Wednesday, November 15, 2017

#161 Tryin’ Times – Roberta Flack (1969)


 
The great Roberta Flack, who got her musical start in DC (after enrolling in Howard University at the tender age of 15), is best known for such hit singles as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, each of which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year. This song, like the material from Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On LP, continues to resonate today, despite being nearly 50 years old. Written by frequent duet partner Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson, it’s the only track on her debut album First Take with neither a string or horn section, simply featuring a small all-star combo with Flack on piano, Ron Carter on bass, John Pizzarelli on guitar, and Ray Lucas on drums.

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