Safe passage to Roberta Flack, an exceptional singer, wonderful pianist, and important role model for Black women’s self-empowerment. I’m embarrassed to admit that until I was in college, the entirety of my conscious exposure to her music was the 30 seconds of “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” that was used in an Oil of Olay commercial. Once I was in college and picked up “First Take” at the Princeton Record Exchange, though, the descent down the rabbit hole began in earnest, and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to draw inspiration from her singular artistic voice and often understated commitment to activism. Here are some of my favorite moments from her catalogue, in chronological order.  

1 ) “Frankie and Johnny” from Lost Takes (reissued on the “deluxe” version of First Take)(1968)

It’s so fun to hear these tracks, representing her live show prior to her “discovery” and subsequent move from music teacher and club performer to national celebrity and icon. This performance of a traditional blues song is cleverly mashed up with Miles Davis’s “All Blues” and in addition to the ease with which she sings it, her sophisticated piano work is also noteworthy.

2 ) “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” from First Take (1969)

This whole album is extraordinary, with William Fischer’s understated arrangements supporting the impeccable rhythm section of Ron Carter, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ray Lucas, and Roberta. As with album #4 below, I could have thrown a dart and any song on which it landed would’ve been a good choice, but this heart-rending showtune by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman (best known by some for co-writing the standard “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most”) is deservedly iconic as performed here by Roberta with great depth and restraint.

3 ) “Gone Away” from Chapter Two (1970)

The expressive subtlety (or subtle expressiveness?) with which this track begins is highly characteristic of her early Atlantic Records works, which is beautiful enough. But when it cranks up a notch into a heavier groove for the second half of the tune (buoyed by Eumir Deodato’s arrangement and Eric Gale’s burning guitar) the results are downright anthemic.

4 ) “Mood” from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway(1972)

While the vocal duets are profoundly elegant and soulful throughout this record, I chose the closing track, a Flack-penned instrumental featuring her piano and Donny’s electric piano. “Mood” is certainly an apt title.

5 ) “Killing Me Softly With His Song” from Killing Me Softly (1973)

While I mostly didn’t choose the hits for this list, I couldn’t leave this classic off, one of the most evocative performances of the 1970s, period.

6 ) “I Can See the Sun in Late December” from Feel Like Makin’ Love (1975)

This Stevie Wonder tune is basically two songs in one, with a 6+ minute slinky and gorgeous reflection on being mindful of the comparatively simple yet beautiful things in life, followed by another 6 minutes of mostly-instrumental jazz-funk jam-out. I’ve heard this track described as self-indulgent, which I suppose could be true if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t like their pleasurable experiences prolonged (in which case listen to the title track instead, which packs a more condensed wallop).

7 ) “You Are My Heaven” from Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway (1980)

Of course I had to get a vocal duet with Donny Hathaway in there, and this slyly funky tune (another songwriting credit for Stevie Wonder, this one co-written with the album’s producer, Eric Mercury) has extra significance and poignancy given that it was the last studio track Donny recorded before his untimely demise.  

8 ) “Can We Find Love Again” from Born to Love by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson (1983)

While I love her duet work (including with Peabo Bryson on this record), this ‘80s “adult contemporary” ballad, from Roberta’s and Al Johnson’s pens, is a solo feature for her and an underrated classic.

9 ) “Tenderly” from Roberta (1994)

The list of R&B/pop singers of this generation who have credibly recorded jazz standards is long, but with all due respect to Aretha, Chaka, Diana, and so on, this swinging performance (one of three on this record with the rhythm section of Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, and Ben Riley is at the top of the list for authentic, convincing rhythm and interpretation.

10 ) “Come Together” from Let It Be Roberta (2012)

When this wonderful record of Beatles covers was released, I hoped it would be a major comeback as opposed to the swan song it wound up being. But in that sense, all the more of a gift it was and is, and this performance, produced and arranged by Ricky Jordan and Roberta is an object lesson in the possibility of subtle and nasty coexisting organically.