10 best Roberta Flack songs: Iconic hits, duets, and more

88-year-old Roberta Flack, known for the romantic ballad Killing Me Softly With His Song, passed away on February 24, 2025. The American singer and pianist left a legacy that spanned the fields of jazz, pop, folk, and R&B.

Born in North Carolina on February 10, 1937, Roberta Flack, also known as Rubina Flake, had her first musical experience in church, where she played the piano for the choir of Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. At age fifteen, Roberta attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., through a full music scholarship. Fast-forward to 1968, when she started singing professionally.

Throughout her career, Roberta Flack has won four Grammy Awards out of thirteen nominations, including the Grammy Lifetime Award. She has also won an American Music Award and had Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles. Flack also won a Grammy for Record of the Year for two consecutive years.

Roberta Flack released several songs in her lifetime; let's explore some of them below.

Disclaimer: This list reflects the writer's opinion only.

Killing Me Softly With His Song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and 8 Best Songs of Roberta Flack

1) Killing Me Softly With His Song

Killing Me Softly With His Song is a reinvented version of Lori Lieberman's song by Roberta Flack. Roberta released her version in 1973, and it quickly shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it spent five non-consecutive weeks dominating it. The song earned Roberta a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Performance and was ranked the third-best song of 1973 by Billboard.

2) The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is a single by Roberta Flack released in 1969 but became popular in 1972 due to its feature in Clint Eastwood's 1971 directorial film debut, Play Misty for Me. The song was rerecorded in 1972 and immediately became a hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks, peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard R&B chart.

3) Feel Like Makin' Love

Feel Like Makin' Love was written by Eugene McDaniels, who also produced the song alongside Roberta under the alias Rubina Flake and recorded by Roberta Flack. It was released in 1974 and spent one week topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart, five weeks atop the Hot Soul Singles Chart, and two weeks at the peak of the Adult Contemporary chart. The song earned Roberta three Grammy nominations under the categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

4) The Closer I Get to You

The Closer I Get to You is a soul ballad by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. It was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas and released in 1978 as a single from Roberta's Blue Lights in the Basement album.

The Closer I Get to You is one of the popular duets the late singer shared with Donny Hathaway. It spent 14 weeks in the top ten charts of Canada and one week in France. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA.

5) Where Is the Love

Where Is the Love is another soul duet by Flank and Hathaway. The song was written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter and was released in 1972 as a part of their eponymous joint album.

Upon release, Where Is the Love debuted at number sixty-eight and peaked at number five on the Billboard 100 chart. It also topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart and Billboard R&B chart for one week and was ranked as the number 58 song of 1972 by Billboard. Where Is the Love won Roberta and Donny a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

6) Set the Night to Music

Roberta Flack gave a makeover to Starship's Set the Night to Music. Her rendition, released in 1991, quickly became a major hit. She gave the song a unique twist by making it a duet with Maxi Priest. Upon release, the song debuted at number seventy-three before it peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped Canada's Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number two in the U.S. chart.

7) Tonight, I Celebrate My Love

Tonight, I Celebrate My Love was written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser and recorded by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack. The romantic ballad was released in 1983 as a part of their collaborative duet album, Born to Love.

The song debuted at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number sixteen on the same chart. It also peaked at number four and five on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, respectively.

8) Making Love

Making Love, by Roberta Flack, was written by Burt Bacharach, Bruce Roberts, and Carole Bayer Sager and was the theme song of the film Making Love. The song was released in February 1982 as part of Flack's album, I'm the One.

It also became Roberta's first solo song to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 since 1974. Making Love debuted at number eighty on the chart before climbing to number 13.

9) If Ever I See You Again

If Ever I See You Again was released in April 1978 as a single from the singer's eponymous album. Joseph Brooks wrote and produced the song.

It first debuted at number eighty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 before it peaked at number twenty-four on the chart.

10) You've Got a Friend

You've Got a Friend was written by Carole King and produced by Arif Mardin and Joel Dorn. The song was recorded by Roberta and Donny Hathaway and was released in 1973 as a part of Donny's album, Never My Love: The Anthology.

The soul ballad debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100 and used two months to peak at number twenty-nine on the chart.

Although Roberta Flack didn't have any children, she was surrounded by family till the end.

Edited by Sarah Nazamuddin Harniswala

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