Roberta Flack
International music legend Roberta Flack was born to musically-gifted parents, Laron Flack and Irene Margaret Council Flack, on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, NC. Prior to 1920, Roberta’s family settled east of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the shadows of Greenlee Knob, along Flat Creek between Black Mountain and Montreat.
By age 15, Roberta earned a piano scholarship to Howard University, with dreams of becoming a classical pianist. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1958, Roberta secured a teaching job in rural Farmville, NC.
“My ‘mountain years’ were pre-civil rights movement. When potential landlords saw my mother’s dark skin, we were refused decent housing,” remembers Roberta. “Our voices were spoken with our tongues and mom and dad’s feet ─ as they left for a better life for us all.”
Above: Roberta Flack courtesy
Photograph courtesy of Roberta Flack©
With a professional music career spanning back to 1968, Roberta went on to earn world renown and countless awards, including an American Music Award, thirteen Grammy nominations, and five Grammy wins. She is the only solo artist to win the GRAMMY Award Record of the Year for two (2) consecutive years: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face won the 1973 GRAMMY and Killing Me Softly with His Song won the 1974 GRAMMY.
“My early experiences of job rejection fueled my focused determination for excellence. My cousin, Lucille Flack Ray, would say that when I came home frustrated, I found solace and took out my frustrations on the piano. I even recorded a number of North Carolinian folk songs that I learned growing up, like ‘He’s Gone Away.’” A Quiet Fire of inner strength blazed within Roberta. “This fire would only become hotter when I or my excellence was challenged,” she quipped.
When Roberta returned “home” to the mountains as a superstar, she recalls, “I was independent of the earlier scrutiny and rejection. I was received warmly by fans and by my cousin, Lucille and her husband, David. I remembered seeing Lucille and running to her open arms. She eagerly hosted my mom and me.”
