Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born on 10 February 1939, in Black Mountain, North Carolina USA, to Irene and Laron LeRoy Flack, both parents being musicians of African-American descent. She is a singer and musician, best known for her hits “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You”.
A talented singer, how wealthy is Roberta Flack? Sources state that Flack has earned a net worth of over $20 million, her wealth having been earned mostly through her singing career which now spans almost 50 years.
Roberta Flack Net Worth $20 Million
Flack grew up in Arlington, Virginia and started taking piano lessons at an early age, which enabled her to receive a piano scholarship to Howard University in Washington D.C., where she became an assistant conductor of the university choir. She later continued her music education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherts, Massachusetts. After graduating in 1958 with a B.A. in music education, she taught music and English in Farmville, North Carolina. She also sang in various clubs, where she was eventually discovered by jazz musician Les McCann, who arranged a record deal for her with Atlantic Records.
Flack’s first two albums, the 1969 “First Time” and the 1970 “Chapter Two” both received positive reviews, and selling over one million copies each. However, her breakthrough came with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, her adaption of Ewan MacColl’s song on her third, 1972 album “Quiet Fire”, after the song was used in the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s movie “Play Misty For Me”. It became the biggest hit of 1972, and the #1 single which earned Flack a million-selling Gold disc as well as a Grammy Award. Her popularity boosted and her net worth started to rise.
Flack continued to score hits, such as her chart-topping singles “Killing Me Softly with His Song” for which she received a Grammy Award, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, as well as her duets with Donny Hathaway “You’ve Got a Friend”, “The Closer I Get to You” and “Where Is the Love”, earning another Grammy for the latter song. In the meantime, she launched her own music production and publishing company, and went on to compose and produce soundtracks for television and motion pictures, such as for the film “Bustin’ Loose” and “Sudden Impact”. All added to her wealth.
After Hathaway’s death in 1979, Flack teamed up with Peabo Bryson, scoring a hit with their 1983 duet “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love”. Her next hit was the 1991 duet with Maxi Priest, “Set the Night to Music”. In 1999, she received a Star on Hollywood’s legendary Walk of Fame.
The following years Flack spent touring and performing, and released several albums. Her most recent recording was her 2012 album of Beatles coverings, entitled “Let It Be Roberta”, and she is currently working on another Beatles album. Flack’s music has made her a performer of legendary status and has enabled her to amass a significant wealth. It has also earned her various awards and honors throughout her career.
When it comes to her personal life, Flack was married to jazz bassist Steve Novosel from 1966 to 1972. She has one child, the rhythm and blues musician Bernard Wright. Flack is deeply involved in charity. Aside from her numerous performances for charity causes, she has founded the Roberta Flack School of Music, focused on providing a free music education program to underprivileged students. She is a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, advocating the artists’ rights to control their creative properties, and a spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
