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Roberta Flack's career spanned six decades, marked by her distinctive vocal style and significant contributions to R&B, jazz, and pop music, making her a celebrated artist whose work resonated across generations.
Collaboration with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company mentioned by Flack.
Roberta Flack describes her partnership with Urbanworld as 'more than a collaboration, it's a strategic alignment of purpose, vision, and cultural power'.
Flack signed with Atlantic Records after being discovered by Les McCann. Her debut album, 'First Take', was released on this label in 1969.
Flack's father, Laron Flack, was a draftsman for the U.S. Veterans Administration.
Flack often provided piano accompaniment for the choir of Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, singing hymns and spirituals.
Flack occasionally sang at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Arlington.
Flack accompanied opera singers at the Tivoli Theatre at the piano and would sing blues, folk, and pop standards during intermissions.
Flack performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club, providing her own piano accompaniment.
In 1968, Flack was hired to perform regularly at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
In 1986, Flack sang the theme song 'Together Through the Years' for the NBC television series 'Valerie', later known as 'The Hogan Family'.
Flack was a spokeswoman for the ASPCA; 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, (now called Leaders In Our Neighborhood Charter School) ran 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.
Flack appeared onstage at the Apollo Theater at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America in 2018.
Roberta Cleopatra Flack, born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was an American singer and pianist. Her early musical experiences were rooted in the church, where her mother served as a church organist, choir director, and music teacher. Flack began piano lessons at age nine, excelling in classical music and winning a statewide competition for Black students at 13. At 15, she received a full music scholarship to Howard University, making her one of its youngest enrollees. She initially majored in piano before switching to voice and became the assistant conductor of the university choir. After graduating at 19, she pursued graduate studies while teaching music and English in Farmville, North Carolina.
Before achieving widespread recognition, Flack taught in Washington, D.C., and performed in nightclubs during evenings and weekends. A turning point came in 1968 when jazz singer Les McCann, impressed by her talent at a benefit concert, arranged an audition with Atlantic Records. She recorded her debut album, “First Take,” in 1969, featuring an “elegant fusion of folk, jazz and soul.” Her collaboration with Donny Hathaway began with her second album, “Chapter Two,” in 1970. Her career trajectory surged when Clint Eastwood used her song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in his film “Play Misty for Me” (1971), leading the song to become a number one hit and earn her a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1973.
Flack continued to achieve significant milestones, including back-to-back Grammy Awards for Record of the Year with “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1974, making her the first solo artist to do so. She frequently collaborated with Donny Hathaway, producing hits like “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You.” Later partnerships included “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” with Peabo Bryson in 1983 and “Set the Night to Music” with Maxi Priest in 1991. In 1999, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2020, she was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Flack continued to perform into her eighties until an ALS diagnosis in late 2022 made singing impossible. She passed away on February 24, 2025, at the age of 88.
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