[4] His younger brother, Michael E. Haynes, became an important leader in the African American community in Massachusetts, working with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, representing Roxbury in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and for forty years serving as pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church.

[4] He also recorded at the time with pianist Bud Powell and saxophonists Wardell Gray and Stan Getz.

[11] A tribute song was recorded by Jim Keltner and Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones,[12] and he appeared on stage with the Allman Brothers Band in 2006[13] and Page McConnell of Phish in 2008.

[18] Haynes was known to celebrate his birthdays on stage and in later years at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.

[20] On November 12, 2024, following a short illness, Haynes died at the age of 99 in Nassau County, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island.

[17][21][22][23] A Life in Time – The Roy Haynes Story was named by The New Yorker magazine as one of the Best Boxed Sets of 2007[24] and was nominated for an award by the Jazz Journalist's Association.

[27] Esquire named Roy Haynes one of the best-dressed men in America in 1960, along with Fred Astaire, Miles Davis, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant.

[36] In 2019, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Foundation of America at the 28th Annual Loft Party.