Roberta Flack and the covers of “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
Roberta Flackone of the most elegant and refined voices of soul and R&B music, has disappeared today at the age of 88. Class icon and artistic sensitivity, has left an indelible mark with timeless songs Like “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”, “Feel Like Makin ‘Love” and, above all, “Killing Me Softly With His Song“.
The latter, published by her in 1973, earned her a Grammy and became an absolute classic, reinterpreted over the years by numerous artists. In his tribute, we retrace some of the most famous covers that have maintained the magic of this timeless song alive, focusing on us especially on those proposed by Italian artists. In our language the title was changed to “makes me die singing” and the text was adapted by the lyricist Giorgio Calabrese.
Among the most exciting songs of music, which has gone through generations keeping its intensity intact, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” It was written in 1971 by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbelinspired by an experience lived by the singer -songwriter Lori Lieberman. After witnessing a concert by Don Mcclean, Lieberman felt deeply touched by his music and spoke of it with the authors, who transformed that emotion into verses.
The first version of the song was engraved by Lieberman herself in 1972but success came the following year with Roberta Flack’s interpretation. His elegant voice and the delicate arrangement gave the song a new thickness, bringing it to the number one of the Billboard Hot 100 and making her win the Grammy for “Record of the Year” and “Best female pop vocal performance” in 1974.
