Roberta Flack vs. Fugees | Head 2 Head 🗣️

On the 22^nd edition of Head 2 Head, Roberta Flack and Fugees face off on respective covers of the beloved classic, “Killing Me Softly With His Song.”

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elcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 2 Head, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing and contrasting their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  For our 22^nd head-to-head, 🎙 Roberta Flack and 🎙 Fugees face off on respective covers of the beloved classic, 🎵 “Killing Me Softly With His Song”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

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1. Roberta Flack, “Killing Me Softly With His Song”

💿 Killing Me Softly • 🏷 Atlantic • 📅 1973

“Strumming my pain with his fingers / Singing my life with his words / Killing me softly with his song… / Telling my whole life, with his words…” Back in the day – the late 60s and 70s – 🎙 Roberta Flack had a fabulous run.  She had solo hits in addition to striking gold in the duets department.  One of her crowning achievements is 🎵 “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which, amazingly, wasn’t originally recorded by her.  Even so, “Killing Me Softly…” in her hands became the ‘IT’ version – the definitive recording.

Why is the Roberta Flack version so good? First and foremost, her voice is angelic, radiant, and incredibly soothing.  Flack has a way of ‘packing a punch’ without having to over-sing. She doesn’t need gospel histrionics to sell the pain that she sings about, even considering this isn’t an original by herself.  It also helps that the songwriting by (🎼✍ Charles Fox and 🎼✍ Norman Gimbel) is impeccable.  “I felt all flushed with fever / Embarrassed by the crowd,” she sings expressively, on the second verse, adding, “I felt he found my letters / And read each one out loud.”  Throw in colorful production work (Joel Dorn) that plays well to both pop and soul crowds, and you have a 🏆 Grammy-winning, no. 1 hit.  Hard to imagine anyone topping this ultra-successful version, right?

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2. Fugees, “Killing Me Softly With His Song”

💿 The Score • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 1996

To reiterate, unbeknownst to many, the legendary 🎙 Roberta Flack covered 🎵 “Killing Me Softly With His Song” – she didn’t originally record it.  Regardless, Flack has earned the honors of recording the definitive version of the song. I mean, reaching number one on the Hot 100 and winning two Grammys for one song – that’s success right there.  Who would dare touch something so iconic? 🎙 Fugees, that’s who! Perhaps it seemed Flack had no competition, but 🎙 Lauryn Hill and company had something to say about that from their 🏆 Grammy-winning rap album, 💿 The Score!

Being a millennial, I’m naturally more familiar with the 1996 cover by Fugees – blame on being an 80s baby! Essentially, Hill and 🎙 🎛 Wyclef Jean update the 1973 version for the 90s, which is R-A-D.  The beat is indicative of the hip-hop soul sound prevalent at the time.  It naturally infuses freshness – there’s a new swagger.  Furthermore, add in a robust bass line, ad-libs (Hill and Jean), and “Killing Me Softly” has a new identity for a new generation.  Of course, the person who ‘brings it on home’ for us 80s babies and 90s kids is Hill, period.  Her voice is distinct – starkly different from Flack’s. She’d go on to make one of the greatest albums of all-time in the timeless 💿 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  Here, she prefaces the brilliance of her sole solo studio album, and it’s awesome.  Her nuance, the runs – it’s glorious over that dusty beat.  “Killing Me Softly With His Song” is in great hands with Fugees too.  Like Flack, they won a Grammy specifically for this song. 

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The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

Roberta Flack or Fugees?  Ooh wee! I’d call this one a tie in all honesty.  Listening to both side by side, I totally see why both versions were critically acclaimed, winning Grammys.  Yes, I grew up with the newer take, but I’m also an ‘old soul’ and find Flack’s musicianship to be awe inspiring! Between Flack and Fugees, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” has won three Grammys.  Not only are the respective performers special, but let’s give it up to that potent, hit-making songwriting team of Fox and Gimbel!

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Roberta Flack vs. Fugees: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 22 [📷: Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Columbia, GenderArts from Pixabay, The Musical Hype, Valentin Tikhonov from Pixabay]

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