record_label roberta flack featuring donny hathaway
" The Closer I Get to You " is a romantic ballad performed by African American jazz , soul , R & B , and folk singer - songwriter Roberta Flack and African American soul musician Donny Hathaway . The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas , two former members of Miles Davis ' band , who were members of Flack ' s band at the time . Produced by ___MASK76___ , the song was released on Flack ' s 1977 album " Blue Lights in the Basement ", and as a single in 1978 . It became a major crossover hit , becoming Flack ' s biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single , " Killing Me Softly with His Song ". Originally set as a solo - single , Flack ' s manager , David Franklin , suggested a duet with Hathaway , which resulted in the finished work . Donny Edward Hathaway ( October 1 , 1945  January 13 , 1979 ) was an American jazz , blues , soul and gospel singer , songwriter , arranger and pianist . Hathaway signed with ___MASK76___ in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label , " The Ghetto ", in early 1970 , " Rolling Stone " magazine " marked him as a major new force in soul music ." His enduring songs include " The Ghetto ", " This Christmas ", " Someday We ' ll All Be Free ", " Little Ghetto Boy ", " I Love You More Than You ' ll Ever Know ", signature versions of " A Song for You " and " For All We Know ", and " Where Is the Love " and " The Closer I Get to You ", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack . " Where Is the Love " won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1973 . At the height of his career Hathaway was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was known to not take his prescribed medication regularly enough to properly control his symptoms . On January 13 , 1979 , Hathaway ' s body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City ; his death was ruled a suicide . The Grammy Award for Best ___MASK31___ Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011 ( the final year it was awarded , for recordings issued in 2010 ). The award had several minor name changes : " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face " is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer / songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger , who later became his wife , to sing . At the time the couple were lovers , although MacColl was married to someone else . Seeger sang the song when the duo performed in folk clubs around Britain . During the 1960s , it was recorded by various folk singers and became a major international hit for Roberta Flack in 1972 , winning the Grammy Awards for ___MASK78___ and Song of the Year . " Billboard " ranked it as the No . 1 song of the year for 1972 . The LP ( from " long playing " or " long play ") is an analog sound storage medium , a vinyl ___MASK78___ format characterized by a speed of rpm , a 12 or 10 inch ( 30 or 25 cm ) diameter , and use of the " microgroove " groove specification . Introduced by Columbia in 1948 , it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire ___MASK78___ industry . Apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound , it has remained the standard format for vinyl albums . " Killing Me Softly with His Song " is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel . 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 US and Canada , for Roberta Flack , also reaching number six in the ___MASK87___ . The song has since been covered by numerous artists , including a version by the Fugees that won the 1997 Grammy for Best R & B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal . MPEG - 1 and / or MPEG - 2 Audio Layer III , more commonly referred to as MP3 , is an audio coding format for ___MASK23___ which uses a form of lossy data compression . It is a common audio format for consumer audio streaming or storage , as well as a de facto standard of ___MASK23___ compression for the transfer and playback of music on most ___MASK23___ players and computing devices . Atlantic Recording Corporation ( simply known as ___MASK76___ ) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson . Over its first 20 years of operation , ___MASK76___ earned a reputation as one of the most important American recording labels , specializing in jazz , R & B and soul recordings by African - American musicians including Aretha Franklin , Ray Charles , Wilson Pickett , Sam and Dave , Ruth Brown and Otis Redding , a position greatly enhanced by its distribution deal with Stax Records . In 1967 , ___MASK76___ became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros .- Seven Arts , now the Warner Music Group , and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by bands such as Led Zeppelin and Yes . Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway is Roberta Flack ' s ninth ___MASK46___ , released in 1979 . It was intended as her second duets ___MASK46___ with Donny Hathaway ( following 1972 ' s Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway ) , but Hathaway only recorded two songs with her ( `` You Are My Heaven '' and `` Back Together Again '' ) before his suicide . Flack finished the rest of the record on her own . Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century , first as books of individual 78rpm records , then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at rpm . Vinyl LPs are still issued , though in the 21st century ___MASK46___ sales have mostly focused on compact disc ( CD ) and MP3 formats . The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl . Roberta Cleopatra Flack ( born February 10 , 1939 ) is an American singer and musician . She is best known for her classic # 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ", " Killing Me Softly with His Song " and " Feel Like Makin ' Love ", and for " Where Is the Love " and " The Closer I Get to You ", two of her many duets with Donny Hathaway . Compact disc ( CD ) is a ___MASK95___ optical disc data storage format released in ___MASK24___ and co - developed by Philips and ___MASK21___ . The format was originally developed to store and play only sound recordings but was later adapted for storage of data ( CD - ROM ). Several other formats were further derived from these , including write - once audio and data storage ( CD - R ), rewritable media ( CD - RW ), Video Compact Disc ( VCD ), Super Video Compact Disc ( SVCD ), Photo CD , PictureCD , CD - i , and Enhanced Music CD . Audio CD players have been commercially available since October ___MASK24___ , when the first commercially available CD player was released in Japan . A book is a set of written , printed , illustrated , or blank sheets , made of paper , parchment , or other materials , fastened together to hinge at one side , with text and / or images printed in ink . A single sheet within a book is a ___MASK70___ , and each side of a ___MASK70___ is a page . A set of text - filled or illustrated pages produced in electronic format is known as an electronic book , or e - book . " Someday We ' ll All Be Free " is a 1973 song by Donny Hathaway from the ___MASK46___ " Extension of a Man ". The song was released as the flipside to the single " Love , Love , Love ". Though the song was only released as an uncharted A - side , it is considered an R & B standard , having been covered by many artists over the years . " A Song for You " is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist ___MASK54___ for his first solo ___MASK46___ " ___MASK54___ ", which was released in 1970 on ___MASK3___ . A slow , pained plea for forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover , the tune is one of Russell ' s best - known compositions . It has been performed and recorded by an array of artists , spanning many musical genres . Elton John has called the song an American classic .