All of this is to say that I first encountered Roberta Flack’s music through the voice of my mother. I don’t remember which song or songs, I just remember hearing my mother sing a song that was on the radio.

Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer - a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single - by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club.

Among the biggest voices of her era, Roberta Flack launched her storied career at Mr. Henry’s, a small bar on Washington’s Capitol Hill.