Sensual and unapologetically vulnerable to the core, it's no wonder 'The first time ever I saw your face' has been covered by a myriad of artists for decades. Upon hearing it as a young child, I was mesmerized by its lyric simplicity and the emotional vocal rendering of Roberta Flak’s rendition and, for many years, I entertained the intention of someday releasing a cover of it along with my own songs. However, it wasn't until meeting multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger, Eric Bernard in 1992 that we collaborated on several co-writes as well as a few covers songs. What began as a rough demo in 1996, was soon added to our live shows. With the recent passing of Roberta Flak, the icon who brought this love song into the homes and hearts of people around the world, Eric revisited his vault of previously unreleased work, plucked out this gem of a song and finished the production, adding delicate Wurlitzer, simple bass and otherwise sparse arrangement to great effect. There will probably be hundreds of covers of this song, and this version of ‘The first time ever I saw your face’ is our touching testament to a masterpiece of songwriting, beautifully expressed, and an ode to the late singer, Roberta Flak, whose incredible talent and gorgeous voice made this already great song truly epic. Available on streaming platforms worldwide as of March 30, 2025.
Artwork featured for this single (above) is also by Eric Bernard.
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~ Musically yours, Serina