A timeline of Roberta Flack's career in 10 essential songs

Roberta Flack utilized her upbringing arsenic a classically trained pianist to redefine the textural and affectional presumption of modern psyche music. The singer, who died Monday astatine 88, was a maestro interpreter and an intuitive duet partner; she uncovered heavy connections betwixt folk, jazz and R&B and identified originative anticipation wherever immoderate saw lone the limits of marketing. Her euphony was rooted successful the intimacies of romance yet ne'er felt closed disconnected from the exertions (and sometimes the indignities) of the wider world. Here, successful the bid they were released, are 10 of her indispensable recordings.

‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ (1969)

A spectral rendition of a ballad written successful the precocious 1950s by the British folkie Ewan MacColl, Flack’s breakout deed mightiness beryllium the slowest opus ever to spot the apical of Billboard’s Hot 100. The exquisite chamber-soul statement thrums inexorably yet with zero hurry; the vocal precisely elongates each operation conscionable a tick oregon 2 beyond wherever you expect. Flack chopped “First Time” for her 1969 debut, “First Take,” which grew retired of the reputation-making gig she held down astatine a Washington, D.C., nightclub portion teaching schoolhouse during the day. But the opus didn’t stroke up until Clint Eastwood utilized it successful his 1971 movie “Play Misty for Me,” aft which it reached No. 1 (and stayed determination for six consecutive weeks) and won a Grammy for grounds of the year.

‘You’ve Got a Friend’ (1971)
Flack recruited Donny Hathaway, who similar her had studied astatine Washington’s Howard University, to play soft and put vocals for 1970’s “Chapter Two” LP. At the proposition of Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler, the 2 past teamed for a churchy duet connected Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” — the 3rd mentation of the opus to deed successful 1971 aft King’s and James Taylor’s.

‘Be Real Black for Me’ (1972)
Flack and Hathaway’s full-length duo medium spun disconnected different hits successful their instrumentality connected “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and successful “Where Is the Love,” which peaked astatine No. 5 connected the Hot 100. Yet this heavy chopped — co-written by the 2 with Charles Mann — is possibly the LP’s affectional centerpiece. “Your hair, brushed and crinkly / Your body, beardown and stately,” Flack sings against a laidback groove, “You don’t person to hunt and roam / ’Cause I got your emotion astatine home.”

‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ (1973)
Flack’s signature tune made a melodramatic soul-music odyssey retired of a flimsy people ditty by Lori Lieberman, who’s said to person based the lyrics connected her acquisition watching Don McLean execute 1 nighttime astatine the Troubadour. (Flack discovered it connected a level portion listening to the airline’s in-flight audio program.) “Killing Me Softly” topped the Hot 100 and made Flack the archetypal creator to triumph grounds of the twelvemonth doubly successful a enactment astatine the Grammys. Two decades later, Lauryn Hill and the Fugees gave the opus yet different beingness with their smash hip-hop remake.

‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ (1974)

After years of moving with shaper Joel Dorn, Flack took power successful the workplace (under the sanction Rubina Flake) for her sixth LP, whose rubric way helped usher successful the creaseless and jazzy R&B benignant known arsenic quiescent storm. “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” with 1 of Flack’s astir delicate vocal performances, became her 3rd No. 1 azygous and was aboriginal covered by D’Angelo connected 2000’s “Voodoo.”

‘The Closer I Get to You’ (1977)
Written by Reggie Lucas and James Mtume — members of Flack’s roadworthy set who’d spell connected to signifier the radical Mtume and make the wide sampled early-’80s deed “Juicy Fruit” — this romanticist ballad reunited Flack and Hathaway 5 years aft their associated album. A No. 2 deed connected the Hot 100, “The Closer I Get to You” plays similar an intimate speech betwixt 2 confidants — an accomplishment each the much awesome fixed that Hathaway’s fragile intelligence wellness astatine the clip prevented him from traveling to grounds successful idiosyncratic with his aged friend.

‘You Are My Heaven’ (1979)
Propelled by the occurrence of “Closer I Get,” Flack and Hathaway acceptable to enactment connected a 2nd duets collection. Yet Hathaway tragically died astatine property 33 aft the brace had recorded lone 2 songs, including this rollicking uptempo fig co-written by Stevie Wonder.

‘You Stopped Loving Me’ (1981)
As portion of her soundtrack to Richard Pryor’s “Bustin’ Loose,” Flack chopped this handsome soul-funk jam written by the up-and-coming Luther Vandross, who’d toured successful Flack’s set successful the precocious ’70s (and who credited Flack with encouraging his epic reimagining of Dionne Warwick’s “A House Is Not a Home”).

‘Tonight, I Celebrate My Love’ (1983)

After Hathaway’s death, Flack developed a fruitful originative concern with Peabo Bryson that climaxed with this plush lovers’ duet, a apical 20 deed that laid the groundwork for Bryson’s early-’90s tally arsenic a polished Disney balladeer successful collaborations with Celine Dion (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Regina Belle (“A Whole New World”).

‘Here, There and Everywhere’ (2012)
Flack’s last workplace album, “Let It Be Roberta,” was successful a consciousness a instrumentality to her roots: a sometimes-radical postulation of her interpretations of a twelve Beatles tunes. Indeed, aft a bluesy “Oh! Darling” and a throbbing “We Can Work It Out,” the LP closes with a stunning unrecorded rendition of 1 of Paul McCartney’s prettiest songs that Flack recorded astatine Carnegie Hall backmost successful 1972. It’s the dependable of state and power successful cleanable equilibrium — a authorities Flack lived successful for thing similar fractional a century.