sample
Coca Cola more timeabies, Yeah, I played that once and uh,
you know, like how I can't be bothered when I'm djaying.
So someone tapping on the toe, that's my daddy's sample. Okay, sorry, sorry,

(01:07:36):
So that's great. Yeah, everyone's still here and going strong.

Speaker 3 (01:07:39):
There's a there's a d J.

Speaker 5 (01:07:41):
There's a new artist out now named Kate Trinada, who
is a He's a DJ producer. I went to his show.
He did a show at what's the place across the
street from Brooklyn Bowl via the Wife Hotel or No
Output outut he did a show at this club this
is maybe like to months ago, and he played Chicago

(01:08:03):
by You.

Speaker 3 (01:08:03):
I love that record with Chicago and that song.

Speaker 5 (01:08:06):
I mean it was a room full of twenty yeah,
twenty year olds like these are kids, and they were
going crazy over your song.

Speaker 9 (01:08:15):
I heard that at a club one night, like about
ten years ago, and I lost my mind. It was
the first I ever heard it. The record still goes Yeah.
I play whatever I can too.

Speaker 1 (01:08:24):
So what are your what are your personal favorite songs
of your catalog that you've done, like what, oh yeah,
what what's near and.

Speaker 3 (01:08:32):
Dear to your heart? What's your favorite? Roy Airs? Searching?

Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
Okay, what is it about searching that you love?

Speaker 3 (01:08:42):
Say, butterfly up in the sky. I got a story
to tell you. I'll tell you why I'm searching. You see,
my friend, I need someone who feels the need to
save as I I'm searching, searching, searching, searching, searching, searching
for inspiration, searching for for me, medication, searching for a
better way, searching for a better day. Oh my god,

(01:09:05):
that's wonderful. Doesn't work great words? Man, When you when
you live that live that life, you know, it's it's
wonderful when you get it to that searching, it's wonderful.

Speaker 7 (01:09:17):
Do you have a favorite like sample roy Air song?

Speaker 3 (01:09:20):
A song?

Speaker 7 (01:09:20):
And when you heard your song and it you were.

Speaker 3 (01:09:22):
Like, WHOA married? Mary J.

Speaker 5 (01:09:23):
Blige?

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
To life, My life.

Speaker 7 (01:09:31):
The song of the checks.

Speaker 3 (01:09:35):
So did you like my life when you heard it? Yeah?
I loved it? I said, why didn't I take those lyrics?
You know? I was thinking, you know, marriage, that was
such a conversial day I felt.

Speaker 1 (01:09:55):
I mean, I've told the story before, but I just
felt uh after time. Yes, Now, in twenty seventeen, I
consider that song and the album of which it came
from a classic song and an album. But during the
time when I heard it, I.

Speaker 3 (01:10:16):
Don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:10:17):
I never that was a historical first, because I never heard.

Speaker 3 (01:10:20):
A singer just totally take a song and re redo
it as their own.

Speaker 1 (01:10:27):
I mean, it's one thing for rappers to do it,
but I never ever considered like singers could have the
same rules as MC's.

Speaker 3 (01:10:35):
So in my head, we were.

Speaker 1 (01:10:41):
We didn't like the first month I heard the first two,
but you know you you you dug it. I mean,
but you were also like ten fane, what do you know?

Speaker 3 (01:10:50):
It's I was like fifteen.

Speaker 7 (01:11:00):
Every black woman at the age of fifteen was like.

Speaker 1 (01:11:03):
Stop because the first day we ever met was the
day that you were also in this van.

Speaker 10 (01:11:13):
Maybe I was just saying that because I was amongst
the hip hoppers, you know, and I was just going
a love.

Speaker 7 (01:11:20):
Your asshole.

Speaker 3 (01:11:26):
It okay, nobody, I'm sorry. I like my life. I
liked it too. I liked it too. I like you
really yeah, I did. Like I was you and you
were me. That's just crazy. I didn't do. I didn't
develop those rules until later.

Speaker 1 (01:11:42):
See, I was the way you are now back then
when I was twenty.

Speaker 3 (01:11:46):
Then I got leanient.

Speaker 5 (01:11:48):
Anyway, where there any times that rappers want to sample
your stuff and you denied it for any reason?

Speaker 3 (01:11:53):
No, I let them travel it. I've gone over that.
That's some horrible damn what is this? What is this? Everything?
I just put it out, put it out, put it out,
put it out, every every word.

Speaker 1 (01:12:14):
That's what your people were like, we don't know if
you should. Your people were sort of cautious about maybe
you should pass on this or no.

Speaker 3 (01:12:24):
I was passing on it. You know, I was passing
on it. I said no, let them put it out.
It was it was only one person be I wasn't
I plish and every group of people just put it out. Wow, okay, hey,
put it out. Put it out, put it out, put

(01:12:46):
that ship out. It's not the same, is it the
same way like now? Like if someone want to sample
your music now to just go through you. Yeah, but
but I know that they're they're not gonna play this
stuff anyway. They're not gonna play it, and they're not
gonna play certain things. Well, they won't for radio station
plays the radar team. I'm to think the check and

(01:13:06):
it'll right.

Speaker 10 (01:13:09):
At this point in your career, is it anybody that
you see that you're like, you know what, it'd be
interesting to do something with them.

Speaker 3 (01:13:15):
Are you just like?

Speaker 7 (01:13:16):
Is it any like new blood out there?

Speaker 3 (01:13:17):
You're like?

Speaker 7 (01:13:20):
Because I know people chew for for real?

Speaker 3 (01:13:23):
Right for real? Oh man, you name just name just
a couple of kids that me or something like that?
Did he? Yeah?

Speaker 7 (01:13:31):
Wow, y'all still have never worked together.

Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
We haven't done it. He wants me to come to California.
I just I can't get out there. You know, at
the time I couldn't, you know, Okay, that's right.

Speaker 7 (01:13:43):
It's never too late.

Speaker 3 (01:13:43):
Though, It's never too late as long as I'm still alive.

Speaker 7 (01:13:48):
He need to come to you, That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (01:13:51):
You need to come to wherever you at here. That's up,
that's right. For for go to Roy. What that thigga
talking about?

Speaker 1 (01:14:05):
Right? I forgot the U of the triplets, one of
them is name airs Wow, but I believe the second
one is either named after one of your compositions or
or right, yeah, talk about a tribute.

Speaker 3 (01:14:18):
But but no, he was. Now you're gonna live forever
because well he was on the stage. Yeah, after a concert.
I did a concert and he did a concert and
he was walking off stage and I walked up to him,
I said, Pharrell, and so for he dropped on his
man did the worship thing he does. He did the

(01:14:41):
worship thing man. I said, come on, man, come on,
that's for all.

Speaker 1 (01:14:46):
He's a humble cat, he said, humble, very humble, very humble.
So all right, what's what's what's the future for roy Errs?
What's your your next your next project? You tore more your.

Speaker 3 (01:14:59):
I'm planning on doing the album okay, just about just
about playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, Okay, playing.

Speaker 10 (01:15:09):
That's an album about playing by playing about playing, Okay,
about playing. You're gonna give us some of the unreleased
stuff you've got, Yeah, we got plans on Well, yeah,
you're gonna let.

Speaker 3 (01:15:24):
Us go to the stories. I'm just saying, like you know.

Speaker 5 (01:15:33):
It, I'm just saying today today. One question, one question
I have. How involved was weed in the record? It
was like marijuana like smoke?

Speaker 3 (01:15:54):
Was that reef? Was that sessions say that again?

Speaker 7 (01:16:03):
It's all right, didn't from How.

Speaker 5 (01:16:08):
Was that was that allowed? And encouraged in your recessions.
Back in the day, we we oh mad.

Speaker 3 (01:16:15):
It's in we weed is in, we is in.

Speaker 7 (01:16:22):
My god, they ain't never stopped.

Speaker 3 (01:16:23):
Ain't no stopping. Man. They're going crazy with all the
broadcast and everything.

Speaker 6 (01:16:29):
Man.

Speaker 10 (01:16:30):
But were you cool with it in your studio sessions
back in the day.

Speaker 7 (01:16:32):
He was cool with it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:33):
Oh yeah, it was cool, man, Okay, it was cool.
Everybody smoked, everybody, everybody.

Speaker 5 (01:16:38):
Because that because that was like the memories that I have,
like of your music as a kid, Like I remember
seeing like the album covers and hearing the music, the
smell of marijuana.

Speaker 3 (01:16:52):
They smoke to your they I like that you could
hear the smell of marijuana. That's an interesting It's called synaesthesious.
It is expected that word.

Speaker 1 (01:17:11):
Okay, who it is? It absolutely is, Well, mister Ayres Uh,
I don't know. I think we've we've we've tagged on everything.

Speaker 3 (01:17:29):
All right as we wrapped up.

Speaker 1 (01:17:31):
Uh, I just want to say, you know, it's kind
of weird because a lot of people that are in
my particular uh area of music. Of course. Okay, I'll
take it that I'm lumped in and called neo soul,

(01:17:51):
but I mean, you are considered the godfather of of
our our our genre, and so I just want to
thank you for you know, providing us with the the
roadmap for which you know it's it's still being used
to this very day. You know, your your your influence

(01:18:12):
and your art will be here forever. Uh, long after
everyone in this room is going, even this building is going,
your work will still be here.

Speaker 9 (01:18:21):
So we thank you for coming on of course, love supreme. Yes, yes,
one last question. Can you tell us a little bit
about scoring the movie Coffee? What that experience was like? Yeah,
what that experience was like for you?

Speaker 3 (01:18:38):
Oh? That was that was wonderful. Uh. As a matter
of fact, I thought about that that meeting meeting Pam Grier.
I met and uh, I was trying to wrap wrap
my arms around but the breast was so good I

(01:19:01):
couldn't even get my hands together. But no, no, I said,
oh it was so wonderful. I said, you are from
param Grid. I said, I made you a star through
my music. You know, I'm telling you as I did

(01:19:26):
that after I did that film. That that really made
me think about how mad she was. Aggravation. Aggravation that
was horrible. So she was wonderful. She was. She was
a dream a wonderful, wonderful actress, wonderful person. And I

(01:19:49):
love that that that hugged with something else.

Speaker 10 (01:19:53):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:19:56):
More about.

Speaker 6 (01:20:04):
Oh man, it was. It was wonderful, wonderful. That's cool, Steve, Steve, Yeah,
I got one more question. Did you ever meet Milt Jackson?

Speaker 3 (01:20:16):
I meant, yeah, I met Milton. Milt was wonderful. Man.
His his touch, his touch was is one of the
greatest things in the world, the touch and the Bible phone.
If you listen to all it records, the touch, it's
it's a magic it's a magic touch. Man. What about
cal Jader? I met cal Jader, I met Cal He died.

(01:20:41):
Damn all those cats died.

Speaker 7 (01:20:44):
My question.

Speaker 3 (01:20:44):
I'm sorry, but.

Speaker 1 (01:20:47):
Yeah, is there anybody in the jazz scene right now
that you're you're really excited about?

Speaker 3 (01:20:52):
No, I wanted to play it with al Ja, but
he died. Again.

Speaker 10 (01:21:00):
It's graat because I was about to ask you about Dinnis,
but I can't even talk about it.

Speaker 3 (01:21:03):
It's just to just answer the question.

Speaker 10 (01:21:05):
Yeah, No, I was just gonna ask you to, you know,
kind of break down because for me, my Mike Spens
experiency with you went through Dennis who was your drummer
for a couple of decades.

Speaker 7 (01:21:13):
And this died, you know, last year.

Speaker 3 (01:21:15):
That's her cousin, Yes, Dennis Davis.

Speaker 7 (01:21:21):
Dennis Davis aologized Dennis Dad.

Speaker 3 (01:21:24):
Yes, but I checked this out. Dennis Davis worked with me,
He was working with me all the years, and he
was also working with Stevie one with Stevie Wonder and
also David Boy, that's right, David Boy. And he did two,
two or three different gigs the same time. Really, it
was amazing, it was amazing. It was amazing he was

(01:21:46):
able to do that. How long was he your drummer?
Oh maybe since she was very young, So since the
very beginning.

Speaker 7 (01:21:55):
Yeah, yeah, he just left and came back, right and
come back. He will always have a home.

Speaker 1 (01:22:01):
You remember, Dennis is the infamous Dennis is playing by
himself on on Nothing Do I do?

Speaker 3 (01:22:09):
Do I do? Right? Okay? Well wait? That also leads
to uh, Stevie's bass player. What's his name? Nathan On?

Speaker 1 (01:22:17):
The bass player was Nathan East? Did he play with
you for a second? The guitar player, the bass player
Nathan Nathan?

Speaker 3 (01:22:25):
He did not Nathan Nathan Watts. Did he ever play
for you. For No, he didn't. He didn't play with me.
I could have sworn.

Speaker 1 (01:22:31):
I saw a concert of you with Nathan watched because
Nathan Wats is built like.

Speaker 3 (01:22:36):
A full back. Yeah, he's a big gag he.

Speaker 1 (01:22:41):
There was a similar bass player that played with you,
A big guy that I thought was was was Nathan Okay, there.

Speaker 3 (01:22:47):
Might have been John John, Johnna somebody.

Speaker 1 (01:22:51):
Also, the great Philip wu also played with you.

Speaker 3 (01:22:55):
Yeah, he did. He did play with me. He's in
uh uh your pant I know how did you hook
up with He's been with you forever. It's from Seattle, Washington. Oh, okay, okay,
is that where the title of your song I did
it in Seattle? Is Philip planning on it?

Speaker 8 (01:23:11):
Yep?

Speaker 3 (01:23:12):
Wow, I got it? Nice? Nice? All right? So uh
on behalf of Oh I'm sorry? Should we do reflections?
I know, I'm sorry.

Speaker 6 (01:23:26):
Well, I just want one more one more thing, mister
h people who worked at the studio past and president
just wanted me to thank you for coming here so
many times, recording so many records here over the years.

Speaker 3 (01:23:37):
It's a pleasure to do it. Doing this is really wonderful.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's amazing. Thank you
ladies and gentlemen. That is Quest Love Supreme, Warm Pander.
We will be back next.

Speaker 1 (01:23:50):
Week with being another great informative episode of Course Love Supreme. Also,
don't forget to dig in the crates and check out
past episodes and catch up with us on behalf of Sugar,
Steve Unpaid, Phill Boston Bill, Lady Laiah aka Margaret find Tiolo.

(01:24:10):
This is Quest Love Supreme signing off my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (01:24:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:24:15):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of My Heart Radio.
This classic episode was produced by the team and Pandora.
For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.