| NPR Shop | NPR Community | Login | Register

Share this page using one of the following services:

 

What is this?

 

Roberta Flack, In Full Voice on America's Soundtrack

Roberta Flack

Flack says musicians should practice humility: "Don't wave [others' music] off 'cause you don't understand it. Listen for the heartbeat. It's there."

March 25, 2006 - Roberta Flack has been an unmistakable voice in American music since the 1960s. Her hits, from 1974's "Feel Like Makin' Love" to the chart-topping "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," are part of the soundtrack of many people's lives. That soundtrack has been compiled on a new album, The Very Best of Roberta Flack.

Flack was a public-school teacher when she began performing during Sunday brunch at a bar in Washington, D.C., in 1968. She eventually began singing nights, and her shows became so popular that the bar, a Capitol Hill spot named Mr. Henry's, had to turn people away.

Mr. Henry's became a hot spot, and Flack got a recording contract with Atlantic Records. After a 1970 appearance on a Bill Cosby television special, her career caught fire.

Flack's music definitely resonates with a younger generation of artists — from the Fugees, who covered "Killing Me Softly," to Rapper Kanye West, who sampled her for his song "Hey Mama." Flack says she's grateful to still be performing at age 67, but she takes nothing for granted.

Share this page using one of the following services:

 

What is this?

 

Comments

Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.

 
 

Feeds

PodcastRSS

  • Music Interviews & Profiles
     
  • All Things Considered
     
 
 

Web Resources

 

  • Roberta Flack

    Purchase Featured Music

    close window
     
    • CD: The Very Best of Roberta Flack
    • Artist: Roberta Flack
    • Released: 0
    •  
    •  
     
    Your purchase helps support NPR Programming. How?