Top 10 Roberta Flack Songs

Photo: Roland Godefroy, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Roberta Flack, the acclaimed American singer, songwriter, and pianist, died on February 24, 2025, at the age of 88. Born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, she was a classically trained pianist who received a full music scholarship to Howard University at age 15 and graduated with a degree in music education. After teaching in Washington, D.C., she performed in local clubs, where jazz musician Les McCann heard her at Mr. Henry’s and helped connect her with Atlantic Records. Her debut album, First Take, arrived in 1969.

Flack released 15 studio albums, ending with Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles in 2012. She became the first solo artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years, for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973 and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1974, and she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. She also founded the Roberta Flack School of Music in the Bronx and supported music education and animal welfare. Diagnosed with ALS in 2022, Flack retired from touring but left behind a body of work that continues to influence generations of singers and musicians.

Top 10 Songs From Roberta Flack

# 10 – You’ve Got A Friend

Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway recorded Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” for their 1972 collaborative album Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway. Produced by Joel Dorn and Arif Mardin, their version turns King’s song into an intimate conversation between two singers whose voices fit together naturally. The recording earned Flack and Hathaway a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group.

# 9 – Set the Night to Music

Roberta Flack revived Diane Warren’s “Set the Night to Music” in 1991 as a duet with Maxi Priest. Arif Mardin produced the recording, which became the title track of Flack’s album and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The polished arrangement and the contrast between Flack and Priest made it one of the strongest crossover hits of her later career.

# 8 – Making Love

“Making Love” was written by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Bruce Roberts for the 1982 film of the same name. Bacharach and Bayer Sager produced Flack’s recording, which also appeared on her album I’m the One. The song reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave Flack another major ballad built around restraint rather than vocal excess.

# 7 – If Ever I See You Again

Joe Brooks wrote and produced “If Ever I See You Again” for the 1978 film of the same name, and Roberta Flack recorded her own version for her self-titled album Roberta Flack. The single reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Flack’s understated delivery gives the song’s longing and uncertainty much of its emotional weight.

# 6 – The Closer I Get To You

“The Closer I Get to You” paired Flack again with Donny Hathaway on her 1977 album Blue Lights in the Basement. Written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, the duet reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart. Flack and Hathaway were also nominated for a Grammy for their performance, further cementing the song as one of the defining recordings of their partnership.

# 5 – Tonight, I Celebrate My Love

Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson recorded “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” for their 1983 album Born to Love. Written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser and produced by Masser, the single reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a major international hit. The blend of Flack’s measured phrasing and Bryson’s smooth tenor made the song one of the era’s best-known romantic duets.

# 4 – Where Is the Love

“Where Is the Love” appeared on Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway in 1972. Written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter and produced by Arif Mardin, the duet reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart. Flack and Hathaway won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for the recording.

# 3 – Killing Me Softly with His Song

Roberta Flack transformed “Killing Me Softly with His Song” into one of the defining recordings of the 1970s. Credited to songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel and first recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1972, Flack’s version was produced by Joel Dorn and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 1974 Grammy Awards, Flack’s recording won Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, while the composition won Song of the Year.

# 2 – Feel Like Makin’ Love

Gene McDaniels wrote “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” which Roberta Flack released as a single in 1974 before it appeared on her 1975 album of the same name. Flack produced the recording under the pseudonym Rubina Flake, and the single reached No. 1 on the pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts. Its quiet groove and intimate vocal remain a perfect example of how much Flack could communicate without ever oversinging.

# 1 – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Ewan MacColl wrote “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1957, and Roberta Flack recorded her slow, intimate interpretation for First Take in 1969. The song found a much larger audience after Clint Eastwood used it in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me, leading Atlantic to release it as a single in 1972. It spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at the 1973 Grammy Awards Flack won Record of the Year while MacColl received Song of the Year for the composition.