Roberta Flack’s performances softly burned with the fire of life itself
The soul singer was ambitiously diverse in her musicianship, and enthralled at every turn – whether doing desolate folk cover versions or lighter, sophisticated pop
In the liner notes to 2023’s Lost Takes – which excavated the tapes that had served as Roberta Flack’s audition for Atlantic Records over half a century earlier – the poet Harmony Holiday wrote that Flack possessed “the voice of the idyllic afterlife you’d want to arrive in after the end of a dysfunctional world”.
Indeed, Flack sang like she was equally conversant with the ecstasy of faith and the agony of life. The dignified richness of her vocal was tempered by the subtly volcanic power she displayed on her reading of To Sir With Love off Lost Takes – a not-so-quiet fire that always resided within her.
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Killing Me Softly singer Roberta Flack dies aged 88
The star's other hits included The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Feel Like Makin' Love.BBC News - 6h -
Roberta Flack, soul and R&B icon behind Killing Me Softly, dies aged 88
Much-loved singer known for Killing Me Softly With His Song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and duets with Donny Hathaway and Peabo Bryson, had suffered a stroke in 2016. Roberta Flack – a ...The Guardian - 8h -
Roberta Flack, timeless R&B singer who made 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' a hit, dies at 88
Roberta Flack, the R&B singer behind the landmark hits 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' and 'Killing Me Softly With His Song,' has died. She was 88.Los Angeles Times - 7h -
Roberta Flack, Grammy-winning singer of 'Killing Me Softly With His Song,' dies at 88
Grammy award-winning singer Roberta Flack, who crooned hits like “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which was covered by The Fugees with Lauryn HIll, has died. She was 88.NBC News - 6h -
Roberta Flack, Virtuoso Singer-Pianist Behind ‘Killing Me Softly,’ Dies at 88
With majestic anthems like “Killing Me Softly” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Ms. Flack, a former schoolteacher, became one of the most widely heard artists of the 1970s.The New York Times - 1h -
Roberta Flack obituary
Singer with a reserved, intimate style on hits such as The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song. Roberta Flack’s pensive version of Bridge Over Troubled Water , from ...The Guardian - 5h -
Roberta Flack’s 11 Essential Songs
One of the supreme voices of the 1970s and a master of revelatory reinterpretation has died at 88.The New York Times - 6h -
Soulful songstress Roberta Flack dead at 88
Singer Roberta Flack, whose signature voice and soulful interpretations catapulted her to the top of the charts and influenced generations, has died. She was 88.ABC News - 6h -
A timeline of Roberta Flack's career in 10 essential songs
The Grammy-winning singer and pianist died Monday at age 88. Here's some of her most important work.Los Angeles Times - 1h
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