Question: "The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by African American jazz, soul, R&B, and folk singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and which  American jazz, blues, soul and gospel singer, songwriter, arranger and pianist, that signed with Atlantic Records in 1969?

full_context: Document 1: Little Ghetto Boy: Little Ghetto Boy is a cover song from Lalah Hathaway of her fathers' 1972 song Little Ghetto Boy featuring vocals from Snoop Dogg and Robert Glasper from her album Lalah Hathaway live. It released from eOne records on January 22, 2016.
Document 2: That's the Way Love Is (album): That's the Way Love Is is the tenth studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released on January 8, 1970, on the Tamla (Motown) label. Built on the success of the title track (#7 US Pop, #2 US R&B in late 1969) originally taken from "M.P.G.", and much like Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" after its success, was released with intent to sell albums based on the success of one particular single (a Motown trademark). Gaye was showing signs of disillusionment from the label's powers-that-be mentality but it didn't affect the singer's performance as he gave a powerful vocal in the title track and was especially impressive with his version of The Beatles' "Yesterday". He achieved some success with a cover version of "How Can I Forget?" (originally recorded by The Temptations), which just missed out on the US Pop Top 40, making #41, and reached #18 on the R&B Charts. It's B-Side, a cover of Jimmy Ruffin's "Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got", made a separate chart entry, and peaked at #67 and #27 on the Pop and Soul Charts respectively. Gaye also recorded a version of Ruffin's "Don't You Miss Me a Little Bit Baby" for the album. The LP also features Gaye's rendition of the socially conscious tune "Abraham, Martin & John", which became a hit in the UK, peaking at #9 in June 1970. The single (and that of his duet single with Tammi Terrell titled "The Onion Song") is widely regarded as a hint of what would follow a year later with his "What's Going On". He also covered The Temptations' hits "I Wish It Would Rain" and "Cloud Nine".
Document 3: Together (The Supremes and The Temptations album): Together, released by Motown in 1969 (catalog number MS 692), was the second and final duets studio album combining Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations into an eight-person Motown act. Like the first duets LP, "Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations", it is composed almost entirely of covers, including versions of The Band's "The Weight", Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song", Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (featuring Mary Wilson leading, in preparation for Ross' departure from the Supremes} and Motown songs like "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". "The Weight" was the only single in the US, and failed to make it into the American Top 40. "Why (Must We Fall in Love)", a UK exclusive single, was a Top 40 hit on the UK singles charts.
Document 4: First Take (album): First Take is the debut album by the jazz/soul/R&B singer Roberta Flack. It was released in 1969 on Atlantic Records. After a track from this album, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was included by Clint Eastwood in his 1971 film "Play Misty for Me" with the song becoming a #1 hit in the United States, this album became #1 on the U.S. album chart.
Document 5: Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. song): "Just the Two of Us" is a 1981 R&B single written by Bill Withers, William Salter and Ralph MacDonald, which was recorded by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers. The song originally appeared on Washington's 1980 album "Winelight". An edited version reached number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100, staying there for 3 weeks, behind "Morning Train (9 to 5)" by Sheena Easton and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Bill Withers included the edited version on the 1981 compilation "Bill Withers' Greatest Hits" and many subsequent greatest hits collections.
Document 6: The Closer I Get to You: "The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by African American jazz, soul, R&B, and folk singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and African American soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis's band, who were members of Flack's band at the time. Produced by Atlantic Records, the song was released on Flack's 1977 album "Blue Lights in the Basement", and as a single in 1978. It became a major crossover hit, becoming Flack's biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single, "Killing Me Softly with His Song". Originally set as a solo-single, Flack's manager, David Franklin, suggested a duet with Hathaway, which resulted in the finished work.
Document 7: My Mistake (Was to Love You): "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" is a song recorded as a duet by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye which was the second single released off the singers' duet album "Diana & Marvin" in February 1974. One of the original songs featured on that album, "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" was written by Gloria Jones and Pam Sawyer, the team responsible for the Gladys Knight & the Pips' classic "If I Were Your Woman". Pam Sawyer was also the co-writer (with Michael Masser) of the Diana Ross hit "Last Time I Saw Him" which dropped out of the Top 40 just prior to the Top 40 debut of "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" in March 1974: Sawyer would subsequently co-write (with Marilyn Mcleod) Diana Ross' 1976 #1 hit "Love Hangover". The narrative of "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" outlines how two lovers' relationship fell apart because the man, according to the woman, felt as if "a girl loves you, you only call them weak", while the man admits that he let his lover "slip through, like grains of sand". The song peaked at #15 on the "Billboard" R&B singles chart and #19 on the "Billboard" Pop singles chart.
Document 8: Blue Lights in the Basement: Blue Lights in the Basement is the sixth studio album by American singer Roberta Flack released by Atlantic on December 13, 1977. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the US "Billboard" 200, becoming her third consecutive top-ten album on the chart and reaching number five on the R&B albums chart. On February 27, 1978, the album received a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments over 500,000 copies. The album features the single "The Closer I Get to You", a duet with best friend and fellow soul musician Donny Hathaway, which became the biggest hit from the album, peaking at #2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and reaching #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. The collaboration with Hathaway would be one of his final singles released in his lifetime before his death in 1979.
Document 9: Charles Chalmers: Charles Chalmers is a saxophonist, session musician, backup singer, songwriter and producer. He has written several hit songs for many recording artists, and has also arranged & performed on many grammy winning recordings. Seven of those recordings are in the Grammy Hall of Fame : Al Green's "Let's Stay together"; Aretha Franklin's "Respect," "Chain of Fools" & "Natural Woman"; Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man"; and Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" and "Land of a Thousand Dances." He also holds an Album of the Century award for his work on Aretha Franklin's, "I Ain't Never Loved a Man the Way that I Love You."
Document 10: This Christmas (Donny Hathaway song): "This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed interest when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records' revised edition of their 1968 "Soul Christmas" compilation album and has since become a modern Christmas standard, with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reporting that it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time.
Document 11: Donny Hathaway: Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American jazz, blues, soul and gospel singer, songwriter, arranger and pianist. Hathaway signed with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto", in early 1970, "Rolling Stone" magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music." His enduring songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "Little Ghetto Boy", "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", signature versions of "A Song for You" and "For All We Know", and "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. "Where Is the Love" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1973. At the height of his career Hathaway was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was known to not take his prescribed medication regularly enough to properly control his symptoms. On January 13, 1979, Hathaway's body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City; his death was ruled a suicide.
Document 12: Lou Rawls: Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American recording artist, voice actor, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his singing ability; Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game". Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". He worked as a television, motion picture, and voice actor. He was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Document 13: Roberta (album): Roberta is Roberta Flack's fourteenth album, released in 1994. It consists of cover versions of jazz and soul standards. It was also her final album for Atlantic Records after twenty five years with the label since her debut.
Document 14: Bustin' Loose (Roberta Flack album): Bustin' Loose is a soundtrack album released by Roberta Flack in 1981. It was recorded for the movie of the same title starring Richard Pryor. Luther Vandross and Peabo Bryson contributed vocals to the album and Vandross wrote the song, "You Stopped Loving Me", which he later performed himself on his debut album "Never Too Much".
Document 15: Etta James: Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album "Seven Year Itch".
ground_truth: Donny Hathaway