A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Roberta Flack (b. February 10, 1939): Legendary, iconic, and innovative musician, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, ensemble leader, and teacher
SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
SUMMER, 2016
VOLUME THREE NUMBER ONE
MARY LOU WILLIAMS
Featuring the Musics and Aesthetic Visions of: JULIUS HEMPHILL June 18-24 ARTHUR BLYTHE June 25-July 1 OSCAR BROWN, JR. July 2-July 8
Classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated
-- all of these terms have been used to describe the music of Roberta Flack,
particularly her string of romantic, light jazz ballad hits in the
1970s, which continue to enjoy popularity on MOR-oriented adult
contemporary stations. Flack
was the daughter of a church organist and started playing piano early
enough to get a music scholarship and eventually, a degree from Howard
University. After a period of student teaching, Flack was discovered singing at a club by jazz musician Les McCann and signed to Atlantic.
Her first two albums -- 1969's First Take and 1970's Chapter Two -- were well received but produced no hit singles; however, that all changed when a version of Ewan MacColl's
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," from her first LP, was included
in the soundtrack of the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. The single zoomed
to number one in 1972 and remained there for six weeks, becoming that
year's biggest hit. Flack followed it with the first of several duets with Howard classmate Donny Hathaway, "Where Is the Love." "Killing Me Softly with His Song" became Flack's second number one hit (five weeks) in 1973, and after topping the charts again in 1974 with "Feel Like Makin' Love," Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes.
She charted several more times over the next few years, as she did with the Top Ten 1977 album Blue Lights in the Basement -- featuring "The Closer I Get to You," a number two ballad with Hathaway.
A major blow was struck in 1979 when her duet partner, one of the most
creative voices in soul music, committed suicide. Devastated, Flack eventually found another creative partner in Peabo Bryson,
with whom she toured in 1980. The two recorded together in 1983,
scoring a hit duet with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love."
Flack spent the remainder of the '80s touring and performing, often with orchestras, and also several times with Miles Davis. She returned to the Top Ten once more in 1991 with "Set the Night to Music," a duet with Maxi Priest that appeared that year on the album of the same name. Her Roberta
full-length, featuring interpretations of jazz and popular standards,
followed in 1994. As she continued into the 21st century, Flack recorded infrequently but released albums like 2012's Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles, which showed that her poise and balanced singing had aged well. Varese Sarabande released a lovingly remixed version of Flack's fine 1997 holiday album Christmas Songs (it had originally appeared from Capitol Records under the title The Christmas Album) that same year, adding in an additional track, "Cherry Tree Carol."
Internationally hailed as one of the greatest singers of our time, GRAMMY Award winning Roberta Flack remains unparalleled in her ability to tell a story through her music. Her songs bring insight into our lives, loves, culture and politics, while effortlessly traversing a broad musical landscape from pop to soul to folk to jazz.
Classically trained on the piano from an early age, Ms. Flack received a music scholarship at age 15 to attend Howard University. Discovered while singing at the Washington, DC nightclub Mr. Henry's by jazz musician Les McCann, she was promptly signed to Atlantic With a string of hits, including, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Where Is the Love (a duet with former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway), Killing Me Softly With His Song, Feel Like Makin' Love, The Closer I Get to You, Tonight I Celebrate My Love, and Set the Night to Music, Ms. Flack has built a musical legacy. In 1999, she aptly received a Star on Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame.
Roberta is currently involved with a very exciting studio venture — an interpretive album of Beatles' classics.
She regularly plays to appreciative audiences around the world, and had the pleasure of appearing recently with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. In February 2009, Ms. Flack performed with critically acclaimed orchestras in Australia, including the Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, Tasmanian, West Australian and Sydney Symphonies.
Very active as a humanitarian and mentor, Ms. Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, providing an innovative and inspiring music education program to underprivileged students free of charge. Download Bio PDF
Quick Facts Name Roberta Flack Occupation Songwriter, Singer Birth Date February 10, 1939 (age 79) Education Howard University Place of Birth Black Mountain, North Carolina
Roberta Flack is a Grammy-winning singer and pianist known for hits like “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.”
Synopsis
Roberta Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in Asheville, North Carolina, and signed to Atlantic Records before releasing her debut album First Take. She's had hits in the ‘70s-‘90s, including “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Where Is the Love,” and she collaborated frequently with soul legend Donny Hathaway. Flack has also won several Grammys.
Early Life
Born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, Roberta Flack is the daughter of a church organist. She began taking piano lessons at an early age and eventually received a music scholarship to Howard University. After graduation, she taught music and sang in clubs, where she was discovered by jazz musician Les McCann who helped her land a record deal with Atlantic.
Commercial Success
Flack's first two albums were well received, but it wasn't until her version of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" hit the radio waves as part of the soundtrack for Play Misty for Me that she gained national recognition. The song soared to be the number one hit for 1972, and Flack followed with several other chart-topping duets with Howard classmate Donny Hathaway, including "Where Is the Love," "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Feel Like Makin' Love."
During the late 1970s, Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes. In 1979, tragedy struck when Hathaway committed suicide, and she was forced to find another partner. Eventually teaming up and touring with Peabo Bryson in 1980, the duo scored a hit in 1983 with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love." She spent the remainder of the 1980s touring and performing, and returned to the Top Ten once more in 1991 with "Set the Night to Music," a duet with Maxi Priest. In 1997, Flack released an anthology of Christmas standards simply titled Christmas Album.
Over the two decade period from 1970-1990, Roberta Flack quietly opened doors for a new generation of female singers, making beautiful music but also making history. Her gentle amalgamation of Soul, Gospel and folk, combined with a message of both empowerment and love, created an intelligent, thoughtful pathway for modern singers such as India.Arie and Jill Scott.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1937, Flack was attracted to music and became a talented singer and pianist at a very young age. In addition to her musical family, the members of which were involved in their church choir and orchestra, she was influenced by the great Gospel singers of her day, especially Mahalia Jackson. Amazingly, she was accepted into Howard University on a full music scholarship at age 15, and there she met future singing partner Donny Hathaway. Jazz pianist Les McCann heard her perform in 1968 and brought her to the attention of Atlantic Records, which signed her in 1969.
Her 1970 debut album, First Take, was a sparsely arranged, acoustic album that combined elements of soul, folk and jazz, and was a mild success until Clint Eastwood included the slow ballad, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," in his 1972 thriller Play Misty For Me, after which the song was released as a single and shot to #1. In the meantime, however, she had released three other albums, including Chapter Two, Quiet Fire and her album of duets with Hathaway, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. The former two solidified her appeal to a new generation of educated, urban African Americans, while the latter became an unadulterated smash across the board and a critical favorite of a scope perhaps still unmatched by any subsequent album of duets. It became a radio favorite based on such great cuts as "Where is the Love" and "You've Got A Friend," but became a classic because of the deep balladry and sensitivity of "Come Ye Disconsolate," "I (Who Have Nothing)," "Be Real Black for Me" and a breathtaking cover of "For All We Know."
After the success of "The First Time," Flack scored even bigger with the album and single "Killing Me Softly," her second number one and a hit 20 years later for the Fugees. She followed the next year with the jazzier Feel Like Makin' Love. Despite significant resistance from Atlantic, she took on the role of producer for that album (using the pseudonym "Rubina Flake") and surrounded herself with an amazing crew of jazz musicians and singers, including Bob James, Ralph McDonald, Hugh McCracken and Patti Austin. She was vindicated when the title cut became her third #1.
Flack slowed down her recording schedule over the next couple of years, but came back in 1977 with another classic duet with Hathaway, "The Closer I Get To You" (most recently remade by Luther Vandross and Beyonce). It also hit #1 and led off her solid Blue Lights in the Basement, which also included a wonderful ballad "Where I'll Find You." She stumbled a bit the next year, working with pop producer Joe Brooks ("You Light Up My Life") on her rather bland eponymous 1978 album, but scored a minor hit with "If Ever I See You Again." That year she began working on another album of duets with Hathaway, but their collaboration was tragically cut short when Hathaway committed suicide. His death sent her reeling, but in 1980 she released the album Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway, which included mostly solo material but also two songs she had completed with Hathaway before his death ("Only Heaven Can Wait" and Stevie Wonder's "You Are My Heaven").
In 1979, Flack began a sporadic two decade singing relationship with Peabo Bryson, starting with the disappointing Live and More disc, but redeeming itself three years later with the fine Urban Adult Contemporary disc Born to Love. The latter resulted in a number of notable songs, including the #1 "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," "You're Looking Like Love to Me," and the excellent album cut "Maybe." Her solo recordings during the period had less success.
Flack then took another few years off before producing and releasing the airy Oasis in 1988. It was her most consistently pleasing album in 15 years, and included great material (some written by Flack) and another top notch posse of musicians. Oasis reintroduced Flack to urban adult audiences and stayed on the charts for several months. She followed it three years later with Set the Night to Music, a lesser disc that included a hit duet with Maxi Priest. In 1994 Flack released Roberta, an album of standards that became her last major release. She has since recorded two Christmas albums, 1997's Christmas Album (which included "As Long As There Is Christmas," a duet with Bryson that was included in Beauty and the Beast 2) and 2003's Holiday.
In February 2005, Rhino Records released The Very Best of Roberta Flack, an excellent career retrospective that includes all the hits and a number of fine album cuts. It is the best and most comprehensive compilation yet of Flack's legendary career.
Flack continues to tour regularly, particularly in the annual Colors of Christmas tour. She is also actively involved AEC (Artist Empowerment Coalition), an advocacy group working for artists' rights and control of their creative properties.
In 2009, Flack began mentioning publicly that she was working on a Beatles tribute album, to be titled Let It Be Roberta. She released the first single, "We Can Work It Out," in Fall of 2011 and the album is slated for a February 2012 release.
Roberta Flack continues to be admired by a younger generation of intelligent, creative soul singers whose pathway to success was in large part paved by this talented, classic soul artist.
Born
in North Carolina and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Roberta Flack
started out playing classical piano, first teaching music and then
rising to fame as a jazz singer in the early 70s. Her first hit, boosted
by its inclusion on the Play Misty for Me soundtrack, was a Grammy-winning version of Ewan MacColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. She won a second Grammy in 1974 for her version of Killing Me Softly With His Song, which was successfully covered two decades later by hip-hop act the Fugees. Her most recent album is Let It Be Roberta,
a collection of Beatles covers, and she joins Dionne Warwick, the
Drifters and the Supremes’ Mary Wilson for the Legends Live UK tour, 3,
4, 6 October.
I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, in a place that the black people
referred to as Green Valley. It was not a green valley at all but it was
OK. My family was a happy family. My mom played the organ and piano; I
had lots of relatives who sang. One artist who inspired me was Mahalia
Jackson. I loved her voice. It gave me goosebumps. I didn’t think I
could ever sing like that because I had a very slight voice when I was a
child, but now I realise that what I was hearing from Mahalia was her
experience – as an adult, as a musician. All that comes into play when
you perform.
The music I loved to play in church
Handel’s Messiah (1741)
I started classical piano lessons when I was nine. In the church I
grew up in, gospel music was not the important thing. I remember playing
Handel’s Messiah on the organ for the church choir when I was
13 or 14. We weren’t mindblowers, I’m not trying to suggest that, but it
was exciting to have that assignment. Handel was a serious guy – an
astute musician and songwriter. He put a lot of work into Messiah, but the reason we like singing “Hallelujah” so much is because it’s easy to remember.
The song that kickstarted my singing career
Don’t Take Your Love From Me (written by Henry Nemo and published in 1941)
When I was 15, I enrolled at Howard University in Washington DC.
Every year, they had a freshman talent show at the music school. I was
recruited to play piano for a girl from Atlanta, Georgia, who wanted to
sing Don’t Take Your Love From Me. She had a lovely voice, but on the
day she decided she couldn’t do it, she was too nervous, so the senior
music student running the show asked me if I’d like to sing it instead. I
said: “Oh, I don’t know” – but I wound up winning the show. I loved
that song and I still love it because of that experience.
I was listed in my yearbook as having an affinity for dancing. I
loved to dance and this is a song that would get me going. I listened to
the Drifters a lot when I was younger – Clyde McPhatter, the lead
singer, is a very important name in black music history. But, really,
I’d dance to whatever everybody else was dancing to. If other people in
my age group liked it, I liked it too, because I was young and easily
influenced, as young people are.
The music I play to relax
Études Op 10, Chopin (1833)
I wanted to be a Chopin genius when I was younger, just to upset
people, but I did not succeed with that effort as much as I thought I
would. But when I want to play something to make me feel at ease, I play
Chopin’s first Étude, which is just beautiful.
I love hip-hop. In fact I love music, period. Lauryn Hill recorded
Killing Me Softly [with the Fugees] and did an excellent job. She’s a
genius musician and so is Wyclef Jean who co-produced it. I’m not going
to hold on to that song with my heart and bleed to death while someone
else covers it; I’m a music lover who has enough experience and common
sense to know that it’s good they recorded it and had a hit. I had a hit
with it, too, but I wasn’t the first person who recorded it.
I started finding my voice around the time the Beatles started
playing and I bought everything they recorded. I learned all of their
songs and taught them to my students in junior high school in Washington
DC. What appeals to me about the Beatles is their purity. They weren’t
waiting for somebody else to come up with the idea, it just came out of
them. They were several steps beyond original. When it came to recording
my Beatles covers album in 2012, I had found my own space with their
music and was able to interpret their songs in my own way.
You haven't lived until you hear Roberta Flack sing Feel Like Makin' Love over the phone. Her folk-soul voice is still so warm and rich. In today's Wall Street Journal (go here), I write about Roberta's new Beatles album, Let It Be Roberta.
This CD isn't your typical pop-tribute album. Instead, It's a bold,
revisionist interpretation of Fab Four hits that strips away the all-too
familiar trappings and replaces them with soul, folk, gospel and
electronica. In short, it's wild and peaceful.
Born in Asheville, N.C., where her mother was a church organist,
Roberta moved with her family to Washington, D.C., in 1961. She won a
piano scholarship to Howard University at age 15, taught grade school
after graduating, and began performing at Washington, D.C. clubs.
Discovered by pianist Les McCann, she was soon signed to Atlantic
Records.
On First Take, her initial album in 1969, Ms. Flack recorded The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, a 1957 folk song. The album floated along until Clint Eastwood used the ballad in his movie Play Misty for Me in 1971. The exposure turned the song into a hit and put Roberta in orbit.
Here's my interview with Roberta Flack, 74, in which we talk about her earlier hits, her new album and her vision for the music...
JazzWax: Did you know Ewan MacColl, the composer of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face?
Roberta Flack: I was so young and innocent in the entertainment business back then in the late 1960s. Do you know
the love story behind the song? Peggy Seeger was at a folk festival in
Canada in the late ‘50s with her husband, and Ewan was with his wife
there. Apparently he looked at Peggy and wrote the song: I thought the sun rose in your eyes, and the moon and stars were the gifts you gave, to the dark and empty skies. Wow. Peggy eventually became Ewan's wife. [Pictured: Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl]
JW: Did you speak with Seeger about your version? RF: Yes,
after Ewan died in 1989. She paid me a powerful compliment. She said
she loved what I had done with the song and that she was sure my
rendition was exactly what Ewan would have wanted to say.
JW: Feel like Makin’ Love in 1974 had one of earliest hustle beats, didn’t it, along with George McCrae's Rock Your Baby?
RF: Yes it did. Wow, listen to you! You’re on top of your game. That song’s success had a lot to do with [pianist] Dave
Grusin, [bassist] Gary King and [drummer] Ralph McDonald. When Gene
[McDaniels] first called and sang his song to me, he just strummed it.
Strum strum, strum and singing. [Roberta sings the opening lyrics.] I basically had that feeling in my mind when I went into the studio.
JW: How did the soft dance beat wind up in there? RF:
I wanted the song to have that feel. I wanted it to move along without
too much of a sentimental feeling. I felt it said what it had to say. I
sang it down one time, and Gene said, “Whoa, that was really great. Now
can you do it once more, making some of the phrases more rubato?”
JW: What did you say?
RF: I
said, “Nooo, I love that.” We played it back, and Ralph McDonald
[pictured] said, “I think that’s it Ro.” Everyone agreed. I did that
song in one take. Much of what I recorded in the early days was done on
the first take.
JW: Was it McDonald’s idea to add the beat?
RF: Yes.
I just had to sit down and sing. Once they captured my voice, Dave
[Grusin] and Ralph and others sat down and added their tracks. Ralph put
that beat in there.
JW: So who came up with the idea for your new Beatles album, Let It Be Roberta?
RF: Johnny De Mairo. He’s a dance-record producer and DJ who used to work at Atlantic. He produced and remixed my last album for Rhino back in 2006 [The Very Best of Roberta Flack]. It's a compilation of my love songs. He had heard a tape while at Atlantic that hadn't been released.
JW: What was it?
RF: The Beatles' Here, There and Everywhere. He heard my live recording at Carnegie
Hall [May 7, 1971]. It was to have been part of a live album that was
never released. When he heard that song, he thought an album of Beatles
material would be great. He pitched the idea to Sony, and they loved the
idea. The first taste we gave them was Here Comes the Sun. It’s really special—listen [Roberta plays the track]. I first did this arrangement about 22 years ago.
JW: The album places a lot of emphasis on beats and guitars.
RF:
I know, don’t you love it? I wanted a lot of attention placed on the
guitars—acoustic, electric, everything. Some sound folk, others sound
like Jimi Hendrix. They remind you of the Beatles but they also make it
contemporary.
JW: On Let it Be, you have a hard rock guitar wailing away.
RF: I had a vision of calling in the mighty Prince to record the guitar track. I saw him play on a tribute to George Harrison,
and he was the last guitarist to come out. He jammed so hard on that. I
said to the album’s producer Sherrod Barnes [pictured], “I want a
little bit of Jimi here." I told him I wanted to call Prince. Sherrod [pronounced SHARE-od] said, “Uh, OK.” Then one day I came in and Sherrod
was laying down guitar tracks to Let It Be. He totally wiped me out. He was totally channeling Hendrix. Sherrod sings the song’s words through his guitar.
JW: Have Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney heard the album?
RF: Paul has heard Hey Jude and Here Comes the Sun. I’m sure he has heard the rest of it. I just spoke to his rep. And yes, Yoko loved it. She wrote the liner notes.
JW: You put a lot of trust in Sherrod Barnes.
RF: He came to me 12 years ago. He called from North Carolina and said he wanted to come to New York. I helped him
come up here. He's worked for me and then went on to work with Nick
Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and he has produced Beyoncé. Sherrod also
has done a lot of work undercover on other albums. On my Beatles album, I
wanted to give him a chance to be out front as a producer and arranger
because he does both so well. Whenever we’re on stage, I just need to
hear two or three notes from him and I turn my head and say, “Yeah,
Sherrod.”
JW: But an album like this is certainly a risk. RF: How so?
JW: Your older fans may think it’s too far out, while younger listeners may feel it’s not freaky enough. RF: The music takes care of that. How freaky can anyone get
on here? You can, but then it’s a mockery. We’re making music, not a
mockery. I know some of my older fans are going to say, “What the ham
sandwich was she thinking?” [laughs]. When I've played it for younger kids, they say, “Yeah, yeah.”
JW:
So how did you come to leave the album's masters in a New York City cab
in March 2010? And in the digital age, why would you need a suitcase
for a few CDs? RF: It wasn’t all recordings. I’ve
been working on the album for five years. I had every possible thing
related to a Beatles song in there—books, articles, everything.
JW: Why so much stuff?
RF:
I need to know everything about a song before singing it. Many of the
Beatles materials in that suitcase were out of print. I found all the
items and paid dearly for them. Then I studied them. I had all of that
in the suitcase plus my “let’s see if this works” moments on CDs.
JW: You must have flipped out
RF: I did. The driver was so nice. I came out of a hotel where
I had been meeting with someone rolling my small suitcase. It was
raining, and the doorman took my bag and put it in the seat behind me.
Once we started rolling, the driver started talking to me. He recognized
me.
JW: What did you talk about?
RF: I told him about the Beatles project, and he starts singing Yesterday. It was so warm and friendly.
When I pulled up at the courthouse downtown, I got out and went into
jury duty. Of course, once I got in there, I realized I didn’t have my
suitcase. But by then, I was locked in. I told the people at the
courthouse what had happened. Fortunately I had a receipt, and they
tracked down the driver.
JW: Then what happened? RF: He came back. Fortunately he still had my suitcase. He even waited around to take me home. He got a big tip.
JW: On The Long and Winding Road, who’s singing with you?
RF:
That’s Sherrod. That’s what I’m telling you. He's amazing. He can do it
all. We’re working on three other CD projects now. One is with my Real
Artists Symposium—musicians I have worked with in the past. We’re also
revamping a Christmas album. And the third is a collection of songs I
want to do. Hold on, I want to play a track for you. No one has heard
this yet. I’m so bad at this computer stuff. Hang on...
[Roberta plays a track of her singing Stevie Wonder’s Come Back as a Flower.]
RF: Stevie recorded it on his album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (1979). He called me right after his divorce
from Syreeta in 1972, God rest her soul. He told me he had just written
a song for me. Then he played it for me on the phone. Later, Syreeta
wound up singing the lead vocal on the album because by then she was
very sick.
JW: You have a real ear for talented younger musicians.
RF: They have a real ear for me. They come from great music schools and say to me, “Ms. Flack, I can play gospel,” and
then they play gospel. Then they say, "I can play hip-hop and
avant-garde jazz," and they do, making you think Thelonious Monk is
sitting right there. They also can write for an orchestra. At the end,
they say, “I want to work with you.” What am I supposed to say? Even if I
don’t have the money, I say, “Let me see what I can do.” [laughs]
JW: There’s something’s missing on Hey Jude, isn’t there?
RF: [Laughing] Yes, I did. Listen to this [Roberta puts on the song].
I decided to leave out the la-la-la-la's at the end. They're lovely
vowels to sing and verbalize, but I wanted my interpretation to be
quieter and more sentimental. When we do it live on stage, when we get
to that part I’m going to say to the audience, “Now it’s your turn.”
JW: As a long-time neightbor of Yoko Ono and John Lennon, Hey Jude has special meaning, doesn't it?
RF:
It does. Paul wrote the song for John [Lennon’s] son Julian. I just
felt from my research that it deserved a more quiet treatment by me
accompanied by acoustic guitar. Guitar and voice throughout the
centuries have not been a losing combination. [Pictured: Roberta Flack
with Donny Hathaway]
JW: There’s a distinctly young flavor on this album—but there’s a traditional church feel here, too.
RF:
You know, there’s a lot to be said for the rock-era songwriters like
Elton John, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
and many others. There’s
a lot of church in their music. I purposefully chose Beatles songs that
felt like hymns. Lyrics that can be repeated, and melodies that are
accessible to the public’s ears. [Roberta starts to sing Killing Me Softly With His Song]
Songs that felt like that. The melody and the thought behind them is so
easy for people to get to. That’s what makes a great hit tune in terms
of interpretation—its hymn-like quality.
JW:Oh Darling has a blues thing going on.
RF:
Yes it does. I wanted to channel B.B. King. At first I thought of Ray
Charles but resisted strings. But as I sang the song, I channeled Ray. I
actually moved from side to side to get that groove. I found guitarist
Dean Brown to play behind me. He’s a genius.
JW: And yet I Should Have Known Better is nothing like the 1964 original.
RF: Yes,
it’s completely different. I was worried about taking those chances.
The essence of how I wanted to make the song and define it is, I should
have known better, a literal feel. I've visualized doing that song on
the Grammys. My dream would be to perform it as a duet with Lady
Gaga—with the two of us on grand pianos. Wouldn't that be something?
JW: For sure. How do you keep your voice in shape? It sounds sound young and amazing.
RF: I take a voice lesson every week for an hour or so—to stay
in shape and clear my mind. After all these years, that’s a big
concern—what’s in my head. Stuff now constantly gets in there. I ask
myself, "Is that going to be alright?" "Should I do that again?" When
you’re young, you just gurgle it out. After so many albums, you start to
question everything.
JW: A touch of self-doubt?
RF:
It’s not self-doubt. It’s trying to determine the best direction and
approach at a time when so much is changing. These lessons allow me to
work on my voice and my mind.
JW: It has been eight years between new albums. What have you been doing?
RF: Working with the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx [which she started
in 2006]. I’m just trying to keep the school going, and it’s not easy.
Prince generously gave an initial donation. But raising money during the
recent recession hasn’t made this task easy. I’d like to expand beyond
9th grade to the 12th grade. I want the kids to have choices. They are
the ones who are writing the hits these days.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Roberta Flack's Let It Be Roberta at iTunes and Amazon. The album will be released on Tuesday.
JazzWax clip: Here's Roberta Flack's rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water, from her 1971 album Quiet Fire.
It's a smoldering rendition that Roberta said compelled Elton John to
send her a letter later that read, "Dear Roberta, I have never heard
anything this beautiful in years"...
Soul singer Roberta Flack, who will be touring the UK with Legends Live this
autumn, talks about her enduring love of music
Roberta Flack performing in 1976Photo: ROBERT LEGON/REX
by Sarah Carson
16 Jul 2015
"It's a perfect song. Second only to Amazing Grace, I think."
Roberta Flack is telling me about The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,
her biggest hit and one of the most-covered songs in history.
"People just respond to it, they hear it and they don't know what to do. I never met Ewan MacColl[the
English folk singer who wrote it] but I met his wife, Peggy Seeger,
whom he wrote it for. He's a perfect composer, and it says a lot about
his talent and his romance for her that here I am, still singing it all
these years later."
Forty-six
years, to be precise, since Flack first recorded the song on her debut
album First Take, and 42 since she and MacColl won both Record and Song
of the Year respectively at the 1973 Grammy awards.
Now in her late seventies, she's set to perform three dates in the UK
in October on the Legends Live tour, with fellow stalwarts of soul
Dionne Warwick, The Drifters, and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.
Roberta Flack performing in Washington in 2003 (Photo: AP Photo/Vivian Ronay)
"I'm very excited, I don't remember the last time I was in London but
it's been a while," she tells me on the phone from America. "I've worked
with Dionne and The Drifters before – though they've changed since then
– but never with Mary Wilson."
The first singer to win the
Grammy Record of the Year two years running, Flack is best known for her
singles, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly with
His Song, Feel Like Makin' Love, and Where Is the Love. Singing
professionally since 1968, Flack's music spans folk, soul, R&B and
jazz, her most recent record a collection of Beatles covers, Let It Be Roberta, in 2012. After so long, is soul music still thriving, as in Flack's Seventies heyday?
"There's a lot we can be sure of, as humans, and change is one of the
big ones. The genre has changed, but I've never thought of music as
'soul', rather 'soul-ful'," she says. "Music is a big wide area, it
covers elements of soul in a very unique way, but now, we are living in a
time when music is more soulfully performed by everybody. There's very
little difference in black music and white music – it's a good time and a
good space for how music is interpreted. Nowadays, everybody has a
licence to like what they like. When I was young, we were not given that
choice. It wasn't strange back then, and we didn't ask for it. But we
have it now.
"Now's a good time to love music – any kind of
music." So what contemporary artists does she like? She surprises me: "I
listen to Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj –
just like everybody else." She raves about one artist in particular, "I
love Diana Krall, she's married to Elvis Costello. She's beautiful and
so talented."
I note that she has mentioned only female artists –
is it easier for women in the music industry now than it was when she
was younger?
"Back in the Seventies, I didn't feel like I had to
fight to get my voice heard. It might have been hard for some, but when
things are difficult, that inspires me even more to do things.
"It's a hard business," she continues. "But man or woman, you face
difficulties in life. The song is the telling factor – if it catches you
deeply, you hang on to that feeling."
On stage in 1972 (Photo: Rex)
It's clear, from the passion with which she discusses the world of
music – both her own and others' – that songs have been catching her
deeply for a long time. Born into a musical family in North Carolina,
Flack began learning to play the piano at nine, and was awarded a full
music scholarship to Howard University in Washington DC by the age of
15.
"I never expected I'd still be performing at this age,
definitely not as a soloist – and of popular songs too! I thought I'd be
playing Chopin and classical piano, but that's not how God had it
planned, and it's a wonderful thing."
Flack began graduate
studies in music at 19, but her father's sudden death forced her to
start teaching. She juggled the job with performing nights and weekends
in clubs around Washington, widening her repertoire from classical to
pop and eventually, she says "being given a chance" and going
professional. Her command of the conversation implies that the teacher
instinct is still within her – she agrees.
"There's a lot to be
said about performing and teaching. To tell an interesting class, to
make a point, people consider me to be teaching. I love sharing songs
with people when I sing. When I started out, I wanted to be the world's
greatest musician," she jokes. "Just kidding. I wanted to be successful,
a serious all-round musician. I listened to a lot of Aretha, The
Drifters, trying to do some of that myself, playing, teaching. I was
always busy working at a restaurant in DC. I wanted to play Chopin's
Études on stage – all piano players do. I'd hear a song, have it in my
head and think, 'listen, I gotta share this'."
Now, she admits, she doesn't play classical music as much as she
"should", but that background helped her. "I feel trained. I'm very
picky when I choose songs, a lot of that has to do with the fact that I
can read music very well."
Does she write any of her own music?
"Sometimes," she ponders. "I like to have songs written specifically for
me, and now I'm older, I have a bit more choice. Some of the songs I
picked weren't hits, but I love music. I'm a teacher and a student of
music. People expect you to perform music that they have heard. I don't
have that many hit tunes, so the rest of the time on stage I spend doing
songs that I like."
The list of artists Flack has worked with
over the years is impressive. One day in the studio, early in her
career, her producer arrived and said "Look who I've got here for you".
It was Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney), frequent backup singer for
Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, ready to lend her vocals to Flack's
third album Quiet Fire. Flack was humbled. She regularly teamed up to
record with Donny Hathaway, and has sung on stage with many of the
greats, including Franklin, George Benson, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan.
"There's no single collaborator I liked best. I love folk music and
working with Bob Dylan – I think there are few better songs than Just
Like a Woman. I loved working with Richie Havens, Elton John, artists in
general who are talented and open to sharing that talent."
One
of those was Peabo Bryson, with whom she dueted on her favourite song
from the Eighties, Tonight, I Celebrate My Love. From the Seventies, she
names Killing Me Softly With His Song – which won her two Grammys in
1974 – and, unsurprisingly, First Time.
Play Misty for Me, with Donna Mills and actor-director Clint Eastwood REX FEATURES
It's not just her most successful song, but it's the one that kick started her fame whenClint Eastwoodused it in his debut directorial feature, Play Misty For Me, in 1972.
"When he asked me to do it, I could never find the words. Someone I
admire as an artist wanted to do it just like I did it – he was so
sincere, he wanted it just how it sounds. 'Isn't it too slow?' I asked.
He replied, 'No, just like that, all of it.' And he played all five
minutes and 22 seconds of it. I thought, if he's willing to do that, I
must be doing something right. "I wish more songs I had chosen
had moved me the way that one did. I've loved every song I've recorded,
but that one was pretty special."
Legends Live
(Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, The Drifters, Mary Wilson) will be play
London's The SSE Arena, Wembley (3 October); Birmingham Barclaycard
Arena (4 October) and Manchester Arena (6 October).
To strike someone with the "underrated
greatness" term always carries a bit of weight behind it. You know, the
quick snap question of "do they deserve it" comes to mind.
Sorry,
in the class of underrated greatness, diva subsection, lives Roberta
Flack who at the platinum age of 75 still takes risks musically and
creatively.
Flack, known for her duets with tragic soul singer
Donny Hathaway and her solo work such as "Killing Me Softly," "The First
Time I Ever Saw Your Face," "Feel Like Making Love" and more, is
prepping an album of Beatles covers entitled Let It Be Roberta.
It's not the first all-Beatles cover album that I've come across, but
it may be one of themost traditionally rich ones vocally.
The
first Roberta Flack record I can even recall is arguably her best-known
crossover hit. Her voice sucked in everything inside my mom's old '91
Plymouth Acclaim while having to deal with traffic leaving the YMCA off
of Chimney Rock. Loose guitar strums were the only instrument backing
her. Wyclef, a radio staple at this time in 1997 was null and void on
this day.
I knew Lauryn Hill sampled the song by then. I also knew her version earned a silver medal compared to Roberta's. It sounded like drinking an entire bottle of smooth Crown Royal with
none of it affecting your vocal chords, but burning the absolute shit
out of your chest. If it were tailored for a modern artist, you'd expect
Adele to crush such things. Ironically, Flack's birthday comes two days
before this year's Grammy Awards, where she remains the only woman to
ever nab Record Of The Year in consecutive years (1973, "The First Time
Ever I Saw Your Face"; 1974, "Killing Me Softly with His Song").
Hathaway
had long been a staple in the Brando household, not only since both
parents grew up in the era where Hathaway was seen as another speaker of
the heart, but could easily make people fall in love all at once. I
could say that "The Closer I Get To You" immediately spawned half of a
generation and was played at local dances for a good 20 years, but I may
be wrong. The double whammy from Flack and Hathaway ("Where Is The
Love" and "The Closer I Get To You") rode on the same string that Marvin
Gaye had with Tammi Terrell, but in both situations everything ended
tragically. Terrell died of a brain tumor in 1970, and Hathaway
committed suicide in 1979. For all of her success in the '70s and more, hearing the words that
Roberta Flack is doing a Beatles cover album isn't any more shocking
than watching M.I.A. be defiant and stand out in a halftime show where
Madonna blended her '90s hits with goddamn LMFAO. Greatness tends to be
given its own lane to tread and work within. I wouldn't expect anything
less from the wonderful Ms. Flack.
The young me who first heard her in the front seat of a bruise-red colored Plymouth wouldn't either.
The late 1960s/early 1970's was an era of great musical
diversity, but few musicians were as diverse or adept at interpreting
contemporary songs as Roberta Flack. Her versatile body of work
encompasses soul, R&B, jazz, folk and pop, but regardless of genres,
Flack's voice penetrates straight to the heart and stirs emotions.
Flack's recording career began in 1968, but being classically trained
and perceived as a serious artist made it difficult to achieve
widespread commercial success. Flack's initial recordings were
critically acclaimed, but did not sell particularly well. This all
changed in 1971 when Clint Eastwood chose "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," a track from Flack's 1969 album, First Takes, for the soundtrack of his directorial debut, Play Misty For Me.
This was the turning point in her career as the song became a #1 hit
the following year. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and her other
intimate, folk- oriented 1973 hit, "Killing Me Softly With His Song"
would cement her reputation, receiving a Grammy for Record Of The Year.
This performance, recorded near the tail end of 1972, captures
Roberta Flack during this most compelling era. On this tour Flack had
assembled one of the most phenomenal bands one could possibly imagine.
Augmenting her own impressive Grand piano work is the electric pianist,
Richard Tee, who had graced hundreds of notable recordings as well as
cellist Terry Plumieri. Jazz guitarist Eric Gale, another ubiquitous
session musician had a well established reputation, including memorable
sessions with Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon
and Carly Simon, to name but a few. Bassist Chuck Rainey was once
tagged "the hardest working bass player in America" and his session work
remains unparalleled to the present day. The same can be said for
percussionist Ralph McDonald and drummer Rick Moratta. These musicians
lay down the perfect grooves for Flack, unburdened by ego and needless
complexity. Flack's rich, soothing delivery and her band's refined
performances are undeniably captivating.
The recording begins near the end of Flack's first set of the
evening, with "Do What You Gotta Do," a soulful track off her second
album. This first set concludes with Flack's take on Marvin Gaye's
classic, "Inner City Blues," a nearly eleven-minute groove fest that
allows her to introduce these great musicians, allowing each to take a
solo in the process. However, it is the second set that truly reveals
Flack's great diversity.
After the intermission, Flack returns to the stage. She begins
the second set uncharacteristically, beginning with a humorous rendition
of "Tennessee Waltz," a song then synonymous with Patti Page. This song
is so embedded in American musical culture that it's hard to imagine
bringing anything new to the table, but Flack does just that by her
soulful phrasing. Prior to the next song, Flack delivers a monologue
about her younger days studying classical piano and the equality issues
black artists face in the classical music world. This serves as the
perfect prelude to the ballad "It Could Happen To You," where one may
recognize the theme to Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto. Next up is a
lovely interpretation of Stevie Wonder's "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer," that is undeniably classy, smooth and sophisticated.
Flack has the audience in the palm of her hand by this point, so
she takes the opportunity to have some fun by telling a joke, before
offering up an intoxicating blend of "Frankie & Johnnie" paired with
Miles Davis's "All Blues." In the hands of Flack and these outstanding
musicians, both songs truly become one with the edges deliciously
blurred. This is a truly astounding performance both vocally and
instrumentally. The unique interpretation of Bob Dylan's "Just Like A
Woman," with the chorus rewritten in the first person, is equally
captivating, as is this live performance
of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," featuring beautiful cello
accompaniment by Plumieri. She concludes this concert with "No Tears (In
The End)," a preview of a song destined for her next album. Reminiscent
of her Atlantic Records labelmate, Aretha Franklin, this number
demonstrates one of Flack's specialties, hooking into the phrase with
the most power and repeating it over and over with deliriously effective
results.
This
concert makes it abundantly clear that Flack is a serious talent who
pursues her vision without limitations. These performances are a true
testament to her music's seductive power.
THE MUSIC OF ROBERTA FLACK: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH MS. FLACK:
Flack was the first to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year two consecutive times. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won at the 1973 Grammys and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won at the 1974 Grammys. She remains the only solo artist to have accomplished this feat.
Flack lived with a musical family, born in Black Mountain,
North Carolina to parents Laron LeRoy (October 11, 1911 – July 12,
1959) and Irene Flack (September 28, 1911 – January 17, 1981)[3] a church organist,[4] on February 10, 1939 (sources differ) and raised in Arlington, Virginia.[5] She first discovered the work of African American musical artists when she heard Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke sing in a predominantly African-American Baptist church.
When Flack was 9, she started taking an interest in playing the piano,[3] and during her early teens, Flack so excelled at classical piano that Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship.[6]
By age 15, she entered Howard University, making her one of the
youngest students ever to enroll there. She eventually changed her major
from piano to voice, and became an assistant conductor of the
university choir. Her direction of a production of Aida received a standing ovation from the Howard University faculty. Flack is a member of Delta Sigma Thetasorority and was made an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma by the Eta Delta Chapter at Howard University for her outstanding work in promoting music education.
Before
becoming a professional singer-songwriter, Flack returned to
Washington, D.C. and taught at Browne Junior High and Rabaut Junior
High. She also taught private piano lessons out of her home on Euclid
St. NW. During this period, her music career began to take shape on
evenings and weekends in Washington, D.C. area night spots. At the
Tivoli Club, she accompanied opera singers at the piano. During intermissions, she would sing blues, folk,
and pop standards in a back room, accompanying herself on the piano.
Later, she performed several nights a week at the 1520 Club, again
providing her own piano accompaniment. Around this time, her voice
teacher, Frederick "Wilkie" Wilkerson, told her that he saw a brighter
future for her in pop music than in the classics. She modified her repertoire accordingly and her reputation spread.[citation needed] Flack began singing professionally after being hired to perform regularly at Mr. Henry's Restaurant, on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC in 1968.[7][8]
Mr. Henry’s is still in operation at 6th and Pennsylvania Ave, SE, and was owned by Henry Yaffe.
The atmosphere in Mr. Henry’s was welcoming and the club turned into a
showcase for the young music teacher. Her voice mesmerized locals and
word spread. A-list entertainers who were appearing in town would come
in late at night to hear her sing (frequent visitors included Woody
Allen, Bill Cosby, Ramsey Lewis and others).
As Yaffe recalled, “She told me if I could give her work there three
nights a week, she would quit teaching.” He did and she did.
To meet Roberta’s exacting standards, Yaffe transformed the apartment
above the bar into the Roberta Flack Room. “I got the oak paneling from
the old Dodge Hotel near Union Station. I put in heavy upholstered
chairs, sort of a conservative style from the 50s and an acoustical
system designed especially for Roberta. She was very demanding. She was a
perfectionist.”
1970s
Les McCann discovered Flack singing and playing jazz in a Washington nightclub.[3] He later said on the liner notes of what would be her first album First Take
noted below, "Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every
emotion I've ever known. I laughed, cried, and screamed for more...she
alone had the voice." Very quickly, he arranged an audition for her with Atlantic Records, during which she played 42 songs in 3 hours for producer Joel Dorn.
In November 1968, she recorded 39 song demos in less than 10 hours.
Three months later, Atlantic reportedly recorded Roberta's debut album, First Take, in a mere 10 hours.[5]
Flack later spoke of those studio sessions as a "very naive and
beautiful approach... I was comfortable with the music because I had
worked on all these songs for all the years I had worked at Mr.
Henry's."
Flack's cover version
of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" hit number seventy-six on the Billboard
Hot 100 in 1972. Her Atlantic recordings did not sell particularly well,
until actor/director Clint Eastwood chose a song from First Take, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", for the sound track of his directorial debut Play Misty for Me;
it became the biggest hit of the year for 1972 – spending six
consecutive weeks at #1 and earning Flack a million-selling Gold disc.[9] The First Take
album also went to #1 and eventually sold 1.9 million copies in the
United States. Eastwood, who paid $2,000 for the use of the song in the
film,[10] has remained an admirer and friend of Flack's ever since. It was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1973. In 1983, she recorded the end music to the Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact at Eastwood's request.[5]
Roberta Flack had a 1982 hit single with "Making Love", written by Burt Bacharach (the title track of the 1982 film of the same name), which reached #13. She began working with Peabo Bryson with more limited success, charting as high as #5 on the R&B chart (plus #16 Pop and #4 Adult Contemporary) with "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" in 1983. Her next two singles with Bryson, "You're Looking Like Love To Me" and "I Just Came Here To Dance," fared better on adult contemporary (AC) radio than on pop or R&B radio.
Flack performing in Boston, Mass., on August 28, 2013
In 1986, Flack sang the theme song entitled "Together Through the Years" for the NBC television series, Valerie later known as The Hogan Family. The song was used throughout the show's six seasons. Oasis was released in 1988 and failed to make an impact with pop audiences, though the title track reached #1 on the R&B chart and a remix of "Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)" topped the dance chart in 1989. Flack found herself again in the US Top 10 with the hit song "Set the Night to Music", a 1991 duet with Jamaican vocalist Maxi Priest that peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and #2 AC. Flack's smooth R&B sound lent itself easily to Easy Listening airplay during the 1970s, and she has had four #1 AC hits.
Later career
In 1999, a star with Flack's name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[6] That same year, she gave a concert tour in South Africa; the final performance was attended by President Nelson Mandela. In 2010, she appeared on the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, singing a duet of "Where Is The Love" with Maxwell.
In February 2012, Flack released Let it Be Roberta, an album of Beatles covers including "Hey Jude" and "Let it Be". It is her first recording in over eight years.[12] Flack knew John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as both households moved in 1975 into The Dakota
apartment building in New York City, and had apartments across the hall
from each other. Flack has stated that she has already been asked to do
a second album of Beatles covers.[13] She is currently involved in an interpretative album of the Beatles' classics.[14]
Personal life
Flack
is a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocates the
right of artists to control their creative properties. She is also a
spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals;
her appearance in commercials for the ASPCA featured "The First Time
Ever I Saw Your Face". In the Bronx section of New York City, the Hyde
Leadership Chart School's after-school music program is called "The
Roberta Flack School of Music" and is in partnership with Flack, who
founded the school, which provides free music education to
underprivileged students.[15]
American experimental producer Flying Lotus had a song named after her ("RobertaFlack") on his Los Angeles album.[20]
In 1991, Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam
recorded a covered version of "And So It Goes" called "微涼" in the album
夢了、瘋了、倦了. Although it was not officially promoted by the record
company, it was played by many DJs.
She is a favourite singer of Vic Wilcox, manager of an engineering
firm in David Lodge's campus/industrial novel "Nice Work", winner of the
Sunday Express Book of the Year award in 1988.
Sarah Bryan and Beverly Patterson, African American Trails of Eastern North Carolina, North Carolina Arts Council, 2013, p. 92 Roberta Flack, ISBN 978-1469610795
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
new Beatles album, Let It Be Roberta.
This CD isn't your typical pop-tribute album. Instead, It's a bold,
revisionist interpretation of Fab Four hits that strips away the all-too
familiar trappings and replaces them with soul, folk, gospel and
electronica. In short, it's wild and peaceful.
organist,
Roberta moved with her family to Washington, D.C., in 1961. She won a
piano scholarship to Howard University at age 15, taught grade school
after graduating, and began performing at Washington, D.C. clubs.
Discovered by pianist Les McCann, she was soon signed to Atlantic
Records.
know
the love story behind the song? Peggy Seeger was at a folk festival in
Canada in the late ‘50s with her husband, and Ewan was with his wife
there. Apparently he looked at Peggy and wrote the song: I thought the sun rose in your eyes, and the moon and stars were the gifts you gave, to the dark and empty skies. Wow. Peggy eventually became Ewan's wife. [Pictured: Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl]
Dave
Grusin, [bassist] Gary King and [drummer] Ralph McDonald. When Gene
[McDaniels] first called and sang his song to me, he just strummed it.
Strum strum, strum and singing. [Roberta sings the opening lyrics.] I basically had that feeling in my mind when I went into the studio. 
DJ who used to work at Atlantic. He produced and remixed my last album for Rhino back in 2006 [The Very Best of Roberta Flack]. It's a compilation of my love songs. He had heard a tape while at Atlantic that hadn't been released. 
Carnegie
Hall [May 7, 1971]. It was to have been part of a live album that was
never released. When he heard that song, he thought an album of Beatles
material would be great. He pitched the idea to Sony, and they loved the
idea. The first taste we gave them was Here Comes the Sun. It’s really special—listen [Roberta plays the track]. I first did this arrangement about 22 years ago.
Harrison,
and he was the last guitarist to come out. He jammed so hard on that. I
said to the album’s producer Sherrod Barnes [pictured], “I want a
little bit of Jimi here." I told him I wanted to call Prince. Sherrod [pronounced SHARE-od] said, “Uh, OK.” Then one day I came in and Sherrod
was laying down guitar tracks to Let It Be. He totally wiped me out. He was totally channeling Hendrix. Sherrod sings the song’s words through his guitar.
helped him
come up here. He's worked for me and then went on to work with Nick
Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and he has produced Beyoncé. Sherrod also
has done a lot of work undercover on other albums. On my Beatles album, I
wanted to give him a chance to be out front as a producer and arranger
because he does both so well. Whenever we’re on stage, I just need to
hear two or three notes from him and I turn my head and say, “Yeah,
Sherrod.”
get
on here? You can, but then it’s a mockery. We’re making music, not a
mockery. I know some of my older fans are going to say, “What the ham
sandwich was she thinking?” [laughs]. When I've played it for younger kids, they say, “Yeah, yeah.”
where
I had been meeting with someone rolling my small suitcase. It was
raining, and the doorman took my bag and put it in the seat behind me.
Once we started rolling, the driver started talking to me. He recognized
me.
friendly.
When I pulled up at the courthouse downtown, I got out and went into
jury duty. Of course, once I got in there, I realized I didn’t have my
suitcase. But by then, I was locked in. I told the people at the
courthouse what had happened. Fortunately I had a receipt, and they
tracked down the driver.
divorce
from Syreeta in 1972, God rest her soul. He told me he had just written
a song for me. Then he played it for me on the phone. Later, Syreeta
wound up singing the lead vocal on the album because by then she was
very sick.
and
then they play gospel. Then they say, "I can play hip-hop and
avant-garde jazz," and they do, making you think Thelonious Monk is
sitting right there. They also can write for an orchestra. At the end,
they say, “I want to work with you.” What am I supposed to say? Even if I
don’t have the money, I say, “Let me see what I can do.” [laughs]
There’s
a lot of church in their music. I purposefully chose Beatles songs that
felt like hymns. Lyrics that can be repeated, and melodies that are
accessible to the public’s ears. [Roberta starts to sing Killing Me Softly With His Song]
Songs that felt like that. The melody and the thought behind them is so
easy for people to get to. That’s what makes a great hit tune in terms
of interpretation—its hymn-like quality.
stay
in shape and clear my mind. After all these years, that’s a big
concern—what’s in my head. Stuff now constantly gets in there. I ask
myself, "Is that going to be alright?" "Should I do that again?" When
you’re young, you just gurgle it out. After so many albums, you start to
question everything.
started
in 2006]. I’m just trying to keep the school going, and it’s not easy.
Prince generously gave an initial donation. But raising money during the
recent recession hasn’t made this task easy. I’d like to expand beyond
9th grade to the 12th grade. I want the kids to have choices. They are
the ones who are writing the hits these days.
Roberta Flack's Let It Be Roberta at iTunes and Amazon. The album will be released on Tuesday.
Roberta Flack performing in Washington in 2003 (Photo: AP Photo/Vivian Ronay)
Play Misty for Me, with Donna Mills and actor-director Clint Eastwood REX FEATURES
