Hija de Laron LeRoy e Irene Flack, organista de la iglesia. Fue criada en Arlington, Virginia.
Descubrió la obra de artistas afroamericanos tras escuchar a Mahalia Jackson y Sam Cooke cantar en la African-American Baptist church.
Cuando tenía nueve años, comenzó a practicar con el piano y durante su adolescencia, fue una destacada intérprete de piano clásico que gozó de una beca de la Howard University, universidad en la que entró con quince años, siendo una de las estudiantes más jóvenes en matricularse. Se convirtió en directora asistente del coro universitario. Fue maestra en una escuela cerca de Chevy Chase, Maryland. Se graduó en la Universidad a los diecinueve años con un BA en música.
Antes de convertirse en cantante y compositora profesional, fue maestra en la Browne Junior High y la Rabaut Junior High en Washington, DC. También dio clases particulares de piano de su casa en Euclid St. NW. En el Club de Tivoli, acompañó a cantantes de ópera en el de piano. Durante los intermedios, cantaba blues, folk y canciones pop.
Comenzó a cantar profesionalmente después de ser contratada en 1968 para el Mr. Henry's Restaurant, en Capitol Hill, Washington. Se dio a conocer cantando jazz en un nightclub de Washington junto al pianista Les McCann, quién la recomendó a Atlantic Records.
Graba First Take and Chapter Two, con canciones introspectivas y una versión de Ewan MacColl's, 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. Canta 'Where Is The Love' (1972), un dueto junto a Donny Hathaway, y 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' (1973), canción que consigue un éxito rotundo en todo el planeta. Siguió con 'The Closer I Get To You' (1978), 'Back Together Again' (1980) y 'Tonight I Celebrate My Love' (1983).
Definida como clásica, urbana y reservada y sofisticada. Supo mantener un estilo sofisticado que mantuvo un fiel público a lo largo del tiempo. Regresó a las listas de éxitos en 1991 con el dúo 'Set the Night to Music' junto a Maxi Priest.
Miembro de la Artist Empowerment Coalition, que defiende los derechos de autor de los artistas; portavoz de la Sociedad Americana para la Prevención de la Crueldad contra los Animales. Entre 1966 y 1972 estuvo casada con Stephen Novosel. Es tía de la patinadora profesional sobre hielo Rory Flack Burghart. Madre del músico de rhythm and blues Bernard Wright.
Premios Grammy
1972 — Where is the love — Mejor actuación de dúo o grupo
1972 — The first time ever I saw your face — Canción del año
1973 — Killing Me Softly with His Song — Mejor actuación vocal femenina
1973 — Killing me softly with his song — Canción del año
Discografía
1969 First take
1970 Chapter two
1971 Quiet fire
1972 Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
1973 Killing me softly
1975 Feel like makin' love
1975 In Concert: recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
1977 Blue lights in the basement
1978 Roberta Flack
1980 Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway
1981 Bustin' loose
1982 I'm the one
1988 Oasis
1991 Set the night to music
1995 Roberta
1997 Christmas álbum
2003 Holiday
KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG
(Roberta Flack)
Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style.
And so I came to see him to listen for a while.
And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes.
Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd,
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud.
I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on ...
Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair.
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there.
But he just came to singing, singing clear and strong.
Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
He was strumming, oh, he was singing my song.
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song ...
With his song ...
Fuente:
*buscabiografias.com
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