How Clint Eastwood Helped Roberta Flack Become a Star
Singer Roberta Flack wowed audiences early in her career with her performances at D.C. area clubs. However, her recordings weren’t particularly successful at the time.
One example is her cover of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. It languished for over two years, getting occasional airplay, and seemed destined to remain a rather obscure recording. That all changed after actor/director Clint Eastwood discovered the song.
The first time ever he heard her song, Eastwood was driving down a California freeway and reportedly was so mesmerized by it that he found himself nearly driving off the road. He thought it was perfect for a romantic scene in Play Misty for Me, a film he was starring in and directing, so he contacted the singer about using it in the movie.
Flack was agreeable but thought the song was “too slow” and “too long” and wanted to record it again. He told her it was fine the way it was. The singer responded, “Well, take the first 8 or 16 bars out. You don’t need that piano intro.” Eastwood objected, telling her, “No, I want every note…every breath.”
With the release of Play Misty for Me in Nov. 1971, Flack’s song had much more exposure than before, and audiences apparently liked what they heard. Her recording shot up to #1 on both the Pop and Easy Listening charts in the spring of 1972 and remained in the top spot on both charts for six weeks. It was the most popular song of 1972 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In March 1973, Roberta Flack won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. She acknowledged Clint Eastwood’s role in making it happen, stating, “If he had not heard the song and not almost driven off the freeway, who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t be here today.”
The singer (along with Donny Hathaway) also won a Grammy the same year for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for “Where Is the Love”, her second hit song. Over the course of her career, Flack has been nominated for 14 Grammys (winning five) and has released a number of popular albums and singles.
Clint Eastwood continued his association with Roberta Flack after Play Misty for Me. At his request, Flack recorded the end music for his 1983 film, Sudden Impact. He remains a friend and admirer of the singer.
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