Softly, Sweetly

You can have "Killing Me Softly with His Song." Roberta Flack's most famous song is a grand treasure, a thing of beauty, and an artwork that makes us proud to be American. And maybe it's blasphemy to say anything even close to negative about the song that also made Lauryn Hill famous. But here goes: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a better song. Whaaaa? No, seriously. In its original recording, "The First Time" has a spare arrangement that makes plenty of space for Flack's magnificent voice, a finely trained instrument that easily turns a single note into five, and has a subtlety of emotion that imbues those fireworks with meaning. Of course Ms. Flack is also well known — aka Grammy-winning — for her myriad other hit songs such as "Where Is the Love," but those two are (thank you, Pandora!) our favorites right now.

Related Content

• Bump & Grind: The Top Five Pregnant Performances
  October 12, 2011
• Awkward! The Top Five Most Uncomfortable Grammy Moments
  February 10, 2012
• Meet Linda Chorney, the Unknown Singer-Songwriter Who Got a Grammy Nomination
  February 10, 2012
• Adele's Grammy Performance: A Reminder of the Scary Power of an Honest, Gorgeous Song
  February 13, 2012
• Before Kreayshawn: 10 Underrated and/or Forgotten Female MCs
  June 7, 2011

More About

• Roberta Flack
• Davell Crawford
• Lauryn Hill
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Visual Arts

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Davell Crawford opens.
Sun., June 21, 2 p.m., 2009