Everyday Creation
This show has to do with different kinds of creation: human, divine, and a third kind that connects the two. Our human creativity is easy to talk about because clearly we're prolific creators. We make music, we write, we cook; we establish businesses, we design gardens, we invent things. The list goes on and on. Another kind of creation is divine. We feel its presence when, for example, we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose, or have a quiet realization that there's something bigger than us. The third kind is perhaps a little more difficult to grasp and yet, with a little practice, it's easy to put into action. This is the personal power each of us has to direct our thoughts, words and actions every day toward what we want in our life and world, rather than what we don't want.
This sounds heavier than it is. For me, this show is an acknowledgment that while we're all here to learn and grow and do our best, there's still plenty of opportunity to relax, laugh, love, and enjoy this playground we call life. So my hope is that you'll get some enjoyment and illumination out of these episodes. Here you'll find interviews with delightfully creative individuals; short stories about some who have passed away; and essays about personal power.
I'm Kate Jones, host and creator of Everyday Creation. Thank you for following my show.
Everyday Creation
Former Teacher Made Grammy History with "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly"
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Decades after the fact, Roberta Flack still is recognized as the only solo artist to win Record of the Year for two consecutive years, 1973 and 1974. She won the initial award for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Here, you can listen to a 2006 remastered version from Rhino Atlantic.
Also on YouTube, there's a compelling live music video posted by AI Videoworks. It's from Flack's 1975 performance recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, upscaled to 4K using Machine Learning.
Flack sang beautifully, but her music didn't take off right away. When it did, her career soared to rarefied heights. Although she didn't repeat the remarkable success she had in the '70s, she kept on working until a particularly cruel disease took away her voice.
The thumbnail photo of Flack, taken in 1976, is credited to Atlantic Records. You can go to Wikipedia to see other photos including one that's in the chapters. Taken in 1995 at the Meyerhoff theater in Baltimore, Md., the later photo is credited to John Mathew Smith and Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com and is available for use under the license CC BY SA 2.0.
The artwork framing two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones.
Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the music tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.
Roberta Flack’s music teacher gave her some great advice: Become a pop singer instead of a classicist.
Flack took his advice and became the first person to win back-to-back Grammys for Record of the Year.
Flack died February 24th from cardiac arrest while being rushed to a hospital in New York City. She was 88.
Song of the Day is paying tribute to the singers, songwriters and musicians who died in 2025.
Flack taught music in Washington, D.C. schools and sang in local clubs for 10 years. One of her breaks came when jazz pianist Les McCann heard her and fell in love with her voice. “I laughed, cried and screamed for more,” he is quoted in her Guardian obituary.
She signed with Atlantic Records, but her early recordings fell on deaf ears. Her overnight success came when Clint Eastwood paid her $2,000 for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for his 1971 movie, “Play Misty For Me.”
English folk singer Ewan MacColl had written the song in 1957 when his future wife said she needed a hopeful love song for the play she was in. Many groups and artists recorded it with little success in the 1960s.
Flack had recorded it in 1968 for her first album but never released it as a single. She only released the single because of the movie, and it zoomed to No. 1 and stayed there for six weeks, making it the most successful record of 1972.
Flack’s hot streak continued with No. 1 hits “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “Feel Like Makin' Love.”
Flack never again saw the same success as she did in the 1970s, but she continued to record and perform until she was diagnosed with ALS in 2022 and could no longer sing.
