Roberta Flack - wikipedia Roberta Flack Roberta Flack Roberta Flack in concert in 1992 Background information Birth name Roberta Cleopatra Flack Also known as Rubina Flake ( 1937 - 02 - 10 ) February 10, 1937 ( age 80 ) Black Mountain, North Carolina, U.S. 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, 1937 ) is an American singer. She is known for her # 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. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Early career 2.2 1970s 2.3 1980s 2.4 Later career 3 Critical reputation 4 Personal life 5 In popular culture 6 Accolades 6.1 Grammy Awards 6.2 American Music Awards 7 Discography 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links Early Life Flack lived with a musical family, born in Black Mountain, North Carolina to parents Laron LeRoy and Irene Council Flack a church organist, on February 10, 1937 and raised in Arlington, Virginia. Her interests in performing were inspired when she discovered the work of Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke while singing in a predominantly African - American Baptist church. When Flack was nine, she started taking an interest in playing the piano, and during her early teens, Flack so excelled at classical piano that Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. '' In 1971, Flack was a member of the legendary 1971 Soul to Soul concert film by Denis Sanders, which was headlined by soul singer Wilson Picket along with R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner, the Santana band featuring electric guitarist and Mexican - American Carlos Santana, gospel, soul, and R&B group The Staple Singers, soul pianist / vocalist Les McCann and saxophonist Eddie Harris, and The Voices of Harlem among others. The U.S. delegation of musical artists was invited to perform for 14th anniversary of African independence in Ghana. The film was digitally reissued as DVD and CD packet in 2004 but Roberta Flack declined permission for her image and recording to be included for unknown reasons. Her captivating a cappella performance of the traditional spiritual `` Oh Freedom '' retitled `` Freedom Song '' on the original Soul to Soul LP soundtrack is only available in the VHS version of the film. Flack 's cover version of `` Will You Love Me Tomorrow '' hit number 76 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 '' written by Ewan MacColl, 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 was her first recording in over eight years. 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. She is currently involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles ' classics. Critical reputation 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 Eric Weisbard, her work was regularly described with the adjectives `` boring '', `` depressing '', `` lifeless '', `` studied '', and `` calculated '' ; AllMusic 's Steve Huey said it has been called `` classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated ''. In 1971, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau reported that `` Flack is generally regarded as the most significant new black woman singer since Aretha 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 later argued that the singer `` has nothing whatsoever to do with rock and roll or rhythm and blues and almost nothing to do with soul '', comparing her middle - of - the - road aesthetic to Barry 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. '' 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 Charter 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. Between 1966 and 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel. Flack is the aunt of professional ice skater Rory Flack. She is mother to rhythm and blues musician Bernard Wright. According to DNA analysis, she is of Cameroonian descent. In popular culture This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ( March 2017 ) Her collaboration with Donny Hathaway is mentioned in the song `` What A Catch, Donnie '' on Fall Out Boy 's fourth studio album, Folie à Deux. American experimental producer Flying Lotus had a song named after her ( `` RobertaFlack '' ) on his Los Angeles album. In 1991, Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam recorded a cover 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 wo n't come back. '' She is a favorite 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 2014 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. 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. 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 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 `` 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 Favorite Female Artist ( Pop / Rock ) Nominated Favorite Female Artist ( Soul / R&B ) Won `` Killing Me Softly with His Song '' Favorite Single ( Pop / Rock ) Nominated 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 Main article : Roberta Flack discography First Take ( 1969 ) Chapter Two ( 1970 ) Quiet Fire ( 1971 ) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway ( 1972 ) Killing Me Softly ( 1973 ) Feel Like Makin ' Love ( 1975 ) Blue Lights in the Basement ( 1977 ) Roberta Flack ( 1978 ) Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway ( 1979 ) I 'm the One ( 1982 ) Born to Love ( 1983 ) Oasis ( 1988 ) Set the Night to Music ( 1991 ) Roberta ( 1994 ) The Christmas Album ( 1997 ) Holiday ( 2003 ) Let It Be Roberta ( 2012 ) References Jump up ^ `` Music : What Ever Happened to Rubina Flake ? ''. time.com. Time, Inc. May 12, 1975. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 22. ^ Jump up to : Betts, Graham ( 2014 ). `` Roberta Flack & Quincy Jones ''. Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 978 - 1 - 311 - 44154 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Cleopatra Flack, 10 Feb 1937 ''. Retrieved August 23, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Laron Flack and Irene Council, 14 Dec 1931 ''. Retrieved August 23, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Roberta Flack Page ''. Soulwalking.co.uk. February 10, 1937. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Robert Flack profile at ''. Biography.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Cleopatra Flack, 10 Feb 1937 ''. Retrieved August 23, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Steve Huey ( February 10, 1939 ). `` Roberta Flack Biography ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 23. ^ Jump up to : `` Roberta Flack ''. Roberta Flack. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Flack, Best - Of Edition ''. NPR. April 21, 2006. Retrieved June 9, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mr. Henry 's Restaurant -- History Summary ''. Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Mr. Henry 's Restaurant -- Home ''. Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Soul to Soul ( film review ) ''. Time Out. Retrieved March 29, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Various -- Soul To Soul ( Music From The Original Soundtrack - Recorded Live In Ghana, West Africa ) ''. Discogs. Retrieved March 29, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Soul to Soul World Catalog Search Results ''. OCLC WorldCat. Retrieved March 29, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Murrells, Joseph ( 1978 ). The Book of Golden Discs ( 2nd ed. ). London : Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 312. ISBN 0 - 214 - 20512 - 6. Jump up ^ McGillagan ( 1999 ), p. 194 Jump up ^ Pond, Steve ( June 12, 1997 ). `` Singer 's Career Was Softly Killed By Bad Luck And Insecurity ''. The Deseret News. Retrieved April 10, 2011. Jump up ^ `` 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. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Flack 's Long And Winding Road ''. NPR. February 18, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Flack Biography ''. Robertaflack.com. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 23. ^ Jump up to : Weisbard, Eric ( 2007 ). Listen Again : A Momentary History of Pop Music. Duke University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0822340410. Jump up ^ Huey, Steve ( n.d. ). `` Roberta Flack ''. Retrieved March 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Roberta Flack School of Music ''. Robertaflack.com. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ Jacobson, Robert. `` Roberta Flack -- Biography ''. encyclopedia.com. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 14. Jump up ^ DeCurtis, Anthony ( March 23, 1997 ). `` Two Seasoned Voices, Together Raised for a Cause ''. nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Growing Interest in DNA - Based Genetic Testing Among African American with Historic Election of President Elect Barack Obama ''. Prweb.com. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Flying Lotus -- Los Angeles at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 13. Jump up ^ `` 2009 Inductees ''. North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` 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 McGilligan, Patrick ( 1999 ). Clint : The Life and Legend. Harper Collins. ISBN 0 - 00 - 638354 - 8. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roberta Flack. Official web site Roberta Flack on IMDb Peter Reilly 's review of Quiet Fire at the Wayback Machine ( archived February 13, 2008 ) Roberta Flack at Wenig - Lamonica Associates Roberta Flack Studio albums First Take ( 1969 ) Chapter Two ( 1970 ) Quiet Fire ( 1971 ) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway ( 1972 ) Killing Me Softly ( 1973 ) Feel Like Makin ' Love ( 1975 ) Blue Lights in the Basement ( 1977 ) Roberta Flack ( 1978 ) Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway ( 1980 ) I 'm the One ( 1982 ) Born to Love ( 1983 ) Oasis ( 1988 ) Set the Night to Music ( 1991 ) Roberta ( 1994 ) The Christmas Album ( 1997 ) Holiday ( 2003 ) Live albums Live & More ( 1980 ) At Her Best -- Live ( 2008 ) Soundtrack albums Bustin ' Loose ( 1981 ) Compilation albums The Best of Roberta Flack ( 1981 ) Greatest Hits ( 1984 ) Softly with These Songs : The Best of Roberta Flack ( 1993 ) The Very Best of Roberta Flack ( 2006 ) Singles `` The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face '' `` Where Is the Love '' `` Killing Me Softly with His Song '' `` Feel Like Makin ' Love ( Roberta Flack song ) '' `` The Closer I Get to You '' `` If Ever I See You Again '' `` Making Love '' `` Tonight, I Celebrate My Love '' `` Oasis '' `` Uh - Uh Ooh - Ooh Look Out ( Here It Comes ) '' Related articles Discography Donny Hathaway Grammy Award for Record of the Year ( 1970s ) `` Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In '' by The 5th Dimension ( Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamont McLemore, Ron Townson ) produced by Bones Howe ( 1970 ) `` Bridge over Troubled Water '' by Simon & Garfunkel ( Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon ) produced by Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon & Roy Halee ( 1971 ) `` It 's Too Late '' by Carole King produced by Lou Adler ( 1972 ) `` The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face '' by Roberta Flack produced by Joel Dorn ( 1973 ) `` Killing Me Softly with His Song '' by Roberta Flack produced by Joel Dorn ( 1974 ) `` I Honestly Love You '' by Olivia Newton - John produced by John Farrar ( 1975 ) `` Love Will Keep Us Together '' by Captain & Tennille ( Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille ) produced by Daryl Dragon ( 1976 ) `` This Masquerade '' by George Benson produced by Tommy LiPuma ( 1977 ) `` Hotel California '' by Eagles ( Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Joe Walsh ) produced by Bill Szymczyk ( 1978 ) `` Just the Way You Are '' by Billy Joel produced by Phil Ramone ( 1979 ) Complete list ( 1960s ) ( 1970s ) ( 1980s ) ( 1990s ) ( 2000s ) ( 2010s ) Billboard Year - End number one singles ( 1960 -- 1979 ) 1960 : `` Theme from A Summer Place '' -- Percy Faith 1961 : `` Tossin ' and Turnin ' '' -- Bobby Lewis 1962 : `` Stranger on the Shore '' -- Mr. Acker Bilk 1963 : `` Sugar Shack '' -- Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs 1964 : `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' -- The Beatles 1965 : `` Wooly Bully '' -- Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs 1966 : `` Ballad of the Green Berets '' -- S / Sgt. Barry Sadler 1967 : `` To Sir, with Love '' -- Lulu 1968 : `` Hey Jude '' -- The Beatles 1969 : `` Sugar, Sugar '' -- The Archies 1970 : `` Bridge over Troubled Water '' -- Simon & Garfunkel 1971 : `` Joy to the World '' -- Three Dog Night 1972 : `` The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face '' -- Roberta Flack 1973 : `` Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree '' -- Tony Orlando and Dawn 1974 : `` The Way We Were '' -- Barbra Streisand 1975 : `` Love Will Keep Us Together '' -- Captain & Tennille 1976 : `` Silly Love Songs '' -- Wings 1977 : `` Tonight 's the Night ( Gonna Be Alright ) '' -- Rod Stewart 1978 : `` Shadow Dancing '' -- Andy Gibb 1979 : `` My Sharona '' -- The Knack Complete list ( 1946 -- 1959 ) ( 1960 -- 1979 ) ( 1980 -- 1999 ) ( 2000 -- 2019 ) VIAF : 15676686 LCCN : n91012004 ISNI : 0000 0001 1599 6355 GND : 123365775 SUDOC : 181695588 BNF : cb138939648 ( data ) MusicBrainz : 5298bbcb - 7330 - 49bf - a780 - 2d757f10a20a NKC : xx0077603 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roberta_Flack&oldid=815256150 '' Categories : 1939 births Living people African - American female singer - songwriters African - American singer - songwriters African - American songwriters American singer - songwriters American female singer - songwriters African - American female singers American contraltos American female jazz singers American female pop singers American jazz pianists American jazz singers American pop pianists American rhythm and blues keyboardists American rhythm and blues singers American soul keyboardists American soul singers Rhythm and blues pianists Grammy Award winners Atlantic Records artists Delta Sigma Theta members Howard University alumni American people of Cameroonian descent People from Black Mountain, North Carolina Singers from North Carolina 20th - century American singers 21st - century American singers 20th - century pianists 21st - century pianists 20th - century women musicians 21st - century women musicians Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2015 Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from April 2013 BLP articles lacking sources from March 2017 All BLP articles lacking sources Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hausa Հայերեն Hrvatski Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 13 December 2017, at 19 : 07. 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Question: who is the original singer of the song killing me softly
Answer: Lori Lieberman