Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

FLACK, Roberta

(b 2 February 1937, Asheville NC) Singer; one of the USA's favourites. She played piano at age four, had a B.A. in music from Howard University at 15, and taught in Washington DC. Heard by Les McCann at Mr Henry's pub, he took her to the Atlantic label: 13 chart albumss '70-82 included her no. 1 first, First Take, with 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', written by Ewan MacColl, a no. 1 single hit '72 for six weeks after being featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me, first of eleven top 40 singles including duets with Donny Hathaway and Peabo Bryson.

More albums included Chapter Two '70, Quiet Fire '71, Roberta Flack And Donny Hathaway '72 (with no. 5 hit 'Where Is The Love'), Killing Me Softly (With His Song) '73: the title song, her second solo no. 1, won three Grammys. It was written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel based on a poem by Lori Lieberman after she saw Don McLean performing the song 'Empty Chair' in Los Angeles. More albums: Feel Like Makin' Love '74 (title song her third no. 1 single), Blue Lights In The Basement '78 (no. 2 hit with Hathaway, 'The Closer I Get To You'), Roberta Flack '78, Featuring Donny Hathaway '80. Hathaway died '79; Live And More '80 was a live two-disc set with Bryson. Bustin' Loose '81 was a soundtrack LP on MCA; I'm The One '82 was on Atlantic; Born To Love '83 on Capitol with Bryson. (Duets with her and with Natalie Cole were also inclcluded in his album Collection '84.) Flack and Bryson had a no. 16 hit with Gerry Goffin's ballad 'Tonight, I Celebrate My Love' '83. Oasis '89 was a Flack solo, songs about love immaculately done, with ace sidemen like Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd; Set The Night To Music '91 was more of the same: fans wait for everything she does.

She appeared at the 2011 Grammy awards, and meanwhile producer-DJ Johnny De Mairo had heard a tape of her singing 'Here, There and Everywhere' at Carnegie Hall in May 1971, and got the idea for an album of Beatle songs: Let It Be Roberta on 429 Records was released early 2012. She had been friends and neighbours with the late John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who wrote the notes for the new album.