Roberta Flack facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Roberta Flack
Flack in 1976
Born	Roberta Cleopatra Flack (1937-02-10)February 10, 1937 Black Mountain, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 24, 2025(2025-02-24) (aged 88) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Rubina Flake
Occupation	Singer songwriter musician
Spouse(s)	Steve Novosel ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1972)​
Relatives	Rory Flack (niece) Bernard Wright (godson)
Musical career
Genres	Jazz soul R&B
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Years active	1968–2022
Labels	Atlantic (1968–1996) Angel / Capitol (1997) RAS / 429 / Sony/ATV (2011–2018)

Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist. She was famous for her emotional songs that mixed different music styles. These included R&B, jazz, folk, and pop. Her music even helped create a radio style called quiet storm.

Roberta Flack had many hit songs. These included "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", and "Feel Like Makin' Love". All of these songs reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She made history by being the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year two years in a row.

Flack often worked with Donny Hathaway. They recorded several popular duets together. Some of their hits were "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You". She was one of the most important voices in music during the 1970s. She continued to be active in music for decades. Later, she had success with other duets. These included "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Peabo Bryson (1983) and "Set the Night to Music" with Maxi Priest (1991). Throughout her long career, she sang songs by famous writers like Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles. In 2020, Roberta Flack received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors artists for their entire career.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Roberta Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Her father, Laron Flack, was a jazz pianist. Her mother, Irene Flack, played the organ at church and taught music. When Roberta was five, her family moved to Arlington, Virginia.

Her first experiences with music were in church. She grew up in a big family where everyone loved music. Roberta often played the piano for the choir at her church. She would play hymns and spiritual songs. Sometimes, she also sang at another church in Arlington. Her father bought her an old piano, and she learned to play it while sitting on her mother's lap. Roberta started taking formal piano lessons when she was nine. She loved classical music and was very good at it as a teenager. She even came in second in a state competition for Black students at age 13.

In 1952, at just 15 years old, she won a full music scholarship to Howard University in Washington D.C. She was one of the youngest students ever to attend the university. She first studied piano but later changed her main focus to singing. She also became an assistant conductor for the university choir. Her work directing an opera called Aida was so good that the Howard University teachers gave her a standing ovation. It was at Howard that she met Donny Hathaway, who would later become her musical partner.

After graduating from Howard University at 19, Roberta started teaching music and English. She worked at a high school in Farmville, North Carolina.

Starting Her Music Career

Before becoming a full-time singer, Roberta Flack taught music and English at junior high schools in Washington, D.C. She also gave private piano lessons from her home. During this time, she started performing in nightclubs on evenings and weekends.

She would play piano for opera singers at the Tivoli Theater. During breaks, she would sing blues, folk, and pop songs. She played the piano for herself while she sang. Later, she performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club. Her voice teacher told her she had a bright future in pop music. So, Roberta changed the types of songs she sang. Her reputation grew, and in 1968, she started singing professionally at Mr. Henry's Restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Her big break came in the summer of 1968. She performed at a concert to raise money for a children's library. Les McCann, a soul and jazz singer, saw her perform. He was amazed by her voice. McCann helped her get an audition with Atlantic Records. During the audition, she sang 42 songs in three hours for producer Joel Dorn. Dorn immediately told the record label to sign her. Just three months later, Atlantic recorded her first album, First Take (1969), in only 10 hours. This album was a beautiful mix of folk, jazz, and soul music. It included her famous song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

Success in the 1970s

Roberta Flack's second album, Chapter Two, came out in 1970. This album marked the beginning of her work with Donny Hathaway. He helped arrange the music, played instruments, and sang backup. In 1971, Flack was part of the famous Soul to Soul concert film. This film featured many great artists performing in Ghana for their Independence Day.

Her early songs on Atlantic Records didn't sell very well at first. But then, actor and director Clint Eastwood used "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in his movie Play Misty for Me.

Atlantic Records quickly released the song as a single. It became the biggest hit of 1972, staying at No. 1 for six weeks. The song sold over a million copies. Her First Take album also went to No. 1 and sold nearly 2 million copies in the United States. Clint Eastwood remained a fan and friend of Flack's. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1973.

Flack on the cover of Cash Box, April 22, 1972

In 1972, Flack started recording regularly with Donny Hathaway. They had hits like the Grammy-winning "Where Is the Love" (1972) and "The Closer I Get to You" (1978). Both of these songs sold over a million copies. Flack and Hathaway recorded several duets and two full albums together. After Donny Hathaway passed away in 1979, Flack released their final album together, called Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway.

On her own, Flack had her second No. 1 hit in 1973 with "Killing Me Softly with His Song". This song won both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 1974 Grammy Awards. The album Killing Me Softly became her best-selling album. In 1974, Flack released "Feel Like Makin' Love", which became her third and final No. 1 hit. She produced this song and her 1975 album of the same name using the name Rubina Flake.

In 1974, Flack sang the main song "Freedom" for the movie Huckleberry Finn. She also performed "When We Grow Up" with a young Michael Jackson on a TV special. In 1975, she sang two songs for an animated Christmas special called The Tiny Tree. Her 1977 album Blue Lights in the Basement included another hit duet with Hathaway, "The Closer I Get to You." They started working on a second album of duets, but Hathaway passed away in 1979. Flack was very sad, but she finished the album, and it was released in 1980.

Music in the 1980s and 1990s

Flack in 1995

Roberta Flack found a new singing partner in Peabo Bryson. They released an album called "Live and More" in 1980. Their 1983 album "Born to Love" included the hit song "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", which reached No. 2 in the UK. Flack also had a hit in 1982 with "Making ...", which reached No. 13.

Flack continued to tour in the 1980s, often with a live orchestra. In 1986, she sang the theme song "Together Through the Years" for the TV show The Hogan Family. This song was used for all six seasons of the show. In 1987, Flack provided the voice of Michael Jackson's mother in his short film for the song "Bad". Her 1988 album Oasis did not become a big pop hit. However, the title song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart.

In 1991, Flack was back in the US Top 10 with a cover of "Set the Night to Music". This was a duet with British-Jamaican reggae singer Maxi Priest. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 1996, the group The Fugees released a popular hip-hop remix of "Killing Me Softly."

Later Career and Legacy

Flack in 2002

Flack performing in 2013

In 1999, Roberta Flack received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That same year, she went on a concert tour in South Africa. During her visit, she sang "Killing Me Softly" for President Nelson Mandela at his home. In 2010, she performed a duet of "Where Is The Love" with Maxwell at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Roberta Flack's music influenced a style of R&B called quiet storm. She also sang many songs by famous songwriters like Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.

In February 2012, Flack released Let It Be Roberta, an album of Beatles cover songs. This was her first album in eight years. Flack knew John Lennon and Yoko Ono because they lived in the same apartment building in New York City. Their son, Sean, even called her "Aunt Roberta."

Roberta Flack continued to perform into her eighties. She recorded "Running" for a documentary film in 2018. She stopped performing after she was diagnosed with a health condition that made it impossible to sing.

Personal Life and Advocacy

Roberta Flack was a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition. This group worked to help artists control their own creative work. She was also a spokesperson for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Her commercials for the ASPCA featured her song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

Flack also founded "The Roberta Flack School of Music." This after-school program in the Bronx, New York City, provided free music education to students who might not otherwise get it. Roberta Flack was also a supporter of gay rights. She believed that "Love is love. Between a man and a woman, between two men, between two women. Love is universal, like music."

From 1966 to 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel. Roberta Flack was the aunt of professional ice skater Rory Flack. She was also the godmother of musician Bernard Wright, who passed away in 2022. For 40 years, Flack lived in The Dakota building in New York City, right next door to Yoko Ono and John Lennon. She was also friends with activists Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis, and author Maya Angelou.

Later Years and Passing

In 2018, Roberta Flack became ill while performing at the Apollo Theater. Her manager announced that she had experienced a stroke a few years before. In late 2022, it was announced that Flack had been diagnosed with ALS, a disease that affects the ability to sing. Because of this, she retired from performing.

Roberta Flack passed away on February 24, 2025, at the age of 88. A memorial service was held on March 10, 2025, where artists like Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Stevie Wonder performed tributes to her.

Awards and Honors

Roberta Flack received many awards and honors throughout her career. On May 11, 2017, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Long Island University. She was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2021, Flack was one of the first people to be inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.

On March 12, 2022, Flack was honored with the DAR Women in American History Award. A restored fire callbox in Washington D.C. was also dedicated to her. This honored her early connection to Mr. Henry's bar, where she often performed.

On January 24, 2023, the PBS series American Masters featured an hour-long special about her career. On May 13, 2023, Flack received another honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music.

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are given out every year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Roberta Flack won four Grammy Awards from thirteen nominations.

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards are annual awards created in 1973. Roberta Flack won the award for Best Soul/R&B Female Artist at the very first show in 1974.

Discography

See also

In Spanish: Roberta Flack para niños