Killing Me Softly: The Roberta Flack Story
Documentary profile of Roberta Flack, telling the story of the emergence of a different kind of soul singer, set against the turbulent backdrop of America's Civil Rights movement.
Roberta Flack's Grammy Award-winning song The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was America's biggest selling single of 1972. The following year her gentle, pure voice charmed middle America once again when Killing Me Softly with His Song reached the top of the charts and ran off with another Grammy for single of the year. In the early 70s Roberta Flack was one of the most successful pop stars in the world.
But Flack was no overnight sensation. She didn't have a hit single till she was 35 years of age. Nor was her success a traditional African-American rags-to-riches story. She came from the black middle class that had been born out of the self-contained hub of segregated America. She studied classical music at Howard University, America's top black university, and probably would have pursued a classical career had that door been open to her in 50s America. Instead, she taught music in Washington's public school system for 10 years while she struggled for her break.
In those race-conscious times, she also had her detractors. While she was singing duets of black consciousness with soul singer Donnie Hathaway, she was married to her white bass player. Also, they said she sounded too white; the gospel-infused voices of Aretha Franklin and James Brown, which came out of the dominant Baptist church, were what real soul singers sounded like. What those critics didn't understand was that there are many musical traditions within black America and Roberta Flack came from the more restrained Methodist one where they sang hymns rather than gospel.
This is the story of the emergence of a different kind of soul singer, set against the turbulent backdrop of America's Civil Rights movement. Contributors include Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Cissy Houston, Imani Perry, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, musician and critic Greg Tate, musicologist Fredera Hadley and film-maker and critic John Akomfrah.
Last on
Clip
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'Different soul voice'
Duration: 03:32
Music Played
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Roberta Flack
Killing Me Softly
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Aretha Franklin
I Say A Little Prayer
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Roberta Flack
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
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Roberta Flack
Go Up Moses
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Aretha Franklin & Southern California Community Choir
Climbing Higher Mountains
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Roberta Flack
Come Ye Disconsolate
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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
The Sacrifice
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Roberta Flack
I Never Dreamed You'd Leave By Summer
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The Impressions
People Get Ready
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Leonard Cohen
Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
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Marvin Gaye
What's Going On?
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Marvin Gaye
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
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Roberta Flack
Compared to What?
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Roberta Flack
Tryin' Times
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Roberta Flack
First Time I Ever Saw Your Face
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Leonard Cohen
Suzanne
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Janas Ian
At Seventeen
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Roberta Flack
Reverend Lee
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Donny Hathaway
The Ghetto Part 1
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Donny Hathaway
Be Real Black for Me
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Roberta Flack
Mood
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Roberta Flack
Feeling that Glow
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Roberta Flack
Feel Like Making Love
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Roberta Flack
River
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Smokey Robinson
Quiet Storm
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Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson
Tonight I Celebrate My Love
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Public Enemy
Fight the Power
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Grandmaster Flash
The Message
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Mariah Carey
Emotions
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Fugees
Killing Me Softly
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Roberta Flack
Angelitos Negros
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Director | Mike Connolly |
Executive Producer | Ed Stobart |
Production Company | Alleycats TV |
Broadcasts
- Fri 13 Jun 2014 21:00
- Sat 14 Jun 2014 01:00
- Sun 15 Jun 2014 23:45
- Wed 7 Jan 2015 01:00
- Sat 16 Jun 2018 23:30
- Sat 23 Feb 2019 00:55
- Fri 10 Jun 2022 21:00
- Sat 11 Jun 2022 02:30
- Sun 28 Aug 2022 00:05麻豆社 Two except Scotland
- Fri 9 Jun 2023 22:00
- Sat 1 Jun 2024 00:30
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