American Masters: Roberta Flack follows the music icon from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom. From “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly,” Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Clint Eastwood (actor, director, and producer), Yoko Ono (multimedia artist, singer-songwriter, activist), Angela Davis (political activist), Eugene McDaniels (singer-songwriter), Joel Dorn (producer), Peabo Bryson (singer-songwriter), Valerie Simpson (songwriter, producer, and performer), Les McCann (musician), Sean Lennon (musician), Jason King (music scholar, musician, and author), Ann Powers (music critic, author) and more. In addition to Flack’s timeless music.
My favorite story in American Masters: Roberta Flack was the story about “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” The song had been released three years before Clint Eastwood directed his first movie, Play Misty For Me. Eastwood was driving to work when he heard “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” on the radio. He almost drove off the road because of the impact the song had on him. When Eastwood contacted Roberta Flack about the song, she initially turned him down. Finally, she agreed but tried to get Eastwood to drop the beginning 8 measures of the song. Eastwood said, “I want every note of your song for my movie.” And, once people heard “The First Time Every I Saw Your Face” in Eastwood’s movie, the song began to get airplay again.
“The First Time Every I Saw Your Face” won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Billboard ranked it as the number one Hot 100 single of the year for 1972. That launched Roberta Flack’s career. Do you have a favorite Robert Flack song? GRADE: A (for both the TV program and the CD)
TRACK LIST:
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | |||
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow | |||
Where Is The Love | |||
Killing Me Softly With His Song | |||
Feel Like Makin’ Love | |||
The Closer I Get To You | |||
More Than Everything | |||
Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love) | |||
Back Together Again | |||
Making Love | |||
Tonight, I Celebrate My Love | |||
Oasis | |||
And So It Goes | |||
You Know What It’s Like | |||
Set The Night To Music | |||
My Foolish Heart | |||
Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes) (Steve Hurley’s House Mix) |