Lori Lieberman

Last updated

Lori Lieberman
Born (1951-11-15) November 15, 1951 (age 71)
Los Angeles, California
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Piano
  • vocals
  • guitar
Years active1972 - late 1970s
mid-1990s - present
Labels
Website www.lorilieberman.com
Publicity photos, circa 1974
Searchtool.svg photo 153460901 [1]
Searchtool.svg photo 153460898 [2]

Lori Lieberman (born November 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on guitar and piano. She first came to public attention in the early 1970s with a series of albums on Capitol Records, the first of which featured the first recording of "Killing Me Softly with His Song". After a long gap due to a retirement in the early 1980s, she resumed her recording career in the mid-1990s. [3]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Lieberman, the middle of three Jewish [4] sisters, spent her childhood and adolescence travelling between California and Switzerland (where she attended the International School of Geneva from Year 5 till her graduation in 1970) [5] consequent to her father's career in chemical engineering. She then attended Pine Manor College.

Lieberman began singing and composing at a young age, simultaneously acquiring a taste for French singers and songwriters as well as American rock and pop music. The latter passion was fed by an older sister who played albums by Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen and Jefferson Airplane. [6]

First recording career

Shortly after she returned to America to study in her late teens, Lieberman was signed to a production, recording and publishing deal struck between Capitol Records and songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. Lieberman's contributions to the process were occasionally credited during this period of her career, most notably on "My Lover Do You Know" which appeared on her first album, 1972's Lori Lieberman, [7] [8] and which was singled out for praise by Billboard magazine. [4] [9] [10]

In the gap between her first and second albums, "Killing Me Softly With His Song", a track from Lieberman's debut, was recorded by Roberta Flack – becoming a US No. 1 and international hit and rapidly overshadowing Lieberman's own, more understated original which had until that point been gaining traction on radio. Undeterred, Lieberman returned in 1973 with Becoming, her first album to achieve a placing on the Billboard Top 200. [11]

Two more Lori Lieberman albums, A Piece of Time (1974) and Straw Colored Girl (1975), appeared on Capitol Records. In the wake of her departure from Capitol, material from her first four albums was compiled on the European release, The Best of Lori Lieberman. In 1977, Lieberman provided vocals for the song, "Great American Melting Pot" for the television show Schoolhouse Rock . She sang a song in the 1980s television show Fame . [12]

After a period of silence, and with her career no longer helmed by Gimbel and Fox, Lieberman returned with Letting Go (Millennium Records, 1978, distributed by Casablanca Records/RCA Records), recorded in New York with producer Paul Leka. Lieberman's compositions were fully credited on the album. The song, "Jingle", spoke to Lieberman's growing dissatisfaction with the music industry. [13] Soon after the release of Letting Go, Lieberman abandoned her career.

Hiatus and second career

By the early 1990s, Lieberman was a mother of three who had settled in California and built a life out of the spotlight. When a neighbor, Joseph Cali (who had played Joey in Saturday Night Fever and was to become Lieberman's third husband) prompted her to return to music, she was initially reluctant but put aside these misgivings and recorded the album A Thousand Dreams which was largely made up of her own songs, appearing on the independent Pope Records label, and engineered by Mark Levinson. The album and its follow-up, 1996's Home of Whispers, were recorded live and marketed towards the audiophile community. [14] A third release, Gone Is The Girl, a studio album with overdubs, came out in 1998 prior to the demise of the Pope label. This collection combined new Lieberman songs with some revisited material from her past. In 2003, Lieberman released another album of original material, Monterey, which came out via her own company, Drive On Records.

From 2009 onwards, Lieberman enjoyed increased visibility. Following the release of Gun Metal Sky (Drive On Records) in 2009, she became a major label recording artist for the first time since the 1970s when V2 Records (originally a subsidiary of Virgin Records and now part of the Universal Music Group) took up the option of remastering, repackaging and distributing Gun Metal Sky in territories outside America. For its European incarnation, the revised album appeared in 2010 under the new title Takes Courage. With funding and promotional support behind her, Lieberman started to tour Europe, drawing audiences sufficient in number to fill concert halls. 2011's swiftly released follow-up Bend Like Steel (Drive On/V2) consolidated her new-found success and led to her first forays into promotional videos. In 2012, Lieberman's most overtly political single, "Rise", a response to the global economic crisis and the inequitable division of wealth, was released worldwide with an accompanying video. "Rise" was included on Lieberman's 2013 album, Bricks Against The Glass (Drive On/Rough Trade Benelux).

"Killing Me Softly" controversy

Since the mid-1990s as Lieberman's profile has grown, Gimbel and Fox have publicly denied the original working method they were reported to have established with Lieberman at the outset of her career, namely that Lieberman's own writing was the essential material from which their songs grew. [15] This dispute has specifically focused on "Killing Me Softly with His Song", which had hitherto been said to have sprung from a poem written by Lieberman following her attendance at a Don McLean concert. [16]

Both Gimbel and Fox asserted in print that Lieberman had had no involvement in the creation of the song. Don McLean supported Lieberman both on his website and from the stage of a concert he invited her to attend in 2010. However, the matter only reached an unequivocal conclusion when contemporaneous articles from the early 1970s were exhumed, all of them vindicating Lieberman. On April 5, 1973, Gimbel had informed the Daily News, "She [Lori Lieberman] told us about this strong experience she had listening to McLean... 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.". [17] Lieberman, Gimbel and Fox were described in a Billboard magazine article in 1973 as a songwriting team. [4]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McLean</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1945)

Donald McLean III is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known to fans as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. His other hit singles include "Vincent", "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberta Flack</span> American singer (born 1937)

Roberta Cleopatra Flack is a retired American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", the latter two duets with Donny Hathaway. Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie DeShannon</span> American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)

Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock and roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the writer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes", which became hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively.

<i>American Pie</i> (Don McLean album) 1971 studio album by Don McLean

American Pie is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released by United Artists Records in October 1971. The folk rock album reached number one on the Billboard 200, containing the chart-topping singles "American Pie" and "Vincent". Recorded in May and June 1971 at The Record Plant in New York City, the LP is dedicated to Buddy Holly, and was reissued in 1980 minus the track "Sister Fatima". The album was released to much acclaim, later being included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing Me Softly with His Song</span> 1971 song by Lori Lieberman and covered by Roberta Flack

"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit by Fox and Gimbel, Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart. The song has been covered by many other artists.

<i>Killing Me Softly</i> (Roberta Flack album) 1973 studio album by Roberta Flack

Killing Me Softly is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released on August 1, 1973, by Atlantic Records. She recorded the album with producer Joel Dorn for 18 months. The album was dedicated to Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lori McKenna</span> American musician

Lorraine McKenna is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed by Little Big Town. In 2017, she again won Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed by Tim McGraw. McKenna along with Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way.” McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Norman Gimbel was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and "Canadian Sunset". He also co-wrote "Killing Me Softly With His Song". He wrote English-language lyrics for many international hits, including "Sway", "Summer Samba", "The Girl from Ipanema", "How Insensitive", "Drinking-Water", "Meditation", "I Will Wait for You" and "Watch What Happens". Of the movie themes he co-wrote, five were nominated for Academy Awards and/or Golden Globe Awards, including "It Goes Like It Goes", from the film Norma Rae, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for 1979. Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.

Charles Ira Fox is an American composer for film and television. His compositions include the sunshine pop musical backgrounds which accompanied every episode of the 1970s ABC-TV show Love, American Style; the theme song for the late 1970s ABC series The Love Boat; and the dramatic theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports and the original Monday Night Football; as well as the Grammy-winning hit song "Killing Me Softly with His Song", written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman and Fox's longtime writing partner, Norman Gimbel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lari White</span> American singer-songwriter (1965–2018)

Lari Michele White Cannon was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning You Can Be a Star, a televised talent competition on The Nashville Network. After an unsuccessful stint on Capitol Records Nashville, she signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1993.

<i>Top of the World</i> (Lynn Anderson album) 1973 studio album by Lynn Anderson

Top of the World is a studio album released through Columbia Records by country singer Lynn Anderson in 1973. The album was produced by Anderson's husband Glenn Sutton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Shaw (singer)</span> American country singer

Victoria Lynn Shaw is an American country singer. She has recorded four studio albums, and has charted five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. In addition, she has co-written four Number One singles for other country music artists, including Garth Brooks' "The River" as featured on the multi-million selling album Ropin' The Wind and John Michael Montgomery's "I Love the Way You Love Me", which won the 1993 Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year. With Paul Worley, she is also the co-producer of the debut album of Lady A.

<i>In Effect Mode</i> 1988 studio album by Al B. Sure!

In Effect Mode is the debut album by Al B. Sure!. It was released on May 3, 1988 on Uptown Records with distribution handled by Warner Bros. Records. It was one of two albums by Sure! that was released under Uptown that were not issued under its parent company MCA Records.

<i>Never Never Never</i> 1973 studio album by Shirley Bassey

Never Never Never is a 1973 album by Shirley Bassey. It features the hit single title track, which was a UK top 10 hit, which became one of Bassey's best-known songs. The album also became a top 10 hit in the UK and was a moderate hit in the US.

<i>And I Love You So</i> (Perry Como album) 1973 studio album by Perry Como

And I Love You So is a long-play album by Perry Como, released by RCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Got a Name (song)</span> 1973 single by Jim Croce

"I Got a Name" is a 1973 single recorded by Jim Croce with lyrics by Norman Gimbel and music by Charles Fox. It was the first single from his album of the same title and also Croce's first posthumous single, released the day after his death in a plane crash on September 20, 1973. The song reached a peak of #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 17 weeks on the chart. It also hit #3 on the Cash Box Top 100.

<i>The Way We Were</i> (Andy Williams album) 1974 studio album by Andy Williams

The Way We Were is the thirty-second studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the spring of 1974 by Columbia Records and was a return to singing songs that his audience was already familiar with after Solitaire, his previous LP that was less reliant on covers of recent pop hits, did not perform well.

<i>Killing Me Softly with Her Song</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Johnny Mathis

Killing Me Softly with Her Song is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on May 25, 1973 by Columbia Records and leaned heavily on covers of the latest radio favorites.

<i>The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Vicki Lawrence

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia is the 1973 debut album by Vicki Lawrence, recorded and released on Bell Records. It features the US and Canadian number-one single and title track "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", written by Bobby Russell. Another song, "He Did with Me", reached number one in Australia.

<i>Cream of the Crop</i> (Wanda Jackson album) 1968 studio album by Wanda Jackson and The Party Timers

Cream of the Crop is a studio album by American recording artist Wanda Jackson and her band The Party Timers. It was released in August 1968 via Capitol Records and contained 12 tracks. It was the twelfth studio album of Jackson's career and her second to give equal billing to The Party Timers. The project included three single releases, all of which reached charting positions on the North American country music sales chart. The album itself also reached charting positions in North America. Cream of the Crop received a positive review following its original release.

References

  1. ↑ "Singer-songwriter Lori Lieberman poses for a Capitol Records publicity photo circa 1974. 153460901". Getty Images . Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Singer-songwriter Lori Lieberman poses for a Capitol Records publicity photo circa 1974. 153460898". Getty Images . Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  3. ↑ Biography, AllMusic
  4. 1 2 3 Capitol Records (June 22, 1974). "The Lori Lieberman Team (advertisement)". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 53. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  5. ↑ "11. Lori Lieberman (LGB 1970)". Ecole Internationale de Genève Alumni Web Community. September 4, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Read this week's digital U.S. 1 E-Edition here | Princeton Info". Princetoninfo.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ "PETER HEINE, Director of Sales, Billboard Publications and Betty Glentzer, American Airlines Sales Representative, present an American Airlines Admirals Club Membership to singer Lori Lieberman. Lori, whose debut album for Capitol includes 'Killing Me Softly With His Song'..." Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 14, 1973. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  8. ↑ Leszczak, Bob (March 13, 2014). Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-3068-2. Lori Lieberman recorded the original version of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" in 1972 on her self-titled Capitol album.
  9. ↑ "Lori Lieberman". Billboard . Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Inside Track". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 17, 1973. Retrieved September 4, 2022. that inspired Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox to write 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' for Lori Lieberman.[ dead link ]
  11. ↑ Cabison, Rosalie (January 2, 2013). "Billboard 200 1973-08-25". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  12. ↑ Donovan, Charles (February 15, 2013). "Killing her Softly - the Trials and Triumphs of Lori Lieberman". Charles Donovan. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Jingle". Lorilieberman.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ Pond, Steve (June 8, 1997). "Living in the Shadow of a Famous Song". The New York Times . Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Any Major Dude With Half A Heart » Norman Gimbel". Halfhearteddude.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Article reproduced under blog entry "Killing Me Softly With His Song" on Don McLean official Web site". Archived from the original on May 19, 2013.
  17. ↑ O'Haire, Patricia “A Killer of a Song Archived May 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine ," Daily News
  18. ↑ Billboard, AllMusic
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.