You Send Me

Throughout the changes of the ‘70s one quality remained consistent in the music of Roy Ayers: his records always featured a female singer. Though Dee Dee Bridgewater, Merry Clayton and Chicas each contributed their own set of classic recordings, no one was sultrier than Carla Vaughn, who only made one album with Ayers: 1978’s You Send Me. The sexual chemistry between Ayers and Vaughn was intense, and served as the album’s underlying theme. Ayers was no stranger to sexual overtures, but “I Wanna Touch You Baby,” “And Don’t You Say No” and “Everytime I See You” could liquefy granite. The shuffling “Rhythm” provides a different kind of enjoyment, while “Can’t You See Me” is a signature Ayers disco jam that would blend easily into the immortal “Running Away” (from the previous year). There are very few sharp trebles on this album. Almost everything takes place in gloriously rich mid-range and bass tones. The album’s curveball is its title track, an unusual but nonetheless seductive re-envisioning of Sam Cooke’s classic 1957 love song.