We were sorry to hear of the passing of Robert Flack earlier today at the age of 88. In tribute, for today’s Forgotten 45 at 3:45 we go back to 1973 for her #1 hit “Killing Me Softly”.
The North Carolina native became the first artist in history to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in back to back years in 1973 and 1974 with “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly”. The first song was used in the Clint Eastwood film “Play Misty For Me”.
The classically trained singer and pianist first worked as a teacher in Washington DC while moonlighting as a nightclub performer in the evenings which caught the attention of Atlantic Records in the late ’60. In addition to her solo hits, she also collaborated with Donny Hathaway in the 70’s on great songs like “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get To You”.
Roberta announced in 2022 that she had ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease and sadly passed away this morning in Manhattan.
Remembering the great Roberta Flack, check out a live performance of “Killing Me Softly” it’s today’s Forgotten 45.
