Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack | |
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Sony/ATV (2011–2018) | |
Website | robertaflack |
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937)
Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.[4]
Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won in 1973 and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won in 1974.
Early life and education
Flack was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, to parents Laron Flack, a Veterans Administration draftsman,[5] and Irene (née Council)[6] Flack[7] a church organist,[8] on February 10, 1937[9][3][2] (some sources have cited 1939 but the 1940 Census gives Roberta's age as 3 years old).[10][11] She grew up in Arlington, Virginia.[12]
Growing up in a large, musical family, she often accompanied the choir of
When Flack was nine, she started taking an interest in playing the piano.[7] During her early teens, Flack excelled at classical piano and Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship.[14]
By age 15, she entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., 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 became a
Career
Early career
Before becoming a professional singer-songwriter, Flack returned to Washington, D.C., and taught at Banneker, Browne, and Rabaut Junior High Schools. She also taught private piano lessons out of her home on Euclid Street, NW in the city. During that time, her music career began to take shape on evenings and weekends in D.C. area night spots.
At the Tivoli Club, she accompanied
1970s
Les McCann discovered Flack singing and playing jazz in a D.C. nightclub.[7] 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 Flack's debut album, First Take, in a mere 10 hours.[12]
In 1971, Flack participated in the legendary Soul to Soul concert film by Denis Sanders, which was headlined by Wilson Pickett along with Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, The Staple Singers, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, The Voices of East Harlem, and others. The U.S. delegation of musical artists was invited to perform for 14th anniversary of African independence in Ghana.[18] The film was digitally reissued on DVD and CD in 2004 but Flack declined permission for her image and recording to be included for unknown reasons. Her 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.[19]
Flack's
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.[20] Flack and Hathaway recorded several duets together, including two LPs, until Hathaway's 1979 death.
On her own Flack scored her second No. 1 hit in 1973, "
1980s
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 No. 13. She began working with Peabo Bryson with more limited success, charting as high as No. 5 on the R&B chart (plus No. 16 Pop and No. 4 Adult Contemporary) with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" in 1983.
In 1986, Flack sang the theme song entitled "Together Through the Years" for the
Later career
In 1999, a star with Flack's name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[14] In the 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.[24] Flack knew John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as both lived in The Dakota apartment building in New York City and had apartments next door to each other. Flack has said that she has been asked to do a second album of Beatles covers.[25] In 2013, she was reported to be involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles' classics.[26]
At age 80, Flack made her most recent recording, Running, the closing credits song of the 2018 feature documentary 3100: Run and Become with music and lyrics by Michael A. Levine.[27]
Critical reputation
In 1971,
Writer and music critic
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 Jason King, her work was regularly described with the adjectives "boring", "depressing", "lifeless", "studied", and "calculated"};[13] in contrast, AllMusic's Steve Huey said it has been called "classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated".[28]
Personal life
Flack is a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocates for artists to have the right 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". The Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, NYC, runs an after-school music program called "The Roberta Flack School of Music" to provide free music education to underprivileged students in partnership with Flack, who founded the school.[29]
From 1966 to 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel. Flack is the aunt of professional ice skater Rory Flack.[30][31] She is also the godmother of musician Bernard Wright, who died in an accident on May 19, 2022.
According to DNA analysis, she is of Cameroonian descent.[32]
Health
On April 20, 2018, Flack was appearing onstage at the Apollo Theater at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America. She became ill, left the stage, and was rushed to the Harlem Hospital Center.[33] In a statement, her manager announced that Flack had had a stroke a few years prior and still was not feeling well, but was "doing fine" and being kept overnight for medical observation.[34]
On November 14, 2022, it was announced by a spokesperson that Flack had been diagnosed with ALS and had retired from performing,[35] due to the disease making it "impossible to sing".[36]
Accolades
On May 11, 2017, Roberta Flack received an honorary Doctorate degree in the Arts from Long Island University.[37]
Flack was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[38]
In 2021, Flack was one of the first inductees into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.[39]
On March 12, 2022, Flack was honored with the DAR Women in American History Award and a restored fire callbox in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington DC commemorating her early-career connection to nearby Mr. Henry's neighborhood bar.[40]
On 24 January 2023, the PBS series American Masters opened its 37th season with an hour-long look at her career.[41]
On May 13, 2023, Flack received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music.
Grammy Awards
The
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 |
"Where Is the Love" (with Donny Hathaway) | Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus | Won | |
Quiet Fire | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated | |
1974 |
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 | ||
1975
|
"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 |
2020 |
Roberta Flack | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | Won |
American Music Awards
The
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Favorite Female Artist (Pop/Rock) | Nominated | |
Favorite Female Artist (Soul/R&B) | Won | ||
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" | Favorite Single (Pop/Rock) | Nominated | |
1975 | 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
- 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)
- Stop the World (1992)
- Roberta (1994)
- The Christmas Album (1997)
- Let It Be Roberta (2012)
- Running (2018)
Citations
- ^ "Music: What Ever Happened to Rubina Flake?". Time. May 12, 1975. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6. Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "Roberta Cleopatra Flack, 10 Feb 1937". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c Powers, Ann (February 10, 2020). "Why Is Roberta Flack's Influence On Pop So Undervalued?". NPR. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
- ^ "After Three Years on Tilt, Roberta Flack Is Finally Lighting Up the Charts Again". People. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ "Laron Flack and Irene Council, 14 Dec 1931". FamilySearch. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Roberta Flack Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- Biography.com. Archived from the originalon November 27, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ "Roberta Cleopatra Flack, 10 Feb 1937". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ISBN 9780313298264. Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ISBN 9780761410720. Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c Steve Huey (February 10, 1939). "Roberta Flack | Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0822340416.
- ^ a b "Roberta Flack". Roberta Flack. Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ "Roberta Flack, Best-Of Edition". NPR. April 21, 2006. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ "Mr. Henry's Restaurant – History Summary". Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Mr. Henry's Restaurant – Home". Mrhenrysrestaurant.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Soul to Soul (film review)". Time Out. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- OCLC 840123917.
- ^ ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.194
- The Deseret News. p. C5. Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- ^ "Bad by Michael Jackson". Songfacts. Songfacts®, LLC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ "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.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Roberta Flack's Long And Winding Road". NPR. February 18, 2012. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Roberta Flack Biography". Robertaflack.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (October 26, 2018). "Roberta Flack Returns With New Song 'Running': Premiere". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- ^ Huey, Steve (n.d.). "Roberta Flack". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ "Roberta Flack School of Music". Robertaflack.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ Jacobson, Robert. "Roberta Flack – Biography". encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (March 23, 1997). "Two Seasoned Voices, Together Raised for a Cause". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ "Growing Interest in DNA-Based Genetic Testing Among African American with Historic Election of President Elect Barack Obama". Prweb.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ^ Haring, Bruce (April 20, 2018). "Roberta Flack Falls Ill At Apollo Theater, Rushed To Hospital". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ Fernandez, Alexia (April 21, 2018). "Singer Roberta Flack Rushed to the Hospital After She Fell Ill at the Apollo Theater". People. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ "Roberta Flack is unable to sing after ALS diagnosis". November 14, 2022 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Roberta Flack has ALS, now 'impossible to sing,' rep says". Associated Press. November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Roberta Flack Inspires Graduates at LIU Brooklyn Commencement - Long Island University". Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ "2009 Inductees". North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ Diop, Arimeta (June 29, 2021). "The Women Songwriters Hall of Fame Has Honored Its First Class of Inductees". Vanity Fair.
- ^ "Legendary Song Artist Roberta Flack Honored in Capitol Hill Ceremony – Photo Essay". CAPITOL HILL CORNER. March 13, 2022. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Roberta Flack Timeline - Season 37 Episode 1". American Masters (PBS). January 17, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "Roberta Flack". Grammy. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
General bibliography
- McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-638354-8.
- Bryan, Sarah; Beverly Patterson (2013). "Roberta Flack". African American Trails of Eastern North Carolina. North Carolina Arts Council. p. 92. ISBN 978-1469610795.
External links
- Official website
- Roberta Flack at IMDb