This Roberta Flack album has hung on my wall for ages. It first caught my eye because of its fantastic cover art, featuring Roberta and her iconic afro. The album, Quiet Fire, is a collection of mostly stripped-down covers of popular songs from the time. It’s her third studio album, following First Take and Chapter Two.

One standout track is written by the legendary songwriting duo Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Originally recorded in 1960 by the girl group The Shirelles, Carole King later included her incredible rendition on her masterpiece album, Tapestry.

Roberta Flack grew up in Virginia in a large, musical family. Her mother, the church organist, inspired her to take up piano. While she accompanied the choir at her Episcopal church, Roberta also loved listening to contemporary gospel at the Baptist church down the street.

Her talent was evident early on. She earned a full music scholarship to Howard University in Washington, D.C., becoming one of the youngest students to enroll at just 15. Though she initially majored in piano, she later switched to voice and became one of the assistant conductors of the college choir. Roberta graduated at 19 and began graduate studies, but her father’s unexpected death forced her to leave school and start working as a music teacher.

On weekends, she performed at local clubs, including the Tivoli Club, where she accompanied opera singers on piano. During intermissions, she sang folk, pop, and blues covers in a smaller room. Her reputation grew, and she began performing at various clubs around Washington, D.C. It was in these clubs that she was discovered, leading to an audition for Atlantic Records. During the audition, Roberta played an astonishing 42 songs in three hours for producer Joel Dorn. This led to the recording of her debut album, First Take, completed in just 10 hours.

I highly recommend listening to this whole album. Her versions of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “To Love Someone” are incredible.

Swift Fact: For any Swifties out there, she performed a cover of this song at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

My Listening Tips/Ideas: This song is all about Roberta and her range of emotions. Other than Flack, Ron Carter is on bass, with some strings alongside him. Roberta takes us on an incredible journey of love and the questions we hold deep in our heart. Listen to her fantastic piano throughout the song, and her incredible ending of the tune. It’s almost like she’s expressed everything she can with the lyrics of the song and then can only emote more by repeating the title phrase over and over.

“So tell me now and I won’t ask again. Will you still love me tomorrow?”

Hope you enjoy this great song

Tonight, you’re mine completely
You give your love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow?

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Is this a lasting treasure?
Or just a moment’s pleasure?
Can I believe the magic in your sigh?
Will you still love me tomorrow?

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Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I’m the only one
But will the spell be broken
When the night meets the morning sun?

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And I’d like to know if your love
Is a love I can be sure of
So tell me now and I won’t ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow?

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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post (hopefully) one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait for the next one. All the info I find is from wikipedia/youtube/interviews/news articles/personal stories I’ve heard/random googling. Sorry if there are any mistakes 🙂

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