- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRoberta Cleopatra Flack
- Height5′ 3¾″ (1.62 m)
- Roberta Flack was born February 10, 1937 (1939 according to some sources), in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a small town located about 10 miles (18 kilometers) from the city of Asheville, North Carolina. She is best known for her love ballad "Killing Me Softly With His Song", released in 1969. She earned a music scholarship to Howard University and graduated with a BA in Music. She briefly taught music after graduation from college. She was discovered singing and playing jazz in a Washington nightclub by pianist Les McCann, and she later signed a contract with Atlantic Records in the late 1960s. The rest is music history. Roberta's most recent album is a 1997 anthology of Christmas standards simply titled "Christmas Album".
- IMDb mini biography by: John Flack <jtfiii@bellsouth.net>
- SpouseSteve Novosel(July 16, 1965 - June 1973) (divorced)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsIrene CouncilLaron LeRoy Flack
- RelativesIngrid Jeannine Flack (Hunter)(Sibling)Nancy Elvira Flack(Sibling)Della LaRene Flack(Sibling)William Leroy Timothy Flack(Sibling)Rory Flack(Niece or Nephew)
- Smooth silky soulful voice
- Lengthy recordings of songs that tend to run 5 minutes or more
- Her song, "Killing Me Softly" (1973), was a tribute to American Pie singer Don McLean.
- One of her "star pupils" was a young musician by the name of Richard Smallwood who went on to become one of the most celebrated name's in gospel music.
- Her song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", was included on the jazz-tinged soundtrack for Clint Eastwood's 1971 film titled Play Misty for Me (1971).
- She graduated from Howard University with a BA in Music.
- After a period of student teaching, she was discovered singing and playing jazz in a Washington nightclub by pianist Les McCann, who recommended her talents to Atlantic Records, in the late 1960s.
- Women have to do twice the work of male rock singers such as The Rolling Stones. We have to sing, play instruments and get accustomed to walking out on stage in high heels. Never mind the pressures of your image. If something goes wrong on my stage in any way, from sound to style, nobody can blame a band member. It's Roberta Flack who gets the rap and looks bad! I'm the one on the bill alone, with no gang of boys or crew behind me.
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