Singer Roberta Flack was known for her sweet and soft vocal tone and songs that were the gentle hug you didn’t know you needed.
But the Grammy Award-winning singer and pianist, who died from cardiac arrest on Monday at 88, also played a lesser-known role: matchmaker for one of Atlanta’s most beloved couples.
In 1976, her home was where Valerie Jackson first met the late Maynard Jackson, the city’s first Black mayor.
“It was still a deep regret to have lost her because she was such an important part in my life,” Valerie Jackson said over the phone on Tuesday. The pair met through a mutual friend, whom Flack was dating.
Flack held a luncheon at her Manhattan apartment with a stacked guest list: Quincy Jones, David Franklin (the late attorney and ex-husband of former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin) and Maynard Jackson, in the middle of his first mayoral term, were among the attendees. Valerie Jackson was an executive for Grey Advertising and lived in New York City. She had recently read a story about him in Ebony magazine.
Jackson’s friend persuaded her to attend the party.
“He’s the kind of man you need, and you’re the kind of woman he needs,” Jackson recalls her friend telling her about the former mayor.
She went. As soon as she entered Flack’s apartment, she noticed Maynard Jackson had everyone’s attention in the living room. Jackson admits she didn’t want to be “a groupie,” so she went to the kitchen to talk to Flack, who was making her signature chicken and waffles.
Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
He eventually found his way into the kitchen. He and Valerie made an instant connection. They shared their respective educations and careers, including Jackson receiving her MBA from the Wharton School. He was impressed.
“He asked me for my number, so I gave him my business card because he had to earn my home phone number,” she said. “Sure enough, two days later, he called. I was used to a lot of reps calling that number. Then, I looked down at the number, and I remembered the area code for Atlanta. The number started off with 404, and I said to myself, ‘Oh, sookie, sookie, now.’”
The pair dated and later wed in 1977. Maynard Jackson served a third term as Atlanta mayor in the early ‘90s, and died of a heart attack in 2003.
Although Jackson and Flack rarely saw each other after the brunch, they’d talk on the phone and remained good friends.
Jackson remembers her husband calling Flack after the birth of their first child, Valerie Amanda on Feb. 14, four days after Flack’s birthday.
“(Maynard) said, ‘I want to thank you, Roberta, because if it wasn’t for you, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you for our first love child on Valentine’s Day,’” Valerie said.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The communication between Flack and Jackson was limited to text messages after Flack was diagnosed with ALS in 2022. Then, they became text messages that caretakers would read to Flack instead of her directly responding. Earlier this month, Jackson wished Flack a happy birthday. That was their last correspondence.
Jackson will always remember Flack’s warm personality. She loved her music before they met, citing “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” as her favorite song.
On Feb. 27, Valerie’s youngest daughter Alexandra, also a singer and pianist, will perform one of Flack’s songs during a tribute to Shirley Franklin at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
“She was very special,” Valerie said. “I think because she was not only very technically trained, but she also had the emotion and the feelings that made artists stand out.”
Valerie said Flack will always be special to her, as a friend and the person who led her to her husband.
“The first time we saw each other was in her apartment, and the sparks flew. It was special...I’m feeling him feeling her loss, also.”
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