Killing Me Softly With

'Killing Me Softly with His Song' is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel.

Killing Me Softly With His Song Fugees
Killing Me Softly With His Words
Who Sings Killing Me Softly With His Song

Killing Me Softly Lyrics: Strumming my pain with his fingers / Singing my life with his words / Killing me softly with his song / Killing me softly with his song / Telling my whole life with his words.

The song was written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman, who recorded the song in late 1971. In 1973 it became a number-one hit in the United States and Canada for Roberta Flack, also reaching number six in the UK Singles Chart. The song has been covered by many artists; the version by the Fugees won the 1997 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Barry from Sauquoit, Ny On February 24th, 1973 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' became #1 and stayed there for four weeks; then 'Love Train' by The O'Jays took over the top spot for one week. But 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' reclaimed #1 for another week, for a.
Lyrics to 'Killing Me Softly' by Roberta Flack: Strumming my pain with his fingers singing my life with his words killing me softly with his song killing me softly with his song telling my whole life with his words.
Barry from Sauquoit, Ny On February 24th, 1973 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' became #1 and stayed there for four weeks; then 'Love Train' by The O'Jays took over the top spot for one week. But 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' reclaimed #1 for another week, for a total of 5 weeks at #1 and 16 weeks in the Top 100!!!
Stream Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack and tens of millions of other songs on all your devices with Amazon Music Unlimited. Exclusive discount for Prime members.
Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song He sang as if he knew me In all my dark despair And then he looked right through me As if I wasn't there And he just kept on singing Singing clear and strong Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with.
Chorus / Em Am Strumming my pain with his fingers D7 G singing my life with his words Em A killing me softly with his song D C killing me softly with his song G C telling my whole life wit.

2Roberta Flack version
3Fugees version
- 3.7Charts and certifications

Lori Lieberman version and disputed origins[edit]

According to Lori Lieberman, who performed the original recording in 1971, the song was born of a poem she wrote after experiencing a strong reaction to the Don McLean song 'Empty Chairs',^[1]^[2] writing some poetic ideas on a napkin at the Troubadour Club after seeing him perform the song,^[3] and then relating this information to Norman Gimbel, who took her feelings and converted them into song lyrics. Gimbel passed his lyrics to Charles Fox, who set them to music.^[4]

According to Gimbel, he was introduced to the Argentinian-born composer Lalo Schifrin (then of Mission: Impossible fame) and began writing songs to a number of Schifrin's films.^[5] Both Gimbel and Schifrin made a suggestion to write a Broadwaymusical together, and Schifrin gave Gimbel an Argentinean novel—Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar—to read as a possible idea. The book was never made into a musical, but in chapter two, the narrator describes himself as sitting in a bar listening to an American pianist friend 'kill us softly with some blues'.^[5]^[6] Gimbel put the phrase in his 'idea book' for use at a future time with a parenthesis around the word 'blues' and substituted the word 'song' instead.^[7]

Don McLean said he had not known that the song described his singing and, when asked about it, said 'I'm absolutely amazed. I've heard both Lori's and Roberta's version and I must say I'm very humbled about the whole thing. You can't help but feel that way about a song written and performed as well as this one is.'^[8]

Nevertheless, Fox repudiated Lieberman's role in the song's creation, saying: 'We [Gimbel and Fox] wrote the song and [Lieberman] heard it and said it reminded her of how she felt at [a Don McLean] concert. Don McLean didn't inspire Norman or me to write the song but even Don McLean thinks he's the inspiration for the song.'^[9]

McLean supported Lieberman, both on his website and from the stage of a concert which he invited her to attend in 2010 and in an April 5, 1973 article in the New York Daily News, Norman Gimbel was quoted as agreeing with Lieberman: 'She [Lori Lieberman] told us about this strong experience she had listening to McLean ('I felt all flushed with fever / Embarrassed by the crowd / I felt he had found my letters / And read each one out loud / I prayed that he would finish / But he just kept right on'). I had a notion this might make a good song so the three of us discussed it. We talked it over several times, just as we did for the rest of the numbers we wrote for this album and we all felt it had possibilities.'^[10]

When Dan MacIntosh (Songfacts) spoke with Charles Fox in 2010, he refuted this story: 'I think it's called an urban legend. It really didn't happen that way. Norman Gimbel and I wrote that song for a young artist whose name was Lori Lieberman. Norman had a book that he would put titles of songs, song ideas and lyrics or something that struck him at different times. And he pulled out the book and he was looking through it, and he says, 'Hey, what about a song title, 'Killing Me Softly With His Blues'?' Well, the 'killing me softly' part sounded very interesting, 'with his blues' sounded old fashioned in 1972 when we wrote it. So he thought for a while and he said, 'What about 'killing me softly with his song'? That has a unique twist to it.' So we discussed what it could be, and obviously it's about a song - listening to the song and being moved by the words. It's like the words are speaking to what that person's life is. Anyway, Norman went home and wrote an extraordinary lyric and called me later in the afternoon. I jotted it down over the phone. I sat down and the music just flowed right along with the words. And we got together the next morning and made a couple of adjustments with it and we played it for Lori, and she loved it, she said it reminds her of being at a Don McLean concert. So in her act, when she would appear, she would say that. And somehow the words got changed around so that we wrote it based on Don McLean, and even Don McLean I think has it on his Web site. But he doesn't know. You know, he only knows what the legend is.'^[11]In the New York Daily News article,^[8] Patricia O'Haire asked Lori Lieberman about how the song came about – what or more specifically who was the inspiration for it:

“Don McLean,” she said simply. “I saw him at the Troubadour in LA last year. (“And there he was this young boy / A stranger to my eyes”) I had heard about him from some friends but up to then all I knew about him really was what others had told me. But I was moved by his performance, by the way he developed his numbers, he got right through to me. (“Strumming my pain with his fingers / Killing me softly with his song/ Telling my whole life with his words.”)

Norman Gimbel picked up the story. “Lori is only 20 and she really is a very private person,” he said. “She told us about this strong experience she had listening to McLean” (“I felt all flushed with fever / Embarrassed by the crowd / I felt he had found my letters / And read each one out loud / I prayed that he would finish / But he kept just right on…”)“I had a notion this might make a good song so the three of us discussed it. We talked it over several times, just as we did with the rest of the numbers we wrote for the album and we all felt it had possibilities.”“Norman had a phrase he liked, ‘killing me softly with his blues'”, Lori went on to explain. “But I didn’t feel the word “blues” was quite what the effect was. It wasn’t contemporary enough, somehow. We talked about it a while and finally decided on the word “song” instead. It seemed right then when we did it.”

Roberta Flack version[edit]

'Killing Me Softly with His Song'

One of A-side labels of U.S. vinyl single

Single by Roberta Flack

from the album Killing Me Softly

B-side

'Just Like a Woman'

Released

January 21, 1973

Format

7-inch single

Recorded

November 17, 1972

Studio

Atlantic, New York City^[12]

Genre

Soul

Length

4:46

Label

Atlantic

Songwriter(s)

Producer(s)

Joel Dorn

Roberta Flack singles chronology

'Where Is the Love'
(1972)

'Killing Me Softly with His Song'
(1973)

'Jesse'
(1973)

Alternative release

Audio

'Killing Me Softly with His Song' on YouTube

Lieberman was the first to record the song in late 1971, releasing it in early 1972.^[13]Helen Reddy has said she was sent the song, but 'the demo.. sat on my turntable for months without being played because I didn't like the title'.^[14]

Roberta Flack first heard the song on an airline, when the Lieberman original was featured on the in-flight audio program. After scanning the listing of available audio selections, Flack would recall: 'The title, of course, smacked me in the face. I immediately pulled out some scratch paper, made musical staves [then] play[ed] the song at least eight to ten times jotting down the melody that I heard. When I landed, I immediately called Quincy [Jones] at his house and asked him how to meet Charles Fox. Two days later I had the music.' Shortly afterwards Flack rehearsed the song with her band in the Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, but did not then record it.^[15]

In September 1972, Flack was opening for Marvin Gaye at the Greek Theater; after performing her prepared encore song, Flack was advised by Gaye to sing an additional song. Flack later said, 'I said well, I got this song I've been working on called 'Killing Me Softly..' and he said 'Do it, baby.' And I did it and the audience went crazy, and he walked over to me and put his arm around me and said, 'Baby, don't ever do that song again live until you record it.''^[16]

Released in January 1973, Flack's version spent a total of five non-consecutive weeks at #1 in February and March, more weeks than any other record in 1973, being bumped to number 2 by The O'Jays' 'Love Train' after four straight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1973.^[17] In April of 1973, Canadian singer Anne Murray included her version of 'Killing Me Softly' on her album titled Danny's Song.

Charles Fox suggested that Flack's version was more successful than Lieberman's because Flack's 'version was faster and she gave it a strong backbeat that wasn't in the original'.^[9] According to Flack: 'My classicalbackground made it possible for me to try a number of things with [the song's arrangement]. I changed parts of the chord structure and chose to end on a major chord. [The song] wasn't written that way.'^[18] In actuality, the only changes by Flack were the chorus chord under 'Fingers' - changed from Major to Minor, and the sung note for 'me' in the second 'killing me softly' in the chorus differs from Lieberman's. Flack plays electric piano on the track. The bass is played by Ron Carter, the guitar by Hugh McCracken and the drums by Ray Lucas.^{[citation needed]} The single appeared as the opening track of the album of the same name, issued in August 1973.

Flack won the 1973 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for the single, with Gimbel and Fox earning the Song of the Year Grammy.

In 1996 a house remix of Flack's version went to number one on the US dance chart.^[19]

In 1999 Flack's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[20] It ranked number 360 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and number 82 on Billboard's greatest songs of all time.^[21]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[22]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[23]	19
Canada (RPM) Top Singles^[24]	1
Canada (RPM) Adult Contemporary^[25]	1
Ireland (IRMA)	10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[26]	3
Norway (VG-lista)^[27]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[28]	32
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)^[29]	6
US Billboard Hot 100^[30]	1
US Hot R&B Singles^[31]	2
US Easy Listening^[31]	2
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[32]	30

Fugees version[edit]

'Killing Me Softly'

Single by Fugees

from the album The Score

Released

May 31, 1996

Format

CD single

Recorded

1995

Genre

Length

4:58 (album version)
4:16 (radio edit)
4:00 (radio edit: without intro)

Label

Ruffhouse

Songwriter(s)

Producer(s)

Fugees

Fugees singles chronology

'Fu-Gee-La'
(1996)

'Killing Me Softly'
(1996)

'Ready or Not'
(1996)

Music video

'Killing Me Softly' on YouTube

Hip hop group Fugees covered the Flack version of the song (as 'Killing Me Softly') on their album The Score (1996), with Lauryn Hill singing the lead vocals. Their version became a hit, reaching number two on the U.S. airplay chart. The song topped the charts in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's biggest-selling single of 1996. It has since sold 1.36 million copies in Britain.^[33] The Fugees recording won the 1997 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal^[34] and their video earned the MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video.^[35]

This version sampled the 90’s song 'Bonita Applebum' by A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) from their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. ATCQ themselves had sampled the riff from the song 'Memory Band' from psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection's 1967 eponymous debut album. The Fugees single was so successful that the track was 'deleted' and thus no longer supplied to retailers whilst the track was still in the top 20 so that attention could be drawn to the next single, 'Ready or Not'. Propelled by the success of the Fugees track, the 1972 recording by Roberta Flack was remixed in 1998 with the vocalist adding some new vocal flourishes: this version topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Flack and the Fugees have performed the song together since then.^[36] In 2008, 'Killing Me Softly' was ranked number 25 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 44 on its list of the '100 Greatest Songs of the '90s'.

Background[edit]

'Killing Me Softly' was the last song the Fugees recorded for The Score, after member Pras made the suggestion to cover it. They wanted to 'see how we can create break beats. And of course, we all love A Tribe Called Quest and we went in like 'Okay, let’s cut that sample.' They then added a bass reggae drop.^[37]Initially, the Fugees wanted to change the lyrics of the song to make it anti-drugs and anti-poverty but the songwriters, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, refused.^[38]

Composition[edit]

The Fugees' version features 'percussive rhythms' with 'a synth sitar sound, Wyclef's blurted chants, Hill's vocal melisma on the scatted bridge, and a bombastic drum-loop track'.^[39]

Critical reception[edit]

In January 1997, Spin called the song 'an instant classic, pumped out of every passing car from coast to coast, with Lauryn Hill's timeless voice never losing its poignant kick'.^[40] Celebrating the album's 20th anniversary in February 2016, Billboard reviewed the song, saying: 'It's a lovely cover that maintains the spirit of the original while taking the material in new directions.'^[41]

Music video[edit]

The video, directed by Aswad Ayinde^[42] and based on Lauryn Hill's ideas, never came out commercially in America.^[43] It features Roberta Flack.^[39]^[44]

Bounty Killer remix[edit]

The Fugees recorded a dancehall version with Bounty Killer rapping and Hill singing a rewritten chorus. However, they did not receive permission to release it on The Score.^[36]

Track listing[edit]

UK CD1

'Killing Me Softly' (Album Version W/Out Intro) – 4:03
'Killing Me Softly' (Album Instrumental) – 4:03
'Cowboys' (Album Version) – 3:35
'Nappy Heads' (Remix) – 3:49

UK CD2

'Killing Me Softly' (Album Version With Intro) – 4:16
'Fu-Gee-La' (Refugee Camp Global Mix) – 4:15
'Vocab' (Refugees Hip Hop Mix) – 4:07
'Vocab' (Salaam's Acoustic Remix) – 5:54

Charts and certifications[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1996–1997)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[45]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[46]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[47]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[48]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[49]	6
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[50]	6
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)^[51]	1
Czech Republic (IFPI CR)^[52]	1
Denmark (IFPI)^[53]	1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[54]	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[55]	1
France (SNEP)^[56]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)^[57]	1
Hungary (Mahasz)^[58]	1
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[59]	1
Ireland (IRMA)^[60]	1
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)^[61]	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[62]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[63]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[64]	1
Norway (VG-lista)^[65]	1
Poland (LP3)^[66]	2
Scotland (Official Charts Company)^[67]	1
Spain (AFYVE)^[68]	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[69]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[70]	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[71]	1
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)^[72]	1
US Radio Songs (Billboard)^[73]	2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[74]	30
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[75]	20
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[76]	48
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[77]	1

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1996)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[78]	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[79]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[80]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[81]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[82]	43
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[83]	72
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)^[84]	2
France (SNEP)^[85]	5
Germany (Official German Charts)^[86]	1
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)^[61]	6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[87]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[88]	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[89]	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[90]	6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[91]	1

Sales and certifications[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[78]	3× Platinum	210,000^{^}
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[92]	Platinum	50,000^*
Belgium (BEA)^[93]	Platinum	50,000^*
France (SNEP)^[95]	Platinum	650,000^[94]
Germany (BVMI)^[96]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
Netherlands (NVPI)^[97]	2× Platinum	150,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[98]	Platinum	10,000^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[99]	Platinum	10,000^*
Sweden (GLF)^[100]	Gold	25,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[101]	Gold	25,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[102]	2× Platinum	1,200,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Other cover versions[edit]

Artist	Album	Year Released
Perry Como	And I Love You So	1973
Vicki Lawrence	The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	1973
Eric Gale	Forecast	1973
The Jacksons 5	1974
The Undisputed Truth	Law of the Land	1973
Dottie West	If It's All Right With You / Just What I've Been Looking For	1973
Johnny Mathis	Killing Me Softly with Her Song	1973
Lynn Anderson	Top of the World	1973
Bobby Goldsboro	Summer (The First Time)	1973
Rusty Bryant	For the Good Times	1973
Vikki Carr	Ms. America	1973
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77	Love Music	1973
The Ventures	Only Hits!	1973
Ellen	Freckles	1973
John Holt	1000 Volts of Holt	1973
Anne Murray	Danny's Song	1973
Tim Weisberg	Dreamspeaker	1973
Maynard Parker	Midnight Rider	1973
The Hiltonaires	Made in England 6	1973
Shirley Bassey	Never, Never, Never	1973
Ray Conniff and The Singers	You Are the Sunshine of My Life	1973
Clint Holmes	Playground in My Mind	1973
Elaine Delmar	Elaine Delmar	1973
New World	Believe in Music	1973
Gianni Oddi	Oddi	1973
Andy Williams	The Way We Were	1974
Petula Clark	Come on Home	1974
Charlie Byrd	Byrd by the Sea	1974
Janice Hoyte	I'm a Winner	1974
Ed Kilbourne	Missionary	1974
Joy Fleming	Live	1974
Frances Yip	Frances Scores Hits	1974
Engelbert Humperdinck	My Love	1974
Ohashi Junko	Feeling Now	1974
Lena Martell	That Wonderful Sound of Lena Martell	1974
Piet Noordijk	Prototype	1974
Swingle II	Words and Music	1974
Aura	Oh, My Love	1974
Jr. Walker & The All Stars	Jr. Walker & The All Stars	1974
Bobby Vinton	The Bobby Vinton Show	1975
The Les Humphries Singers	The Les Humphries Singers Live	1975
Peters & Lee	Favorites	1975
The Geoff Love Singers	Close to You	1975
Vince Hill	Mandy	1975
The Singers Unlimited	A Capella II	1975
Tuxen	Smilin' Steel	1975
Therapy	Bringing the House Down	1975
Peter North	Saxomania	1975
Sandra Reemer	Trust In Me	1976
Cleo Laine & John Williams	Best Friends	1976
The Brothers Four	New	1976
Brenda Lee	Just for You - Something Nice	1976
Val Doonican	Some of My Best Friends Are Songs	1977
Rita Remington	Magical, Musical, Memories	1978
Hampton Hawes	At the Piano	1978
Howard Carpendale	Und so geh'n wir unsere Wege	1978
Precious Wilson	On the Race Track	1980
Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson	Live & More	1980
Kimiko Kasai	Love Talk	1984
The Eddy Starr Singers	28 Golden Love Songs	1984
Mina	Finalmente ho conosciuto il conte Dracula vol. 1	1985
Al B. Sure!	In Effect Mode	1988
Casal	Histeria	1989
Samurai & Hardbartle	SynTronic MegaHits	1990
Linda Imperial	Killing Me Softly (Single)	1991
Pandora	Matandome Suavemente	1992
Des'ree	Why Should I Love You?	1992
Päivi Mäkinen & Mökö	Rakkaudesta elämään	1993
Amii Stewart	Lady to Ladies	1994
Curiosity	Back to Front	1994
Ron Sanfilippo	Now and Then	1994
Luther Vandross	Songs	1994
Extempo	Channel 32	1995
Cassandra Wilson	Spirit of '73 - Rock for Choice	1995
Fugees	The Score	1996
Michelle	Avex Reggae System Vol. 7	1996
Destroy All Monsters	Silver Wedding Anniversary	1996
Regina	Situations	1996
The Spades	Killing Me Softly (Single)	1996
Georgetown Phantoms	Spank Your Eardrum	1997
Siiri, Boris Björn Bagger & the International Acoustic Band	1st Acoustic Grafitti	1997
Gitte Hænning	My Favorite Songs	1998
Victoria Abril	Enciende mi pasión	1998
Nils Landgren	Ballads	1999
The BB Band	That Soul Sound of the 70's	1999
Cindy Scott	Red Hot - Cindy Scott Captured Live in England	2002
Susan Wong	Close to You	2002
Marianna Leporace	Pop Acústico	2002
Chenoa	Mis canciones favoritas - En concierto acústico	2003
Kimberly Caldwell	American Idol Season 2 - All-Time Classic American Love Songs	2003
Cheryl Bentyne	The Lights Still Burn	2003
Captain Smartypants	Undercover	2004
Coco d'Or	Coco d'Or 2	2006
Perpetuum Jazzile	Čudna Noč	2006
Don Latarski and Marilyn Keller	Nightingale	2006
Michael Sagmeister	Soul Ticket	2006
The Mardi Gras Band	Requests	2007
Georgeana Bonow	Pop Bossa - When Pop Goes Bossa	2008
Deborah Sasson	Pop Classics	2008
Layla Zoe	Live at Errington Hall	2008
Starburkes & The Tea Leaf	Acoustic Coffee House	2009
Colbie Caillat	iTunes Session	2010
Shanti Snyder	Born to Sing	2010
Chelsey Forrest, Kirk Smart	Talk to Me Nice	2010
Soul Kitchen-Band feat. Gail Anderson	15 Years Soul Kitchen - The Band	2011
Virginia Belles	Good Morning Mr. Jefferson	2011
Afro Blue	The Sing-Off Season 3 Episode 6 - Hip Hop (Album)	2011
Harvard Opportunes	Out Loud	2011
Joanie Samra - Jesse Green	Serendipity	2011
Ruth Jacott	Simply the Best - One Woman Show	2012
Katrina Parker	The Voice - Killing Me Softly with His Song (Single)
Sussan Kameron	Romantic Nights
Keiko Lee	Keiko Lee Sings Super Standards 2
Connie Evingson	Sweet Happy Life
Sydney Claire	Rocks in My Bed
Gary Brown	Generations
The Dear Abbeys	Proclamation
Miss Murphy	The Voice [AU] - Killing Me Softly (Single)	2013
Keaira LaShae	The Voice - Killing Me Softly with His Song (Single)
Nancy Sinatra	Shifting Gears
Lulu Roman	At Last
Ale Vanzella	Indie Bossa II	2015
Norah Benatia	IDOL 2016 Topp 3 (EP)	2016
Joseph Vincent	Killing Me Softly (Single)
Scott & Ben	Scott & Ben - Acoustic Cover Sessions Volume 2
Meg Birch	Acoustic Covers Pop	2017
Scary Pockets feat. India Carney	Nu Funk
Alyssa Bernal	Killing Me Softly (Single)
Zhavia Ward	2018
Nicole Cross	2018	Shapeshifter

Other uses in popular culture[edit]

On the March 27, 2017, episode of the reality television competition show The Voice, Team Alicia (Keys) members Autumn Turner and Vanessa Ferguson performed an arrangement of the Fugees' version of the song in a Battle round. Coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Gwen Stefani all preferred Ferguson's performance, and Keys agreed, naming her the winner of the Battle and advancing her to the Knockout rounds. Soon after, Turner was surprised when both Levine and Stefani attempted to steal her onto their teams. Ultimately, she opted to join Team Adam.
On the March 6, 2018, episode of The Voice, Megan Lee performed an arrangement of the song in a blind audition. Her rendition did not impress coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, or new coach Kelly Clarkson, but it did impress coach Alicia Keys enough that she turned her chair, forcing Lee to join Team Alicia by default and advance to the Battle rounds.

References[edit]

^'The 'Killing Me Softly' Story'. Don-mclean.com. January 21, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
^Lori Lieberman - Killing Me Softly (The Story Behind) on YouTube
^'Classic Albums - Don McLean: American Pie'. BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^Billboard Magazine, June 22, 1974. p. 53
^ ^a^bDavis, Sheila (1984). The Craft of Lyric Writing. Writers Digest Books. p. 13. ISBN0-89879-149-9. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
^Cortázar, Julio (1966). Hopscotch. Pantheon Books. p. 15. ISBN0-394-75284-8.
^'The 'Killing Me Softly' Story'. Don-mclean.com. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ ^a^bO'Haire, Patricia Killer of a SongArchived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine,' New York Daily News
^ ^a^bDaeida February 2012. p. 11
^O'Haire, Patricia, New York Daily News, 1973
^Songfacts. 'Charles Fox : Songwriter Interviews'. www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
^'Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack - Recording'. www.pfunkportal.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
^Cad, Saint. 'Top 10 Famous Songs With Unknown Originals'. listverse.com. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
^Reddy, Helen. The Woman I Am. Penguin Group, New York, NY. ISBN1-58542-489-7. p. 158
^Fox, Charles. Killing Me Softly: My Life In Music. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD. ISBN978-0-8108-6991-2. (2010) p. X
^'Roberta Flack Recalls Debuting 'Killing Me Softly' At The Greek Theatre With Marvin Gaye'. 94.7 The WAVE – Smooth R&B. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973
^Cresswell, Toby. 1001 Songs. Hardie Grant Books, Pahran, Aus. ISBN978-1-74066-458-5. (2005) p. 388
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 100.
^'GRAMMY Hall Of Fame'. GRAMMY.org. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^[1]Archived 29 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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External links[edit]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_Me_Softly_with_His_Song&oldid=917441211'

'Killing Me Softly with His Song' is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel.

2Roberta Flack version
3Fugees version
- 3.7Charts and certifications

Lori Lieberman version and disputed origins[edit]

Roberta Flack version[edit]

'Killing Me Softly with His Song'

One of A-side labels of U.S. vinyl single

Single by Roberta Flack

from the album Killing Me Softly

B-side

'Just Like a Woman'

Released

January 21, 1973

Format

7-inch single

Recorded

November 17, 1972

Studio

Atlantic, New York City^[12]

Genre

Soul

Length

4:46

Label

Atlantic

Songwriter(s)

Producer(s)

Joel Dorn

Roberta Flack singles chronology

'Where Is the Love'
(1972)

'Killing Me Softly with His Song'
(1973)

'Jesse'
(1973)

Alternative release

Audio

'Killing Me Softly with His Song' on YouTube

Flack won the 1973 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for the single, with Gimbel and Fox earning the Song of the Year Grammy.

In 1996 a house remix of Flack's version went to number one on the US dance chart.^[19]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[22]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[23]	19
Canada (RPM) Top Singles^[24]	1
Canada (RPM) Adult Contemporary^[25]	1
Ireland (IRMA)	10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[26]	3
Norway (VG-lista)^[27]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[28]	32
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)^[29]	6
US Billboard Hot 100^[30]	1
US Hot R&B Singles^[31]	2
US Easy Listening^[31]	2
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[32]	30

Fugees version[edit]

'Killing Me Softly'

Single by Fugees

from the album The Score

Released

May 31, 1996

Format

CD single

Recorded

1995

Genre

Length

4:58 (album version)
4:16 (radio edit)
4:00 (radio edit: without intro)

Label

Ruffhouse

Songwriter(s)

Producer(s)

Fugees

Fugees singles chronology

'Fu-Gee-La'
(1996)

'Killing Me Softly'
(1996)

'Ready or Not'
(1996)

Music video

'Killing Me Softly' on YouTube

Background[edit]

Composition[edit]

The Fugees' version features 'percussive rhythms' with 'a synth sitar sound, Wyclef's blurted chants, Hill's vocal melisma on the scatted bridge, and a bombastic drum-loop track'.^[39]

Critical reception[edit]

Music video[edit]

The video, directed by Aswad Ayinde^[42] and based on Lauryn Hill's ideas, never came out commercially in America.^[43] It features Roberta Flack.^[39]^[44]

Bounty Killer remix[edit]

The Fugees recorded a dancehall version with Bounty Killer rapping and Hill singing a rewritten chorus. However, they did not receive permission to release it on The Score.^[36]

Track listing[edit]

UK CD1

'Killing Me Softly' (Album Version W/Out Intro) – 4:03
'Killing Me Softly' (Album Instrumental) – 4:03
'Cowboys' (Album Version) – 3:35
'Nappy Heads' (Remix) – 3:49

UK CD2

'Killing Me Softly' (Album Version With Intro) – 4:16
'Fu-Gee-La' (Refugee Camp Global Mix) – 4:15
'Vocab' (Refugees Hip Hop Mix) – 4:07
'Vocab' (Salaam's Acoustic Remix) – 5:54

Charts and certifications[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1996–1997)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[45]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[46]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[47]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[48]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[49]	6
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[50]	6
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)^[51]	1
Czech Republic (IFPI CR)^[52]	1
Denmark (IFPI)^[53]	1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[54]	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[55]	1
France (SNEP)^[56]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)^[57]	1
Hungary (Mahasz)^[58]	1
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[59]	1
Ireland (IRMA)^[60]	1
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)^[61]	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[62]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[63]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[64]	1
Norway (VG-lista)^[65]	1
Poland (LP3)^[66]	2
Scotland (Official Charts Company)^[67]	1
Spain (AFYVE)^[68]	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[69]	1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[70]	1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[71]	1
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)^[72]	1
US Radio Songs (Billboard)^[73]	2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[74]	30
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[75]	20
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[76]	48
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[77]	1

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1996)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[78]	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[79]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[80]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[81]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[82]	43
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[83]	72
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)^[84]	2
France (SNEP)^[85]	5
Germany (Official German Charts)^[86]	1
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)^[61]	6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[87]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[88]	2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[89]	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[90]	6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[91]	1

Sales and certifications[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[78]	3× Platinum	210,000^{^}
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[92]	Platinum	50,000^*
Belgium (BEA)^[93]	Platinum	50,000^*
France (SNEP)^[95]	Platinum	650,000^[94]
Germany (BVMI)^[96]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
Netherlands (NVPI)^[97]	2× Platinum	150,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[98]	Platinum	10,000^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[99]	Platinum	10,000^*
Sweden (GLF)^[100]	Gold	25,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[101]	Gold	25,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[102]	2× Platinum	1,200,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Other cover versions[edit]

Artist	Album	Year Released
Perry Como	And I Love You So	1973
Vicki Lawrence	The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	1973
Eric Gale	Forecast	1973
The Jacksons 5	1974
The Undisputed Truth	Law of the Land	1973
Dottie West	If It's All Right With You / Just What I've Been Looking For	1973
Johnny Mathis	Killing Me Softly with Her Song	1973
Lynn Anderson	Top of the World	1973
Bobby Goldsboro	Summer (The First Time)	1973
Rusty Bryant	For the Good Times	1973
Vikki Carr	Ms. America	1973
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77	Love Music	1973
The Ventures	Only Hits!	1973
Ellen	Freckles	1973
John Holt	1000 Volts of Holt	1973
Anne Murray	Danny's Song	1973
Tim Weisberg	Dreamspeaker	1973
Maynard Parker	Midnight Rider	1973
The Hiltonaires	Made in England 6	1973
Shirley Bassey	Never, Never, Never	1973
Ray Conniff and The Singers	You Are the Sunshine of My Life	1973
Clint Holmes	Playground in My Mind	1973
Elaine Delmar	Elaine Delmar	1973
New World	Believe in Music	1973
Gianni Oddi	Oddi	1973
Andy Williams	The Way We Were	1974
Petula Clark	Come on Home	1974
Charlie Byrd	Byrd by the Sea	1974
Janice Hoyte	I'm a Winner	1974
Ed Kilbourne	Missionary	1974
Joy Fleming	Live	1974
Frances Yip	Frances Scores Hits	1974
Engelbert Humperdinck	My Love	1974
Ohashi Junko	Feeling Now	1974
Lena Martell	That Wonderful Sound of Lena Martell	1974
Piet Noordijk	Prototype	1974
Swingle II	Words and Music	1974
Aura	Oh, My Love	1974
Jr. Walker & The All Stars	Jr. Walker & The All Stars	1974
Bobby Vinton	The Bobby Vinton Show	1975
The Les Humphries Singers	The Les Humphries Singers Live	1975
Peters & Lee	Favorites	1975
The Geoff Love Singers	Close to You	1975
Vince Hill	Mandy	1975
The Singers Unlimited	A Capella II	1975
Tuxen	Smilin' Steel	1975
Therapy	Bringing the House Down	1975
Peter North	Saxomania	1975
Sandra Reemer	Trust In Me	1976
Cleo Laine & John Williams	Best Friends	1976
The Brothers Four	New	1976
Brenda Lee	Just for You - Something Nice	1976
Val Doonican	Some of My Best Friends Are Songs	1977
Rita Remington	Magical, Musical, Memories	1978
Hampton Hawes	At the Piano	1978
Howard Carpendale	Und so geh'n wir unsere Wege	1978
Precious Wilson	On the Race Track	1980
Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson	Live & More	1980
Kimiko Kasai	Love Talk	1984
The Eddy Starr Singers	28 Golden Love Songs	1984
Mina	Finalmente ho conosciuto il conte Dracula vol. 1	1985
Al B. Sure!	In Effect Mode	1988
Casal	Histeria	1989
Samurai & Hardbartle	SynTronic MegaHits	1990
Linda Imperial	Killing Me Softly (Single)	1991
Pandora	Matandome Suavemente	1992
Des'ree	Why Should I Love You?	1992
Päivi Mäkinen & Mökö	Rakkaudesta elämään	1993
Amii Stewart	Lady to Ladies	1994
Curiosity	Back to Front	1994
Ron Sanfilippo	Now and Then	1994
Luther Vandross	Songs	1994
Extempo	Channel 32	1995
Cassandra Wilson	Spirit of '73 - Rock for Choice	1995
Fugees	The Score	1996
Michelle	Avex Reggae System Vol. 7	1996
Destroy All Monsters	Silver Wedding Anniversary	1996
Regina	Situations	1996
The Spades	Killing Me Softly (Single)	1996
Georgetown Phantoms	Spank Your Eardrum	1997
Siiri, Boris Björn Bagger & the International Acoustic Band	1st Acoustic Grafitti	1997
Gitte Hænning	My Favorite Songs	1998
Victoria Abril	Enciende mi pasión	1998
Nils Landgren	Ballads	1999
The BB Band	That Soul Sound of the 70's	1999
Cindy Scott	Red Hot - Cindy Scott Captured Live in England	2002
Susan Wong	Close to You	2002
Marianna Leporace	Pop Acústico	2002
Chenoa	Mis canciones favoritas - En concierto acústico	2003
Kimberly Caldwell	American Idol Season 2 - All-Time Classic American Love Songs	2003
Cheryl Bentyne	The Lights Still Burn	2003
Captain Smartypants	Undercover	2004
Coco d'Or	Coco d'Or 2	2006
Perpetuum Jazzile	Čudna Noč	2006
Don Latarski and Marilyn Keller	Nightingale	2006
Michael Sagmeister	Soul Ticket	2006
The Mardi Gras Band	Requests	2007
Georgeana Bonow	Pop Bossa - When Pop Goes Bossa	2008
Deborah Sasson	Pop Classics	2008
Layla Zoe	Live at Errington Hall	2008
Starburkes & The Tea Leaf	Acoustic Coffee House	2009
Colbie Caillat	iTunes Session	2010
Shanti Snyder	Born to Sing	2010
Chelsey Forrest, Kirk Smart	Talk to Me Nice	2010
Soul Kitchen-Band feat. Gail Anderson	15 Years Soul Kitchen - The Band	2011
Virginia Belles	Good Morning Mr. Jefferson	2011
Afro Blue	The Sing-Off Season 3 Episode 6 - Hip Hop (Album)	2011
Harvard Opportunes	Out Loud	2011
Joanie Samra - Jesse Green	Serendipity	2011
Ruth Jacott	Simply the Best - One Woman Show	2012
Katrina Parker	The Voice - Killing Me Softly with His Song (Single)
Sussan Kameron	Romantic Nights
Keiko Lee	Keiko Lee Sings Super Standards 2
Connie Evingson	Sweet Happy Life
Sydney Claire	Rocks in My Bed
Gary Brown	Generations
The Dear Abbeys	Proclamation
Miss Murphy	The Voice [AU] - Killing Me Softly (Single)	2013
Keaira LaShae	The Voice - Killing Me Softly with His Song (Single)
Nancy Sinatra	Shifting Gears
Lulu Roman	At Last
Ale Vanzella	Indie Bossa II	2015
Norah Benatia	IDOL 2016 Topp 3 (EP)	2016
Joseph Vincent	Killing Me Softly (Single)
Scott & Ben	Scott & Ben - Acoustic Cover Sessions Volume 2
Meg Birch	Acoustic Covers Pop	2017
Scary Pockets feat. India Carney	Nu Funk
Alyssa Bernal	Killing Me Softly (Single)
Zhavia Ward	2018
Nicole Cross	2018	Shapeshifter

Other uses in popular culture[edit]

On the March 27, 2017, episode of the reality television competition show The Voice, Team Alicia (Keys) members Autumn Turner and Vanessa Ferguson performed an arrangement of the Fugees' version of the song in a Battle round. Coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Gwen Stefani all preferred Ferguson's performance, and Keys agreed, naming her the winner of the Battle and advancing her to the Knockout rounds. Soon after, Turner was surprised when both Levine and Stefani attempted to steal her onto their teams. Ultimately, she opted to join Team Adam.
On the March 6, 2018, episode of The Voice, Megan Lee performed an arrangement of the song in a blind audition. Her rendition did not impress coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, or new coach Kelly Clarkson, but it did impress coach Alicia Keys enough that she turned her chair, forcing Lee to join Team Alicia by default and advance to the Battle rounds.