Roberta Flack | |
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 Flack in 1976 | |
| Born | Roberta Cleopatra Flack (1937-02-10)February 10, 1937 |
| Died | February 24, 2025(2025-02-24) (aged 88) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Rubina Flake |
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| Musical career | |
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| Works | Full list |
| Years active | 1968–2022 |
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Musical artist | |
| Website | robertaflack |
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spannedR&B,jazz,folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of thequiet storm radio format. Her commercial success included theBillboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", and "Feel Like Makin' Love". She became the first artist to win theGrammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years.
Flack frequently collaborated withDonny Hathaway, with whom she recorded several hit duets, including "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You". She was one of the defining voices of 1970s popular music and remained active in the industry, later finding success with duets such as "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" withPeabo Bryson (1983) and "Set the Night to Music" withMaxi Priest (1991). Across her decades-long career, she interpreted works by songwriters such asLeonard Cohen and members ofthe Beatles.[1] In 2020, Flack received theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[2]
Flack was born on February 10, 1937,[3][a] inBlack Mountain, North Carolina, United States, to parents Laron Flack, a jazz pianist andU.S. Veterans Administration draftsman,[5] and Irene (née Council) Flack[3][6] a church organist, choir director and music teacher.[7] Her family moved toRichmond, Virginia,[7] before settling inArlington, Virginia, when she was five years old.
Her first musical experiences were in church.[8] She grew up in a large musical family and often provided piano accompaniment for the choir ofLomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church singing hymns and spirituals. She occasionally sang at the MacedoniaBaptist Church in Arlington.[9][10] Her father acquired a battered old piano for her, which she learned to play sitting on her mother's lap.[8] and Flack took formal piano lessons when she was nine.[6] She gravitated towards classical music and during her early teens excelled at classical piano,[8] finishing second in a statewide competition for Black students aged 13[7] playing aScarlatti sonata.[11][8] In 1952, at the age of 15, she won a full music scholarship toHoward University inWashington DC,[12] and was one of the youngest students ever to enroll there.[8] She eventually changed her major from piano to voice and became assistant conductor of the university choir. Her direction of a production ofGiuseppe Verdi's operaAida received a standing ovation from the Howard University faculty.[13] At Howard she met her future collaborator,Donny Hathaway.[8]
Flack became astudent teacher at a school nearChevy Chase, Maryland. She graduated from Howard University at 19 and begangraduate studies in music there, but after the sudden death of her father she had to find work to support herself. She took a job teaching music and English at a small, segregated high school inFarmville, North Carolina,[14] for which she was paid $2,800 a year.[15]
Before becoming a professional singer-songwriter, Flack returned to Washington, D.C., and taught at Banneker, Browne, and Rabaut Junior High Schools.[16][17][18][19] She also taught private piano lessons out of her home on Euclid Street,NW, in the city. During that time, her music career began to take shape on evenings and weekends in nightclubs.[20]
At theTivoli Theatre, she accompaniedopera singers at the piano. During intermissions, she would singblues,folk, and pop standards in a back room, accompanying herself on the piano. Later she performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club, providing her own piano accompaniment. About this time her voice teacher, Frederick "Wilkie" Wilkerson, told her that he saw a brighter future for her in pop music than in the classics. Flack modified her repertoire accordingly and her reputation spread. In 1968, she began singing professionally after she was hired to perform regularly at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, located onCapitol Hill in Washington, D.C.[21][22][23]
Her break came in the summer of 1968 when she performed at a benefit concert in Washington to raise funds for a children's library in the city's ghetto district,[8] and was seen by soul and jazz singerLes McCann, who was signed toAtlantic Records. He was captivated by Flack's voice and arranged anaudition for her with Atlantic,[8] in which she performed 42 songs from her nightclub repertoire in three hours for producerJoel Dorn. Dorn immediately told the label to sign her. In November 1968, she recorded 39 song demos in less than 10 hours. McCann later wrote in the liner notes of her first album: "Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known. I laughed, cried, and screamed for more... she alone had the voice." Three months later, Atlantic recorded Flack's debut album,First Take (1969), in 10 hours.[24][8] The album was "an elegant fusion of folk, jazz and soul" and included her version of British folk singerEwan McColl's song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".[8]
Flack's second album,Chapter Two, appeared in 1970 and marked the start of her collaboration with Hathaway as arranger, accompanist and backing singer.[8] In 1971, Flack participated in the legendarySoul to Soul concert film byDenis Sanders, which was headlined byWilson Pickett, along withIke & Tina Turner,Santana,The Staple Singers,Les McCann,Eddie Harris,The Voices of East Harlem and others. The U.S. delegation of musical artists featured in the film was invited to perform for the 14th anniversary of the March 6Independence Day ofGhana.[25][26] The film was digitally reissued on DVD and CD in 2004 but for unknown reasons Flack refused permission for her image and recording to be included . Hera cappella performance of the traditional spiritual "Oh Freedom", retitled "Freedom Song" on the originalSoul to Soul LP soundtrack, is only available in the VHS version of the film.[27]
Flack'scover version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" hit No. 76 on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1972. Her Atlantic recordings did not sell particularly well, until actor/directorClint Eastwood used a song fromFirst Take, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", written byEwan MacColl, for the soundtrack of his directorial debutPlay Misty for Me.
Atlantic rush-released the song as a single and it became the biggest hit of 1972,[8] spending six consecutive weeks at No. 1 and earning Flack a million-sellinggold disc.[28] "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" finished the year asBillboard's top song of 1972. TheFirst Take album also went to No. 1 and eventually sold 1.9 million copies in the United States. Eastwood, who paid $2,000 for the use of the song in the film,[29] remained an admirer and friend of Flack's ever after. The song was awarded theGrammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1973. In 1983, Flack recorded the end music to theDirty Harry filmSudden Impact, at Eastwood's request.[24]
In 1972, Flack began recording regularly withDonny Hathaway, scoring hits such as the Grammy-winning "Where Is the Love" (1972) and later "The Closer I Get to You" (1978), both of which became million-selling gold singles.[28] Flack and Hathaway recorded several duets together, including two LPs, until Hathaway's death in 1979.[30] After his death, Flack released their final LP asRoberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway.[31]
On her own, Flack scored her second No. 1 hit in 1973, "Killing Me Softly with His Song", written byCharles Fox,Norman Gimbel l, andLori Lieberman.[32] "Killing Me Softly" was awarded bothRecord of the Year andBest Pop Vocal Performance, Female, at the 1974Grammy Awards. Itsparent album was Flack's biggest-selling disc, eventually earningdouble platinum certification. In 1974, Flack released "Feel Like Makin' Love", which became her third and final No. 1 hit to date on the Hot 100 and her eighth million-seller. She produced the single and her1975 album of the same name under the pseudonym Rubina Flake.[33] In 1974, Flack sang the lead on aSherman Brothers song, "Freedom", which featured prominently at the opening and closing of the movieHuckleberry Finn.[34] In the same year, she performed "When We Grow Up" with a teenageMichael Jackson on the television specialFree to Be... You and Me,[35] and a year later in 1975 performed twoJohnny Marks songs, "To Love And Be Loved" and "When Autumn Comes", for the animated Christmas specialThe Tiny Tree.[36][37] "Blue Lights in the Basement (1977) included a chart-topping duet with Hathaway on "The Closer I Get to You", and in 1978 they began working on a second album of duets, which was half-completed when Hathaway, aparanoid schizophrenic who suffered mood swings and bouts of depression, took his own life in 1979. Flack, devastated, completed the album and it was released in 1980 as "Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway".[8]
She found a new duetting partner inPeabo Bryson and they released "Live and More" in 1980.[8] "Born to Love" in 1983 produced a hit single, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", which reached No. 2 on the UK charts.[20] Flack had a hit single in 1982 with "Making Love", written byBurt Bacharach (the title track of the1982 film of the same name), which reached No. 13.
Flack continued to tour in the 1980s, often backed by a live orchestra.[8] In 1986, she sang the theme song "Together Through the Years" for theNBC television seriesValerie, later known asThe Hogan Family. The song was used throughout the show's six seasons. In 1987, Flack supplied the voice of Michael Jackson's mother in the 18-minute short film for "Bad".[38]Oasis was released in 1988 and failed to make an impact with pop audiences, though the title track reached No. 1 on theR&B chart and a remix of "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)" topped thedance chart in 1989, after failing to chart on theBillboard Hot 100.[39][40]
In 1991, Flack found herself again in the USTop 10 with a cover of theDiane Warren-penned song "Set the Night to Music", performed as a duet with British-Jamaicanreggae singer[8]Maxi Priest, which peaked at No. 6 on theBillboard Hot 100 charts and No. 2 AC.[41][42] In 1996,The Fugees released ahip-hop remix of "Killing Me Softly".[8]
In 1999, a star with Flack's name was placed on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[43] In the same year, she gave a concert tour in South Africa. During her tour of the country, she performed "Killing Me Softly" for PresidentNelson Mandela at his home in Johannesburg.[44] In 2010, she appeared on the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, singing a duet of "Where Is The Love" withMaxwell.[45]
Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B calledquiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such asLeonard Cohen and members ofthe Beatles.[46]
In February 2012, Flack releasedLet It Be Roberta, an album ofBeatles covers including "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be". It was her first recording in eight years.[47] Flack knewJohn Lennon andYoko Ono, as both parties lived inThe Dakota apartment building in New York City and had apartments next door to each other. Flack said that she had been asked to do a second album of Beatles covers.[48] In 2013, she was reported to be involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles' classics.[49]
At the age of 80, Flack recorded "Running" for the closing credits song of the 2018 feature documentary3100: Run and Become with music and lyrics byMichael A. Levine.[50] She continued to perform into her eighties until she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and could no longer sing.[8]
In 1971,The Village Voice criticRobert Christgau reported that "Flack is generally regarded as the most significant new black woman singer sinceAretha Franklin, and at moments she sounds kind, intelligent, and very likable. But she often exhibits the gratuitous gentility you'd expect of someone who says 'between you and I'." Reviewing her body of work from the 1970s, he argued later that the singer "has nothing whatsoever to do withrock and roll or rhythm and blues and almost nothing to do with soul", comparing hermiddle-of-the-road aesthetic toBarry Manilow but with better taste, which he believed does not necessarily guarantee more enduring music: "In the long run, pop lies are improved by vulgarity."[10]
Writer and music criticAnn Powers argued in a 2020 piece forNPR that "Flack's presence looms over both R&B and indie "bedroom" pop as if she were one of the astral beings inAva DuVernay's version ofA Wrinkle In Time."[46] Jason King argued that she occupied a complex place in popular music, as "the nature of her power as a performer—to generate rapturous, spellbinding mood music and to plumb the depths of soulful heaviness by way of classically-informed technique—is not too easy to claim or make sense with the limited tools that we have in music criticism."[46]
Flack's minimalist, classically trained approach to her songs was seen by a number of critics as lacking in grit and uncharacteristic of soul music. According to music scholar Jason King, her work was regularly described with the adjectives "boring", "depressing", "lifeless", "studied", and "calculated",[10] although in contrast,AllMusic's Steve Huey said it had been described as "classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated".[51]
An obituary in February 2025 stated: "She sang with flawless diction and an elegant, understated power" in a voice that was "soft and sensual, creating a radio-friendly crossover between jazz, R&B and easy listening," and her classical training meant that she could accompany herself in any style on the piano.[8]
Flack was a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocated for artists to have the right to control their creative properties. She was also a spokeswoman for theAmerican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA); her appearance in commercials for the ASPCA featured "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". The Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, NYC, (now called Leaders In Our Neighborhood Charter School) ran an after-school music program called "The Roberta Flack School of Music" to provide free music education to underprivileged students in partnership with Flack, who founded the school.[52] Flack was also an advocate forgay rights, stating that "Love is love. Between a man and a woman, between two men, between two women. Love is universal, like music."[7]
From 1966 to 1972, she was married toSteve Novosel.[20] Flack was the aunt of professional ice skaterRory Flack.[53][54][55] She was also the godmother of musicianBernard Wright, who died in an accident on May 19, 2022.[56] For 40 years, Flack had an apartment inThe Dakota building in New York City that was right next door to the apartment ofYoko Ono andJohn Lennon; their son,Sean, grew up calling her "Aunt Roberta".[57] She also counted among her friends the activistsJesse Jackson andAngela Davis,[2] as well asMaya Angelou, who co-wrote the song "And So It Goes" for Flack's 1988 albumOasis.[58]
In 2018, Flack was appearing onstage at theApollo Theater at a benefit for theJazz Foundation of America when she became ill, left the stage and was rushed to theHarlem Hospital Center.[59] In a statement, her manager announced that Flack had had a stroke a few years prior and still was not feeling well, but was "doing fine" and was being kept overnight formedical observation.[60]
In late 2022, it was announced that Flack had been diagnosed withALS and had retired from performing,[61] as the disease was making it "impossible to sing".[62]
Flack died of cardiac arrest on February 24, 2025,[63] on her way to a hospital in Manhattan. She was 88 years old.[64][65][3]
A memorial ceremony was held on March 10, 2025, atAbyssinian Baptist Church.[66]Lauryn Hill sang a tribute performance of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and, alongsideWyclef Jean andStevie Wonder, "Killing Me Softly With His Song".[67] Stevie Wonder also sang “I Won’t Complain”, andLisa Fischer sang “Somewhere”.[68]
On May 11, 2017, Roberta Flack received an honorary Doctorate degree in the Arts fromLong Island University.[69] She was inducted into theNorth Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[70] In 2021, Flack was one of the first inductees into theWomen Songwriters Hall of Fame.[71]
On March 12, 2022, Flack was honored with theDAR Women in American History Award and a restored fire callbox in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington D.C. commemorating her early-career connection to nearby Mr. Henry's neighborhood bar.[72]
On January 24, 2023, thePBS seriesAmerican Masters opened its 37th season with an hour-long look at her career.[73] On May 13, 2023, Flack received an honorary doctorate fromBerklee College of Music.[74]
In September 2025, Flack was selected for induction into theNational Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame and will be slated for induction on October 26.[75]
TheGrammy Awards are awarded annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Flack received four awards from thirteen nominations.[76]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "You've Got a Friend"(withDonny Hathaway) | Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group | Nominated |
| 1973 | "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | Record of the Year | Won |
| "Where Is the Love"(with Donny Hathaway) | Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus | Won | |
| Quiet Fire | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated | |
| 1974 | Killing Me Softly | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| "Killing Me Softly with His Song" | Record of the Year | Won | |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Won | ||
| 1975 | "Feel Like Makin' Love" | Record of the Year | Nominated |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated | ||
| 1979 | "The Closer I Get to You"(with Donny Hathaway) | Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated |
| 1981 | Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated |
| "Back Together Again"(with Donny Hathaway) | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | Nominated | |
| 1995 | Roberta | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 2020 | Roberta Flack | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | Won |
TheAmerican Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created byDick Clark in 1973. Flack won the award forBest Soul/R&B Female Artist at theinaugural show in 1974.[77][78]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Favorite Female Artist (Pop/Rock) | Nominated[79] | |
| Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) | Won[78] | ||
| "Killing Me Softly with His Song" | Favorite Single (Pop/Rock) | Nominated[79] | |
| 1975 | Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) | Nominated[80] | |
| "Feel Like Makin' Love" | Favorite Single (Soul/R&B) | Nominated[80] | |
| 1979 | Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) | Nominated[81] |
Source:[82]
On Feb. 7, the Grammy Award winner released her first project in eight years: Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles.
