Roberta Flack (1937–2025) Tribute List

American singer and pianist, Roberta Flack was known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop. She was the first to win back-to-back Grammys for Record of the Year (1973–1974), and had three chart-topping singles: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and "Feel Like Makin' Love." Nominated for fourteen Grammys, Flack won five, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her inductions include the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame. She founded the Roberta Flack School of Music in Bronx, New York and devoted extensive time there. She was also active in the civil rights movement. This tribute honors her lifetime achievements through biographical information, song lyrics, and news articles.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. captive
    being imprisoned
    I felt the earth move in my hand
    Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
    – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
  2. fate
    your overall circumstances or condition in life
    I guess it must have been my fate
    To fall in love with someone else's love
    All I can do is wait
    – Where Is the Love
  3. strum
    sound the strings of an instrument
    Strumming my pain with his fingers
    Singing my life with his words
    – Killing Me Softly With His Song
  4. stroll
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Strolling in the park
    Watchin' winter turn to spring
    – Feel Like Makin' Love
  5. gravity
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
    The feeling comes over me
    Me too
    Pulling closer sweet as the gravity
    – The Closer I Get to You
  6. natural
    functioning or occurring in a normal way
    Tonight I celebrate my love for you
    It seems like the natural thing to do
    – Tonight I Celebrate My Love
  7. weather
    face and withstand with courage
    Seems we've weathered
    Hard times we've been through
    – Back Together Again
  8. legendary
    so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a myth
    Legendary pop/R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, who was launched to stardom in the early '70s by the Grammy-winning hits "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song," has died...she was 88. Variety
  9. magnetic
    possessing an extraordinary ability to attract
    Roberta Flack, the magnetic singer and pianist whose intimate blend of soul, jazz and folk made her one of the most popular artists of the 1970s, died on Monday in Manhattan. The New York Times
  10. classical
    of recognized authority or excellence
    A classically trained pianist so gifted she received a full scholarship at age 15 to Howard, the historically Black university, Flack was discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann, who later wrote that "her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known." AP News
  11. spiritual
    religious song originated by African-Americans in the South
    "I grew up playing piano for the choir: Handel, Bach, Verdi, Mozart and all those great, wonderful, intricately written Negro spirituals," Ms. Flack remembered in a 1991 interview with The Chicago Tribune. The New York Times
  12. versatile
    having great diversity or variety
    Flack was versatile enough to summon the up-tempo gospel passion of Aretha Franklin, but she favored a more measured and reflective approach, as if curating a song word by word. AP News
  13. reflective
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Flack was versatile enough to summon the up-tempo gospel passion of Aretha Franklin, but she favored a more measured and reflective approach, as if curating a song word by word. AP News
  14. curate
    select and present content or information
    Flack was versatile enough to summon the up-tempo gospel passion of Aretha Franklin, but she favored a more measured and reflective approach, as if curating a song word by word. AP News
  15. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    Ms. Flack's steady, powerful voice could convey tenderness, pride, conviction or longing, but hardly ever despair. The New York Times
  16. urbane
    showing a high degree of refinement
    Economically summarizing her appeal in "The Rough Guide to Soul and R&B," Peter Shapiro wrote, "Urbane, genteel and jazzy, Roberta Flack was, in many ways, the perfect soul act of the early '70s." Variety
  17. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    Economically summarizing her appeal in "The Rough Guide to Soul and R&B," Peter Shapiro wrote, "Urbane, genteel and jazzy, Roberta Flack was, in many ways, the perfect soul act of the early '70s." Variety
  18. civil right
    right belonging to a person by reason of citizenship
    For Flack's many admirers, she was a sophisticated and bold new presence in the music world and in the social and civil rights movements of the time, her friends including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis… AP News
  19. feminist
    of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women
    Flack sang at the funeral of Jackie Robinson…and was among the many guest performers on the feminist children's entertainment project created by Marlo Thomas, "Free to Be...You and Me." AP News
  20. glorious
    having or deserving or conferring high honor
    "We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning...She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator." Variety
Created on Thu Feb 27 13:50:50 EST 2025 (updated Thu Mar 06 14:26:46 EST 2025)

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