Roberta Flack

American Masters: Roberta Flack follows the music icon from a piano lounge through her rise to stardom. From “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to “Killing Me Softly,” Flack’s virtuosity was inseparable from her commitment to civil rights. Detailing her story in her own words, the film features exclusive access to Flack’s archives and interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Peabo Bryson and more.

When Clint Eastwood first heard "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," he found himself "driving off the side of the freeway," according to Roberta Flack. Enamored with the song, the director used it in a pivotal moment in his film "Play Misty for Me," and it subsequently gained new fame.

Songwriter Les McCann described seeing Roberta Flack perform with all of that "getting-togetherness," referencing the soulful and central quality of Black music. "The concept of soul was really this attempt to recreate what was particular about being Black in America. This experience of struggle and resilience and pride," said author and cultural critic Emily Lordi.

Roberta Flack discovered Lori Lieberman's "Killing Me Softly With His Song" on a plane from L.A. to New York, and made it her own. "I was not limited to just taking the song off of the page of music," said Flack. After seeing the crowd reaction to her cover of the song while on tour with Quincy Jones, Jones convinced her to record it.

Growing up, Roberta Flack was known as a musical prodigy who "could play anything" on the piano. She grew up in the church, where her mother was an organist, and started studying classical piano repertoire at just nine years old.