Voting Station

Lori Lieberman

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Musician

The Resume

    (November 15, 1951- )
    Born in Los Angeles, California
    Recorded 'Killing Me Softly With His Song'
    Other singles include 'House Full of Women,' 'My Lover Do You Know,' 'Empty Chaires,' 'Ready for the Storm,' 'Lucky Life,' and 'A Piece of Me'
    Recorded albums 'Lori Lieberman,' 'Becoming,' 'A Piece of Time,' and 'Straw Colored Girl'

Why she might be annoying:

    She is known exclusively for a song that would become a hit for Roberta Flack and later The Fugees.
    She began an affair - at 19 - with songwriter Norman Gimbel, even though he was 24 years older and married.
    Her authorship of 'Killing Me Softly' has been disputed and she has engaged in a decades long dispute with Gimbel over it.
    She claimed to have come up with the idea and concept for the song while attending a Don McLean concert.
    Her version of 'Killing Me Softly' didn't chart when it was released in 1972 - only for Roberta Flack to record it the next year and have it stay at Number 1 on the Billboard 100 for five consecutive weeks.
    She got so fed up with the music industry that she took over a decades' long hiatus and wouldn't record again until the mid-1990s.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She is of Jewish and Swiss heritage.
    She accompanies herself on both the piano and guitar in her songs.
    She kept the original napkin on which she wrote the lyrics for 'Killing Me Softly.'
    Songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel went on record confirming her version of events for years, before randomly turning around and starting to discredit her.
    She later admitted to having been in an abusive relationship with Gimbel (who also cheated her out of royalties).
    She never had the big music career she should have had.
    She settled in California with her kids and built a life out of the spotlight.
    She never spoke ill of Roberta Flack, acknowledging that she added elements to the song that she herself wouldn't have.
    'Killing Me Softly' is the rare song to have three different versions be loved almost equally by fans.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 27 Votes: 25.93% Annoying