Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack in concert in 1992
Background information
Birth name Roberta Cleopatra Flack
Also known as Rubina Flake[1]
Born (1939-02-10) February 10, 1939
Black Mountain, North Carolina, United States
Genres Jazz, folk, soul, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active 1968–present
Labels Atlantic (1968–1996)
Angel / Capitol (1997)
RAS / 429 / Sony/ATV (2011–present)
Associated acts Donny Hathaway
Peabo Bryson
Maxi Priest
Website Robertaflack.com

Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1939)[2] is an American singer and musician. She is best known for her classic #1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Feel Like Makin' Love", and for "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of her many duets with Donny Hathaway.

Flack was the first, and remains the only, solo artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year on two consecutive years: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won at the 1973 Grammys as did "Killing Me Softly with His Song" at the 1974 Grammys.

Early life

Flack lived with a musical family, born in Black Mountain, North Carolina to parents Laron LeRoy (October 11, 1911 – July 12, 1959) and Irene Flack (September 28, 1911 – January 17, 1981)[3] a church organist,[4] on February 10, 1939 (some sources give her birth year as 1937)[2] and raised in Arlington, Virginia.[5] She first discovered the work of African American musical artists when she heard Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke sing in a predominantly African-American Baptist church.

When Flack was 9, she started taking an interest in playing the piano,[3] and during her early teens, Flack so excelled at classical piano that Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship.[6] By age 15, she entered Howard University, making her one of the youngest students ever to enroll there. She eventually changed her major from piano to voice, and became an assistant conductor of the university choir. Her direction of a production of Aida received a standing ovation from the Howard University faculty. Flack is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and was made an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma by the Eta Delta Chapter at Howard University for her outstanding work in promoting music education.

Roberta Flack became a student teacher at a school near Chevy Chase, Maryland. She graduated from Howard University at 19 and began graduate studies in music, but the sudden death of her father forced her to take a job teaching music and English for $2800 a year in Farmville, North Carolina.

Career

Early career

Before becoming a professional singer-songwriter, Flack returned to Washington, D.C. and taught at Browne Junior High and Rabaut Junior High. She also taught private piano lessons out of her home on Euclid St. NW. During this period, her music career began to take shape on evenings and weekends in Washington, D.C. area night spots. At the Tivoli Club, she accompanied opera singers at the piano. During intermissions, she would sing blues, folk, and pop standards in a back room, accompanying herself on the piano. Later, she performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club, again providing her own piano accompaniment. Around 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. She modified her repertoire accordingly and her reputation spread. Flack began singing professionally after being hired to perform regularly at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC in 1968.[7][8]

Mr. Henry’s is still in operation at 6th and Pennsylvania Ave, SE, and was owned by Henry Yaffe.

The atmosphere in Mr. Henry’s was welcoming and the club turned into a showcase for the young music teacher. Her voice mesmerized locals and word spread. A-list entertainers who were appearing in town would come in late at night to hear her sing (frequent visitors included Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Ramsey Lewis and others).

As Yaffe recalled, “She told me if I could give her work there three nights a week, she would quit teaching.” He did and she did.

To meet Roberta’s exacting standards, Yaffe transformed the apartment above the bar into the Roberta Flack Room. “I got the oak paneling from the old Dodge Hotel near Union Station. I put in heavy upholstered chairs, sort of a conservative style from the 50s and an acoustical system designed especially for Roberta. She was very demanding. She was a perfectionist.”

1970s

Les McCann discovered Flack singing and playing jazz in a Washington nightclub.[3] He later said on the liner notes of what would be her first album First Take noted below, "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." Very quickly, he arranged an audition for her with Atlantic Records, during which she played 42 songs in 3 hours for producer Joel Dorn. In November 1968, she recorded 39 song demos in less than 10 hours. Three months later, Atlantic reportedly recorded Roberta's debut album, First Take, in a mere 10 hours.[5] Flack later spoke of those studio sessions as a "very naive and beautiful approach... I was comfortable with the music because I had worked on all these songs for all the years I had worked at Mr. Henry's."

Flack's cover version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" hit number seventy-six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Her Atlantic recordings did not sell particularly well, until actor/director Clint Eastwood chose a song from First Take, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", for the sound track of his directorial debut Play Misty for Me; it became the biggest hit of the year for 1972 – spending six consecutive weeks at #1 and earning Flack a million-selling Gold disc.[9] The First Take album also went to #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,[10] has remained an admirer and friend of Flack's ever since. It was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1973. In 1983, she recorded the end music to the Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact at Eastwood's request.[5]

In 1972, Flack began recording regularly with Donny Hathaway, scoring hits such as the Grammy-winning "Where Is the Love" (1972) and later "The Closer I Get to You" (1978) – both million-selling gold singles.[9] Flack and Hathaway recorded several duets together, including two LPs, until Hathaway's 1979 death.

On her own, Flack scored her second #1 hit in 1973, "Killing Me Softly with His Song" written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, and originally performed by Lori Lieberman.[11] It was awarded both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 1974 Grammy Awards. Its parent album was Flack's biggest-selling disc, eventually earning double platinum certification. In 1974, Flack released "Feel Like Makin' Love," which became her third and final #1 hit to date on the Hot 100. That same year, Flack sang the lead on a Sherman Brothers song called "Freedom", which featured prominently at the opening and closing of the movie Huckleberry Finn.

1980s

Roberta Flack had a 1982 hit single with "Making Love", written by Burt Bacharach (the title track of the 1982 film of the same name), which reached #13. She began working with Peabo Bryson with more limited success, charting as high as #5 on the R&B chart (plus #16 Pop and #4 Adult Contemporary) with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" in 1983. Her next two singles with Bryson, "You're Looking Like Love To Me" and "I Just Came Here To Dance," fared better on adult contemporary (AC) radio than on pop or R&B radio.

Flack performing in Boston, Mass., on August 28, 2013

In 1986, Flack sang the theme song entitled "Together Through the Years" for the NBC television series, Valerie later known as The Hogan Family. The song was used throughout the show's six seasons. Oasis was released in 1988 and failed to make an impact with pop audiences, though the title track reached #1 on the R&B chart and a remix of "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)" topped the dance chart in 1989. Flack found herself again in the US Top 10 with the hit song "Set the Night to Music", a 1991 duet with Jamaican vocalist Maxi Priest that peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and #2 AC. Flack's smooth R&B sound lent itself easily to Easy Listening airplay during the 1970s, and she has had four #1 AC hits.

Later career

In 1999, a star with Flack's name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[6] That same year, she gave a concert tour in South Africa; the final performance was attended by President Nelson Mandela. In 2010, she appeared on the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, singing a duet of "Where Is The Love" with Maxwell.

In February 2012, Flack released Let it Be Roberta, an album of Beatles covers including "Hey Jude" and "Let it Be". It is her first recording in over eight years.[12] Flack knew John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as both households moved in 1975 into The Dakota apartment building in New York City, and had apartments across the hall from each other. Flack has stated that she has already been asked to do a second album of Beatles covers.[13] She is currently involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles' classics.[14]

Personal life

Flack is a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocates the right of artists to control their creative properties. She is also a spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; her appearance in commercials for the ASPCA featured "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". In the Bronx section of New York City, the Hyde Leadership Chart School's after-school music program is called "The Roberta Flack School of Music" and is in partnership with Flack, who founded the school, which provides free music education to underprivileged students.[15]

Between 1966 and 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel.[3] Flack is the aunt of the professional ice skater Rory Flack. She is mother to rhythm and blues musician Bernard Wright.[16][17]

According to DNA analysis she is of Cameroon descent.[18]

Her collaboration with Donny Hathaway is mentioned in the song "What A Catch, Donnie" on Fall Out Boy's fifth studio album, Folie à Deux.

American experimental producer Flying Lotus had a song named after her ("RobertaFlack") on his Los Angeles album.[19]

In 1991, Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam recorded a covered version of "And So It Goes" called "微涼" in the album 夢了、瘋了、倦了. Although it was not officially promoted by the record company, it was played by many DJs.

In the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "My Lovely Man", on the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Anthony Kiedis sang "I listen to Roberta Flack, but I know you won't come back."

She is a favourite singer of Vic Wilcox, manager of an engineering firm in David Lodge's campus/industrial novel "Nice Work", winner of the Sunday Express Book of the Year award in 1988.

In the 2013 Marvel movie, X-Men, Days of Future Past, her hit "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is playing on the radio in the room when Hugh Jackman's character, Wolverine's consciousness initially arrives back in 1973.

Accolades

Flack was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[20]

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Flack has received four awards from thirteen nominations.[21]

Year Nominee/work Award Result
1972 "You've Got a Friend" (with Donny Hathaway) Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group Nominated
1973 "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" Record of the Year Won
Quiet Fire Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Nominated
"Where Is the Love" (with Donny Hathaway) Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus Won
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

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973. Flack has received one award from six nominations.

Year Nominee/work Award Result
1974 Favorite Female Artist (Pop/Rock) Nominated
Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) Won
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" Favorite Single (Pop/Rock) Nominated
1975 Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) Nominated
"Feel Like Makin' Love" Favorite Single (Soul/R&B) Nominated
1979 Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) Nominated

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Music: What Ever Happened to Rubina Flake?". time.com. Time, Inc. May 12, 1975. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  2. 1 2 Betts, Graham (2014). "Roberta Flack & Quincy Jones". Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Roberta Flack Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. February 10, 1937. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  4. ↑ "Robert Flack profile at". Biography.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Steve Huey (February 10, 1939). "Roberta Flack | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  6. 1 2 "Roberta Flack". Roberta Flack. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  7. ↑ "Mr. Henry's Restaurant – History Summary". Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  8. ↑ "Mr. Henry's Restaurant – Home". Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  9. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 312. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  10. ↑ McGillagan (1999), p.194
  11. ↑ Pond, Steve (June 12, 1997). "Singer's Career Was Softly Killed By Bad Luck And Insecurity". The Deseret News. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Roberta Flack Gearing Up for Release of New Album "LET IT BE ROBERTA: ROBERTA FLACK SINGS THE BEATLES," an Album of Beatles' Classics". Yahoo! Finance. January 17, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Roberta Flack's Long And Winding Road". NPR. February 18, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Roberta Flack Biography". Robertaflack.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  15. ↑ "Roberta Flack School of Music". Robertaflack.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  16. ↑ Jacobson, Robert. "Roberta Flack – Biography". encyclopedia.com. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
  17. ↑ DeCurtis, Anthony (March 23, 1997). "Two Seasoned Voices, Together Raised for a Cause". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
  18. ↑ "Growing Interest in DNA-Based Genetic Testing Among African American with Historic Election of President Elect Barack Obama". Prweb.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  19. ↑ "Flying Lotus – Los Angeles at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  20. ↑ "2009 Inductees". North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.

Sarah Bryan and Beverly Patterson, African American Trails of Eastern North Carolina, North Carolina Arts Council, 2013, p. 92 Roberta Flack, ISBN 978-1469610795

Bibliography

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