Critic Ann Powers considers musical performances that have left audiences stunned in utter silence, and what you can hear when sound falls away.

Roberta Flack poses for a picture at The 2010 Pre-Grammy Gala at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, US. The life of a nine-year-old girl whose dream was to become a musician was ...

Two days later I had the music ... “Strummin’ my pain…” Lieberman’s version opens with a long, moody piano solo (which sounds like it could have been featured in Love Story, one ...

It was a guitar-based folk song,” Lieberman, 73, said about the 1971 song that Flack recorded in January 1973. "My version was a small folk song."Flack won two Grammys for "Killing Me Softly with His ...

The US singer was known for songs including Killing Me Softly With His Song and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Musically gifted from a young age, Flack won a scholarship to Howard University at just 15 with plans to pursue a classical music career. "My real ambition was to be a concert pianist," Flack told NPR ...

She is globally recognized for Killing Me Softly With His Song which was originally sung by another singer. Even after decades, Roberta Flack is renowned for her spectacular contribution to the music ...

“My version was a small folk song ... “She was listening to the music, and suddenly she heard ‘Killing Me Softly,’ and it resonated with her.” While listening to the song multiple ...

In 1973, she matched both achievements with “Killing Me Softly With ... I Celebrate My Love” and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet “Set the Night to Music.” In the mid-90s, Flack ...

The Grammy-winning artist is best known for the songs "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With ... world of classical music. Here's Flack talking to NPR in 2012. (SOUNDBITE OF ...

Roberta Flack, who sang three No. 1 'Billboard' Hot 100 hits in her five-decade career, died at age 88 on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. See her accomplished life and career in photos here ...

“I made it 100% on music,” she said. Roberta Flack, 85, cannot sing and struggles to speak ... my life!” “Roberta Flack gave voice to the American soundtrack in its beauty and pain, love ...