One of the most visible jazz vibraphonists of the 1960s, then an R&B bandleader in the 1970s and '80s, Roy Ayers' reputation is now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz, a man decades ahead of his time. Perhaps acid jazz would have emerged even if Ayers had never existed, but it certainly would have sounded different. Scores of DJs, hip-hoppers, acid jazzers, and others have incorporated samples of music created by Ayers into their own work, making his sound an integral part of these emerging musical forms. 1977's Lifeline is a Roy Ayers album released under the Roy Ayers Ubiquity umbrella and home to the club smash "Running Away." Now reissued back on vinyl in honor of its 40th anniversary!