RIP Roberta Flack

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

One of the best and certainly deserving her own thread.

She ruled the early 70s. "Killing Me Softly" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" were always a favorite.

My favorite song of hers was a remake of "Inner City Blues" at the Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center on Oct. 1, 1972. Give it a listen. It's a 10-minute banger.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

In 1973, you could not go into any public place with a jukebox, meaning most restaurants and all bars, without hearing "Killing Me Softly." It was that dominant a tune, and rightly so.

 

[HanSenSE]

Also that great love scene in "Play Misty for Me" with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

 

[TigerVols]

Roberta Flack is a flat-out rabbit hole artist for me; every few months when I run across one of her tunes, off I go on YouTube looking for more. RIP.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Never cared for her that much. Nice voice, but no Aretha, Dionne or Gladys.
Not to speak ill of the dead. She won her share of Grammys, but IMO the Grammy is a BS award.

 

[BTExpress]

Killing Me Softly doesn't need a damn background beat. And sure as heck Lean on Me doesn't, either.

Now get off my lawn.

 

[qtlaw]

In 1973, you could not go into any public place with a jukebox, meaning most restaurants and all bars, without hearing "Killing Me Softly." It was that dominant a tune, and rightly so.

Best cover wasn't the Fugees but the duet in About a Boy

 

[dixiehack]

Killing Me Softly doesn't need a damn background beat. And sure as heck Lean on Me doesn't, either.

Now get off my lawn.

My friend in Christ, you haven't let anyone onto your lawn since the Fire administration.

 

[Webster]

The covers by The Fugees and Club Nouveau were both fun, inferior to the originals and interesting because they weren't just doing the same thing.

 

[BTExpress]

What irked me about them was they both started out almost exactly like the original to suck you in . . . before pulling the old bait and switch.

 

[maumann]

RIP, Roberta.

"Your Face" is one of those songs that defies being pigeonholed into any genre. It was played so often on Top 40 back in the day, at some point, 14-year-old Mark would just pray for it to end because it's loooong and repetitive (5:22 but still 4:20 with the radio edit).

But as I've gotten older and think about the lyrics and her interpretation, I am moved by what she's trying to convey, particularly as I realize what it was like to fall in love for the first time -- and then with a lifelong love.

"Your Face" was written by Ewan MacColl about Peggy Seeger, while he was still married to his second wife, which adds a layer of complexity to the whole thing. And there were a number of other cover versions of the song before Flack scored a No. 1 hit with it.

"Killing Me Softly" was supposedly about attending a Don McLean concert and the writer's reaction to it. To me, the duets with Donny Hathaway were much more catchy and danceable.

 

[I Should Coco]

Her heyday was a bit before my time as a music fan, but a great voice. Sad to hear she was struggling with ALS the past few years.

I agree with @maumann … when I'm in the right frame of mind, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" can be spine-tingling.