"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a 1971 song composed by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, which has become a pop standard. The song was inspired by a poem by Lori Lieberman, "Killing Me Softly with His Blues", which she wrote after seeing a then-unknown Don McLean perform the song Empty Chairs live.
Song and cover versions
Lieberman was the first to record Fox and Gimbel's song, in 1971, but it became a bigger hit when covered by Roberta Flack in 1973, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks. It was replaced by "Love Train" by the The O'Jays. "Killing Me Softly" returned to the top of the U.S. charts replacing "Love Train".