# Killing Me Softly with His Song
**Killing Me Softly with His Song** is a pop and soul song written by composer Charles Fox and lyricist Norman Gimbel, first recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1972 and turned into a Billboard Hot 100 number one by [Roberta Flack](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberta-flack) in 1973.[1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-lori-lieberman/) The song describes the experience of being shaken by hearing a singer perform as if the song told the listener's own life. It became a classic twice: as Flack's soft-soul ballad, which won three [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards), and as the Fugees' 1996 hip-hop remake with [Lauryn Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/lauryn-hill) on lead vocals.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writers | Charles Fox (composer) and Norman Gimbel (lyricist)[1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) |
| First recording | Lori Lieberman, 1972, on her debut album; it did not chart[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-lori-lieberman/) |
| Flack single | #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from February 25, 1973, for 5 weeks[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) |
| Grammy Awards | 1974 ceremony: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-02-24/muere-a-los-88-anos-roberta-flack-icono-del-soul-y-voz-de-killing-me-softly.html) |
| UK chart (Flack) | Peak position 6, first chart date 17 February 1973, 14 weeks on the Official Singles Chart[6](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/roberta-flack-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) |
| Fugees version | 1996, from *The Score*, featuring Lauryn Hill; US #2 (Hot 100 Airplay), US R&B #1, UK #1[1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) |
| Rolling Stone ranking | The only song to appear twice on the 500 Greatest Songs list: Flack at 273, Fugees at 359[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) |
## Origin
The song's origin lies in a [Don McLean](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-mclean) concert. In late 1971, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter Lori Lieberman attended a McLean show at the [Troubadour](https://www.edgepedia.org/troubadour) in Los Angeles and was deeply affected by his performance of the ballad "Empty Chairs"; she began writing down her reaction on a napkin during the show.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) According to Lieberman's account, she shared the verses with her manager and lyricist Norman Gimbel, who worked them into lyrics with composer Charles Fox.[7](https://donmclean.com/behind-the-song-killing-me-softly-with-his-song-lori-lieberman/) • [8](https://los40.com/2026/01/11/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-de-roberta-flack-a-the-fugees-la-evolucion-de-un-clasico/) Lieberman recorded the song on her 1972 debut album, but it attracted little attention.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
The writing credit has been disputed for decades. Lieberman has consistently said the idea came from her reaction to McLean's show, while Gimbel and Fox later minimized her contribution; Gimbel claimed he had encountered the phrase "kill us softly with some blues" in an Argentine novel and turned it into a song.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) In later life, McLean and Flack acknowledged Lieberman's role, and Flack publicly supported her account.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-lori-lieberman/)
## Roberta Flack's version (1973)
Roberta Flack heard Lieberman's recording by chance as in-flight music on a plane from Los Angeles to New York. She said the title "hit her in the face"; she listened to the track repeatedly and transcribed the melody and chords before landing.[8](https://los40.com/2026/01/11/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-de-roberta-flack-a-the-fugees-la-evolucion-de-un-clasico/) Through Quincy Jones she contacted Charles Fox, then reworked the song with her own changes: she opened the record with the chorus, added vocal ornaments, adjusted the harmony, and added a wordless vocal refrain near the end.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-02-24/muere-a-los-88-anos-roberta-flack-icono-del-soul-y-voz-de-killing-me-softly.html) • [9](https://songfable.com/en/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-roberta-flack/) After performing it in a 1973 concert with [Quincy Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/quincy-jones) to an overwhelming audience response, she recorded it officially.[8](https://los40.com/2026/01/11/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-de-roberta-flack-a-the-fugees-la-evolucion-de-un-clasico/)
The recording used Flack's jazz-reared backing band, including bassist [Ron Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-carter), with backing vocals from her duet partner [Donny Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/donny-hathaway); Flack played electric piano herself.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) • [4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) Her voice on the record has been described as a silky, internal quaver, closer to [Billie Holiday](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-holiday) than Aretha Franklin.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones)
**Chart and award performance.** The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 25, 1973, and stayed there for five weeks.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) In the United Kingdom it peaked at number 6 and spent 14 weeks on the Official Singles Chart between 17 February and 19 May 1973.[6](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/roberta-flack-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) It also topped charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and was certified gold by the RIAA in February 1973.[10](https://www.whiteturret.com/music/gg8usa.htm) At the 1974 Grammy Awards it won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-02-24/muere-a-los-88-anos-roberta-flack-icono-del-soul-y-voz-de-killing-me-softly.html) • [10](https://www.whiteturret.com/music/gg8usa.htm)
## The Fugees version (1996)
The hip-hop trio the Fugees covered the song, shortened to "Killing Me Softly", on their 1996 album *[The Score](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-score-album)*, with Lauryn Hill on lead vocals.[1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) The remake changed little of the song itself but added two distinctive touches: [Wyclef Jean](https://www.edgepedia.org/wyclef-jean)'s "one time" chant in the chorus and a sitar hook sampled from [A Tribe Called Quest](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-tribe-called-quest)'s "Bonita Applebum".[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) The Fugees had wanted to rewrite the lyrics as a song about societal ills, but Gimbel and Fox refused to approve any lyrical changes, so Hill sang it straight.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones)
The single debuted in March 1996 and reached number 2 on the US Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 1 on the R&B airplay chart, and number 1 in the United Kingdom; it also topped charts in Australia, Ireland, Germany, and France.[1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) • [11](https://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) For Billboard-rules reasons it never entered the Hot 100 proper, because it was not commercially available as a single, but it reached number 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) The song introduced Hill's vocal power to a wide audience and, in the view of Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield, helped formulate the style of her 1998 album *The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill*.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
## Other versions and legacy
[Al B. Sure!](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-b-sure) included a cover on his 1988 album *In Effect Mode*, and later versions by Katrina Parker (2012) and Leah McFall (2013) also charted.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) • [1](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983) The song appears in the 2002 film *About a Boy*, in a scene where [Hugh Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-grant) and [Nicholas Hoult](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-hoult) sing it together.[4](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones) Spanish-language adaptations were recorded by Tino Casal and Omara Portuondo.[5](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-02-24/muere-a-los-88-anos-roberta-flack-icono-del-soul-y-voz-de-killing-me-softly.html)
On Rolling Stone's 2021 overhaul of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, the song is the only entry to appear in two different versions: the 1973 Flack recording at number 273 and the 1996 Fugees recording at number 359.[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) Flack, who died in February 2025 at the age of 88, considered "Killing Me Softly" her signature song, and at her 2025 public memorial Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean performed a surprise duet.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-lori-lieberman/) • [3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/8b8b7151a5c603db8a87a7b1960c554e)
## References
1. [Killing Me Softly (song by The Fugees), Music VF](https://musicvf.com/song.php?id=42983)
2. [How Roberta Flack helped Lori Lieberman finally stake her claim to 'Killing Me Softly', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/02/24/roberta-flack-lori-lieberman/)
3. [The Long, Weird Story Behind 'Killing Me Softly with His Song', Rolling Stone Canada](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/the-long-weird-story-behind-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
4. [The Number Ones: Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song", Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2036683/the-number-ones-roberta-flacks-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/columns/the-number-ones)
5. [Muere a los 88 años Roberta Flack, El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-02-24/muere-a-los-88-anos-roberta-flack-icono-del-soul-y-voz-de-killing-me-softly.html)
6. [KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG – ROBERTA FLACK, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/roberta-flack-killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
7. [Behind the Song: "Killing Me Softly (With His Song)," Lori Lieberman, DonMcLean.com](https://donmclean.com/behind-the-song-killing-me-softly-with-his-song-lori-lieberman/)
8. ['Killing Me Softly With His Song': De Roberta Flack a The Fugees, los40](https://los40.com/2026/01/11/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-de-roberta-flack-a-the-fugees-la-evolucion-de-un-clasico/)
9. [Killing Me Softly With His Song – Meaning & Story, Songfable](https://songfable.com/en/killing-me-softly-with-his-song-roberta-flack/)
10. [Song title 22 – Killing Me Softly With His Song, White Turret chart compilation](https://www.whiteturret.com/music/gg8usa.htm)
11. [Killing Me Softly with His Song, Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version](https://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/killing-me-softly-with-his-song/)
12. [Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder delight at Roberta Flack's 'Celebration of Life' memorial, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/8b8b7151a5c603db8a87a7b1960c554e)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Soft rock and adult contemporary songs › Classic soft rock ballads*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license