Roberta Flack Shares ALS Diagnosis, Story of Her Life & Music in Documentary Film “Roberta,” to Premiere at DOCNYC on 11/17
Published
Roberta Flack Shares ALS Diagnosis
Story of Her Life & Music in Documentary Film
“Roberta,” to Premiere at DOCNYC on 11/17
And on PBS on 1/24 Next Year
Children’s Picture Book She Co-Authored,
“The Green Piano.” Out on 1/10
Fall 2023 Marks the 50th Anniversary
Of the Release of Her Killing Me Softly LP
Next Year Also Celebrates
The 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records,
The Influential Record Label
Where Flack Was 40-Year-Plus Marquee Musical Artist
(NEW YORK) One of the world’s best recognized voices, Roberta Flack has announced that ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease) has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak. But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon. There couldn’t be a better time for the new, feature-length documentary, “Roberta” to premiere on November 17, celebrating her distinctive voice, songs, piano gifts, and her indomitable spirit. The awarded and highly-lauded, multimillion-selling musical icon, beloved worldwide, currently brims with delight and enthusiasm as she has continued to work on a number of upcoming projects.
She and her music and inspiring life and career will remain in the public spotlight throughout the next year. “Roberta,” makes its premiere in competition at DOCNYC, the nation’s largest documentary film festival, at the SVA Theatre at Manhattan’s School of the Visual Arts, followed by a Q&A with its director Antonino D’Ambrosio. Festival public online viewing will be available for one week via the festival’s website from November 18 to 27. It will be available to the general public on television on January 24, 2023 as part of the prestigious PBS “American Masters” series.
The movie explores the depth and complexity of her lyrical and thematic choices as well as the sophisticated mix of classical and soul influences on her style in a marvelous monument to a singular and unclassifiable musical genius, with commentary from contemporary artists whom she has inspired. Filmmaker and author D’Ambrosio has written books about such other musical legends as Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer (The Clash), and previously directed 17 short films and documentary series on vital political, cultural, and historical matters and other similar topics.
Flack will enjoy a banner year in 2023 with a number of projects and anniversaries that underscore her prestige and impact on American music and culture. On January 10, a children’s book co-authored by Roberta that tells of her musical beginnings, “The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music,” will be published by Anne Schwartz Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.
Already hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “a moving testimonial to the effects of instilling a love of live music in childhood,” the heartwarming autobiographical picture book recounts how her father found an upright piano in a junkyard that he restored and painted green for his nine-year-old daughter, beginning a tale of how music lifted Flack from her humble beginnings in a small rural North Carolina community to international superstardom. It was co-written by Tonya Bolden, an acclaimed and awarded author who has penned, collaborated on, or edited more than 40 books, primarily for young readers, and features charming artwork by Hayden Goodman.
“I have long dreamed of telling my story to children about that first green piano that my father got for me from the junkyard in the hope that they would be inspired to reach for their dreams,” said Flack. “I want them to know that dreams can come true with persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and most of all belief in yourself.”
Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Roberta’s landmark fourth album, Killing Me Softly. Rhino Records will celebrate the occasion with a commemorative reissue of the record, which reached #3 on the Billboard album chart, sold more than two-million copies in the US and was nominated for an Album of the Year GRAMMY® award. The title song, originally recorded by Lori Liebernan about how she was wowed by a show by singer-songwriter Don McLean, was a #1 pop hit single for Flack for five weeks in early 1973 and won GRAMMY® awards for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Song of the Year.
Also being celebrated in 2023 is the 75th anniversary of the founding of Atlantic Records, the New York City-based record label that was pivotal in the growth of R&B and soul music into a mainstream commercial force. After the label signed Flack in 1969, as it was enjoying success as a groundbreaking rock label with acts like Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills & Nash, she reinvigorated its stature as a premier pop and soul music powerhouse. Her legacy will no doubt be a central feature in the commemorations.
Miss Flack plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits. Her fortitude and joyful embrace of music that lifted her from modest circumstances to the international spotlight remain vibrant and inspired. Through her Roberta Flack Foundation, she continues to pursue charitable and educational initiatives. Roberta knows firsthand that music has the power to uplift, inspire and transform.
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