It is not unusual for a song to come out and basically be ignored, but then it is plucked from obscurity and used in a movie or TV show. And all of the sudden it is everywhere. Downloads or streaming make that a pretty easy task. But what about back in the days when vinyl was the only choice? The record company releases an album and a single or two from the album and basically all of them go nowhere. The albums sit in the record store bins for a few months and then the remaining singles are sold for ten cents and albums for as little as a buck.

But what if a famous movie director like Clint Eastwood, known for his great fondness for jazz, takes one of those now forgotten songs two years later and uses it in a feature film. That is exactly what happened with Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Eastwood’s directorial debut, the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. The record company reissues the song and it becomes a number 1 hit and achieves the remarkable feat of becoming the Billboard Year-End top selling single of 1972. Something no sleeper hit had done before or since. And then the album also reaches number 1 on the Billboard album charts.

Roberta Flack's first album Roberta Flack First Takes is that album. It has recently been released in a new mastering and pressing. Add to that, for the first time on vinyl, her demo recordings made before that album, called Roberta Flack Lost Takes. Together they show a star rising from the unknown and lighting up the music world. Both are now available on 180 gram vinyl and the music is amazing.

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Copyright Notice: All of the music samples used in this podcast series are used under Fair Use provisions of the US Copyright Law which states: “it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports.”

The copyright of all music in this podcast series is held by the individual holders. The theme and end songs are licensed from Fresh Music Library. All commentary is copyright by David Husom. All rights are reserved. Contact the author for educational use of this material.