When I watched Lori Lieberman perform at Carnegie Hall recently, the grandeur of the venue brought back vivid memories of our first encounter 47 years prior. Her voice, crystal clear and profoundly moving, was even more captivating in the hall’s prestigious atmosphere, accompanied by a quartet of viola, two violins, and cello. It was a stark contrast to our meeting in 1974 at The Bitter End, a small, yet historically significant New York City club, where I first heard her sing against a simple brick wall backdrop.
Back in 1974, we were both in our twenties. I was a young journalist assigned to profile Lori Lieberman, a promising singer-songwriter. With her long blonde hair and captivating stage presence, she sang ballads crafted by the renowned songwriting duo Norman Gimbel (lyrics) and Charles Fox (music). They were celebrated for creating catchy TV theme songs for popular shows like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley.
Earlier that year, Gimbel and Fox had achieved significant acclaim, winning a Grammy for Song of the Year for “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” These iconic Softly With His Song Lyrics were born from a collaboration with Lieberman, inspired by a poem she penned about a deeply personal experience.
Although Lieberman initially recorded “Killing Me Softly With His Song” on her debut album, it was Roberta Flack’s rendition that propelled the song to global stardom and earned it the Grammy. Despite Lieberman’s crucial role in the song’s creation, Gimbel and Fox, established figures in the music industry, did not include her in the songwriting credits. This omission became a defining point in Lieberman’s artistic journey.
Forty-seven years later, with the wisdom that time brings, Lori and I discussed the events that led her to step away from the music industry, albeit temporarily. Her return to music in recent years has been remarkable. Now accompanying herself on piano and guitar, her voice and talent are more refined than ever. Her latest album, The Girl and the Cat, features songs recorded with the Matangi Quartet, available on CD and vinyl. Notably, this month in New York City marked a poignant moment: Lieberman, at 67, and Roberta Flack, at 82, met for the first time – a moment Lieberman described as a powerful “full circle.”
“Cup of Girl” and Reflections on a Naive Past
Roberta Flack and Lori Lieberman finally meet. Photo by Barbara Bordnick. “A long time coming and very moving for both of us,” Lieberman said.
At the Carnegie Hall concert, Lieberman showcased her songwriting prowess with a new song, “Cup of Girl.” The song opens with evocative softly with his song lyrics: “Well you take a cup of girl / Share a tablespoon of world … Let her simmer gently in an open fire.” These words resonate deeply, capturing the experience of being a young, innocent “cup of girl,” full of hope yet vulnerable to the pressures and influences of the world. Equally relatable is the song’s powerful closing stanza: “So you broke this cup of girl / But she grew wiser in this world … She has choices to choose with / And a voice and she will use it.” This reflects Lieberman’s own journey of resilience and self-discovery.
Lieberman was unprepared for the harsh realities of the music industry in the 1970s. Discovered by Gimbel and Fox, who envisioned a partnership akin to Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s with Dionne Warwick, she signed with Capitol Records and entered into a management contract with them. “They were everything to me,” she recalls. However, after four albums, Capitol ended their contract, and her romantic relationship with Gimbel began to unravel. “I loved him very, very much,” Lieberman admits, but at 24, she felt the need to forge her own independent career path.
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Gimbel’s response was a stark warning: “Get ready, buckle up, It’s going to be bumpy for a while.” Despite the immense success of “Killing Me Softly,” they sued Lieberman for breach of contract and restricted her from recording independently. “They said I owed them $27,000, which at the time was an unimaginable sum for me,” she explains. “For three and a half years, they blocked me from recording. Every potential deal was thwarted by a letter stating, ‘She cannot record with you unless you pay us back.’ It was the peak of my career, effectively stalled.”
Lieberman eventually secured a contract with another record company, but it collapsed just four months after releasing her album. “That was it. I was 28 and completely exhausted, utterly defeated. The music scene was also shifting towards disco.” In a final attempt, she met with a record executive who proceeded to conduct phone calls while she sat waiting. “The disrespect was palpable. I walked out and never looked back,” she states, marking her departure from the industry for two decades.
Lori Lieberman today, reclaiming her singing career and her power.
Reclaiming Her Voice: A Singer’s Second Act
It wasn’t until about 20 years later that Lori Lieberman considered recording again, although songwriting remained a constant during her years raising her family in Los Angeles. “I married my best friend, and we had three children.” Her children, Em, Dan, and Will, are now adults. “My greatest joy comes from my children, being a mother is unparalleled.” Following her divorce from television composer/musical director Gary Scott in 1996, a return to a full-fledged singing and touring career seemed distant.
However, in the same year, The Fugees, fronted by Lauryn Hill, released their version of “Killing Me Softly,” which became another massive hit, introducing the softly with his song lyrics to a new generation. “Gimbel and Fox then decided to revise the origin story of the song,” Lieberman reveals. The original story, as she recounted from our 1974 meeting, is that after hearing Don McLean perform “Empty Chairs” at the Troubadour Club in 1971, Lieberman felt a profound connection to the song, inspiring her to jot down a poem on a napkin. Sharing this experience and her poem with Gimbel, he recognized its potential and suggested it aligned with a title he had noted down, “Killing Me Softly With His Blues,” later refined to “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” This initial spark evolved into the globally recognized song through their collaborative process.
However, in a revised account, even as recent as a July 2019 Wall Street Journal interview with Charles Fox (Gimbel passed away in 2018 at 91), “They have insisted that’s not how it happened,” she says. “They claim they wrote the song, played it for Lori, she loved it, and it reminded her of a time she had gone to a club to hear Don McLean.”
Fighting for Recognition: Setting the Record Straight
Understandably, Lori emphasizes, “My integrity is at stake. Publicly, many now say, ‘We’ll never know the truth,’ and I truly don’t understand why they altered the narrative. I never sought financial gain or credit; I simply wanted the accurate story to be acknowledged.”
With the unwavering support of Joe Cali, whom she married in 2000, Lieberman gradually regained the confidence to embark on a second musical chapter and advocate for her rightful contribution to an iconic song known for its poignant softly with his song lyrics.
“He was the one who reassured me, ‘We can navigate this. It’s not insurmountable,’” Lieberman recalls. Together, she and Cali, an actor and high-end home sound system designer, established their own record label, Drive On Records. Their debut album, Monterey, marked the beginning of this new phase. The Girl and the Cat is their ninth album release. “I aimed to challenge myself, to fully express my artistry, disregarding external opinions. I wrote in isolation, creating songs that offered expansive spaces for the quartet and their musical gifts.” She collaborated with cellist Stefanie Fife to orchestrate these songs.
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In her international tour, commencing in New York City and extending through the Netherlands, Lori Lieberman’s powerful voice delivers original songs that transform personal experiences into universal themes. She also performs Don McLean’s “Empty Chairs” and “Killing Me Softly,” imbued with the wisdom of her life journey, giving new depth to the famous softly with his song lyrics.
The concert program notes: “This evening is dedicated to Roberta Flack, whose voice and vision carried my song to the world.” On October 5th, Flack shared photos of herself with Lieberman on her Facebook page, accompanied by the message: “Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the brilliant and lovely singer, songwriter Lori Lieberman (Killing Me Softly). A long time coming and very moving for both of us.” Indeed, life’s journey has a remarkable way of bringing things full circle.
To explore Lori Lieberman’s album “The Girl and the Cat,” available on vinyl and CD, visit: www.lorilieberman.com
A version of this story was originally published in October 2019.
