Roberta Flack was laid to rest Monday, March 10, in New York City. The public memorial service, held at Harlem’s famed Abyssinian Baptist Church, celebrated the life of Flack, one of the most influential vocalists in soul and R&B, with musical tributes from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Valarie Simpson from the group Ashford & Simpson, Dionne Warwick and Alicia Keys, among others; Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy. Flack passed away on February 24 at age 88.
One unscheduled, surprise performance came by way of Lauryn Hill and her Fugees bandmate, Wyclef Jean, whose reworking of Flack’s 1972 Grammy award-winning song, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” introduced the record to a whole new audience. The Fugees record, also titled “Killing Me Softly With His Song”—a stripped-down, hip-hop-centric version with Lauryn Hill on lead vocals—would hit the top of the pop charts and also win a Grammy. The single propelled The Fugees 1996 sophomore album, “The Score,” to worldwide acclaim and sales. For that reason, Lauryn Hill felt she had to show up to the memorial service and pay tribute.
“We weren’t formally asked to do this because I think they were a little shy in asking us to attend. So we kind of bum-rushed the service because it really wouldn’t be possible for us to just stand by and not participate in this homegoing service,” Hill started as she let the audience know that they’d just returned to New York and put something together quickly to celebrate Flack.
She continued, “The artistry of Ms. Roberta Flack was beyond trailblazing,” Hill continued in part. “Like Nina Simone, she carved out for me a pathway of soulful Black intellectual sublime beauty that not only spoke to Black resistance directly in lyric and statement, but was Black resistance to racism, bigotry and limitations by virtue of its existence. Meaning, she didn’t just write about the beauty; she was the beauty. She didn’t just write about resistance; her existence was a form of resistance.”
“She wrote our stories in forms the established authorities of the time could not deny; compositions wrapped with graceful classical forms and nuances that would not, nor could not, be dismissed,” Hill explained. “She wrote and played and manifested verses for our dignified representation. On behalf of our dignified collective existence, this is not even to mention the voice that was clearly as a bell, with a resonance and a beauty and clarity of tone so rare and unique that the listener is pulled in to acknowledge it’s quiet power. Roberta Flack’s quiet fire…I was introduced to Donny Hathaway through Roberta Flack.”
Lauryn spoke through sniffles and pushed through a tribute written with love, reverence, and respect, and an appreciation for guiding her own musical journey.
“I thank my parents for introducing me to her masterful music. Thank you to our Father in Heaven, to our God on high for blessing and enriching all of our lives with her presence and undeniable gifts. Roberta Flack is a legend.”
Lauryn Hill, with Wyclef Jean—who did not speak—on the guitar and three backing vocalists, then launched into Flack’s seminal work, “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” giving a performance that sounded so reminiscent of Flack that you almost had to watch Hill sing to ensure that Flack’s recorded voice wasn’t being piped into the church’s sanctuary.
Then, Hill and Jean moved into their landmark cover of Flack’s “Killing Me Softly…” which got the audience onto their feet, with their piano and guitar-driven rendition of their most famous work; Stevie Wonder accompanied with a harmonica from the aisle. As they finished, they received a standing ovation and greeted the attendees through tears.
I’m sure Roberta Flack appreciated the performance from on high.
