This must have been hugely disappointing for Roberta, Les McCann who’d discovered Roberta and producer Joel Dorn. Only one single was released from First Take, Compared To What, which failed to chart. On the release of First Take on June 20th 1969, but the album wasn’t a commercial success. Later, strings and horns were overdubbed, with First Take set for release in June 1969. In total, First Take was recorded in just ten hours. Recording started on 24th February 1969, ending on 26th February 1969. Together, guitarist John Pizzarellli, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Ray Lucas accompanied Roberta, who played piano. Once recording of First Take was underway at Atlantic’s Recording Studios in New York, Roberta’s band didn’t waste time. One other track was Euan McColl’s The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, a track which two years later, would prove crucial in Roberta’s future career. Among these tracks were Gene McDaniels’ Compared To What, Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson’s Tryin’ Times, Leonard Cohen’s Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye and Our Ages of Our Hearts which Donny Hathaway and Robert Ayers cowrote. Eight songs were chosen for First Take, none of which were written by Roberta. Recording of First Take was scheduled to take place at Atlantic’s Recording Studios in New York. After this, the next time Roberta was in a recording studio would be record her debut album First Take. Soon, Roberta found herself signed to Atlantic, recording thirty-nine songs in less than ten hours in November 1968. During the audition, Roberta played forty-two songs in three hours for producer Joel Dorn. Having been smitten by Roberta’s performance, Les arranged for Roberta to audition for Atlantic.
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Les McCann had been in the audience when Roberta performed at a benefit concert for the Inner City Ghetto Children’s Library Fund. She was then thirty-two, and had been working as a teacher, while singing at weekends before signing to Atlantic. Before I tell you about the music on First Take, I’ll tell you about the background to the album.įirst Take was Roberta Flack’s debut album for Atlantic. However, things might have been very different, if The First Time I Saw Your Face hadn’t featured in Play Misty For Me.
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Two years after its release, First Take would go on to sell over one-million copies, resulting in the album being certified platinum. Spurred on by sales of The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, First Take started selling, transforming Roberta’s career. This lead to the song being released as a single, giving Roberta her first US number one single.
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It wasn’t until two years later, in 1971, when fate intervened and The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face featured in the Clint Eastwood movie Play Misty For Me. Instead, Compared To What was the first single released from First Take. Remarkably, when First Take was released in 1969, The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face wasn’t released as a single. Having been released in 1969, First Take wasn’t a commercial success. The story of First Take is one where if fate hadn’t intervened, might have resulted in the album forever remaining a hidden gem. Mention Roberta Flack‘s name, and most people automatically think of two songs, The First Time I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly.