Finding a life in the sunshine: Being Roy Ayers’ son

Nabil Ayers has a complicated relationship with his father, legendary funk and jazz musician Roy Ayers. Nabil’s mother chose to have a child with Roy, fully expecting and agreeing to be a lone parent. Even though Nabil has only met him a handful of times, his father has been a steady influence in his life. Roy Ayers’ most famous song, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, has followed him throughout his life and like Roy, Nabil has a successful career in music. In trying to get to know his father as an adult, Nabil discovered a wider family he never knew and a connection to his own identity he had not expected. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in August 2022.)

Nabil has written a book about his experience called My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Troy Holmes

(Photo: Nabil Ayers (left) and Roy Ayers (right). Credit: Gabriela Bhaskar and Getty Images)