\n<\/p>\n
By the time Flack released her cover of this Shirelles\u2019 classic, in late 1971, Carole King (who wrote the song with Gerry Goffin) had already done her own<\/a> slowed-down version on her megaselling LP \u201cTapestry.\u201d But Flack\u2019s performance is still striking, a haunting showcase for her voice as well as her delicate and entrancing piano arrangement.<\/p>\n In 1971, Flack performed at an Independence Day festival in Ghana, along with Ike and Tina Turner, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett and Santana. Her a cappella version of the spiritual \u201cOh Freedom\u201d is a heart stopper, both a moaning prayer and a taste of rapture. The soundtrack has long since fallen into obscurity; it was never released on CD in the United States and is unavailable on streaming services.<\/p>\n Donny Hathaway, a gifted and troubled singer and songwriter, was one of Flack\u2019s most important collaborators, writing early tracks and arranging the songs on her second album. In 1972 they collaborated on a joint LP, \u201cRoberta Flack & Donny Hathaway,\u201d that became a blueprint for \u201970s romantic soul. \u201cWhere Is the Love,\u201d a No. 1 R&B hit that remains in constant radio rotation, is a perfect duet, a tale of romance lost that still feels like a bonbon.<\/p>\n Another surprising song choice that Flack fully remade into a giant, signature hit. She encountered Lori Lieberman\u2019s folky original<\/a> while on a plane, then reworked the chord structure and added a soaring interlude, transforming the tune into a soulful odyssey. She tried it out at a concert with Quincy Jones, who told her, \u201cRo, don\u2019t sing that daggone song no more until you record it,\u201d as Flack once recalled<\/a>. The recording became her second No. 1 hit, and got another boost when the Fugees remade the track in 1996.<\/p>\n Flack produced her sixth studio album herself, under the name Rubina Flake, with a smooth touch that comes through clearly on this sensuous title track, her third No. 1 hit. The album was delayed by months of strained recording sessions, and was a relative flop upon its eventual release in early 1975.<\/p>\n Not written as a duet, this song nonetheless reunited Flack and Hathaway for another gauzy crossover hit, which went No. 1 R&B and No. 2 on the Hot 100. Before Hathaway\u2019s death in 1979, the two had begun recording another duets LP, which was released the following year as \u201cRoberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u2018Freedom Song<\/a>\u2019 (1971)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, \u2018Where Is the Love<\/a>\u2019 (1972)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Killing Me Softly With His Song<\/a>\u2019 (1973)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Feel Like Makin\u2019 Love<\/a>\u2019 (1974)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Roberta Flack With Donny Hathaway, \u2018The Closer I Get to You<\/a>\u2019 (1977)<\/span><\/h3>\n