Roberta Flack and Edon Molla - Giving Back to Roberta, Stories of Art and Music Returning From Those She’s Inspired
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Giving Back to Roberta Flack
Stories of Art and Music
Returning From Those She’s Inspired
Edon Molla,
Former Janitor at New York’s
Famed Dakota Apartments Who Flack Mentored,
Performs for the Icon
NEW YORK — We can probably count on two hands the number of artists who can inspire a minutes-long standing ovation by simply being present in a venue. Musical icon Roberta Flack, the chart-topping, GRAMMY-winning singer of such iconic hits as “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” is one of those legendary artists.
Case in point: One night while attending a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City, the entire venue stood up and cheered for the vocal superstar’s mere presence for more than two minutes. Her friend recalls, “I heard Roberta say quietly to the crowd, ‘THERE you are!’ You could see how important it was to her to see ‘the audience’ that loved her and that she loved for so many decades. Her audience has been a constant source of love, communication, and validation for more than 50 years of performing.”
Flack has been unable to perform due to a stroke in 2016 and later became restricted from even going out to see performances (and be amongst her beloved fans) due to her ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) diagnosis in 2022. Her only musical outlet was watching performances on television, which lacked the connectivity to music, art, and the spirit of the audience and fans that she embraced wholeheartedly.
Out of this was born the idea to have an “Audience of One” wherein fellow musicians, singers, and dancers, who not only adore her but have been deeply inspired by her, can give back to the icon during this special time in her life. A talented array of artists have come to play, sing, and/or dance for Flack in the privacy of her New York home.
While many of Flack’s visitors have been GRAMMY-winning artists, the list also includes some interesting friends she’s made along the way. One such pal is Edon Molla (Instagram @edonm), former janitor of New York’s famed apartment building, the Dakota, where Roberta lived for more than 40 years, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono were neighbors.
“Edon met Roberta when she lived at the Dakota and he was employed as a custodian there,” explains her manager, Suzanne Koga. “His singing was brought to her attention by a Dakota doorman. Roberta asked for a handyman to come and help her with her apartment and when Edon came up, asked him to sing. She loved his voice and his songwriting. She then would frequently request ‘help’ from the Dakota staff, specifically Edon, and used some of the time to have him play and sing, giving him encouragement and feedback each time.”
Twenty years later in 2022, Edon saw a post on social media about Flack’s ALS diagnosis and came to visit her. During that visit, he told her that because of her guidance, he is so grateful for her generous belief in him and has committed to a career in music as a songwriter and singer. He sang, played piano and guitar and shared with her many of the compositions that he’s released or working on currently.
Other artists giving the legendary singer an “Audience of One” include GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriters Alicia Keys and Lisa Fischer, Ashford & Simpson’s Valerie Simpson, Davell Crawford (Flack’s godson), Reverend Jesse Jackson with his daughter, musician Santita, Kuma Hula Patrick Makuakane, and Vivian and Ray Chew with a small orchestra and gospel choir, along with some personal friends such as a piano-playing attorney who have filled her home with musical love.
About Roberta Flack:
GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Roberta Flack is the first solo artist to win the GRAMMY Award for Record of the Year for two consecutive years for her #1 single “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973, which also won her the Song of the Year GRAMMY, and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1974 which topped the charts for five weeks. Flack is also known worldwide for songs “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” her hit duets with Donny Hathaway “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You,” “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” (Peabo Bryson), and “Set the Night to Music” (Maxi Priest). In 2018, Flack was given the prestigious Clark and Gwen Terry Courage Award from the Jazz Foundation of America, and in 2017 was presented with the Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award and the Black Girls Rock Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2023, she received the Berklee College Honorary Doctorate and released the children’s book, “The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music” via Random House. Additionally, her Roberta Flack Foundation gives grants to inspiring creatives. She is considered one of the greatest songstresses of our time, effortlessly traversing a broad musical landscape over the years from pop to soul to folk to jazz with a voice the BBC describes as “a molten murmur [that] flexes into a cry as pure as a prayer, heartfelt as a confessional. It is elegantly tender, almost unbearably intimate.”
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