Some artists get to hear how much their music means to people. If I ever get the chance, I'll tell Roberta Flack how this song saved my tongue.
When I was a kid I couldn't pronounce the letter S correctly. I went to a speach therapist and improved but still wasn't making the sound perfectly so I'd listen and watch people and then try to immitate them on my own. I got pretty good but when visiting my mom on the weekends she noticed that I still was not using my tongue correctly to make the sound so she found a dr. who offered to snip the underside of my tongue. Even at my young age at the time I didn't think that was a good idea as I'd probably lose control. It wasn't that I didn't have enough tongue, if anything too much.
Soon after this suggestion, my dad and step-mom smuggled me into the drive-inn theater to see Clint Eastwood's Play Misty For Me where I heard The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and recognized how perfectly Roberta Flack pronounced and held the S sound throughout.
The next time I saw my mom we sang along all weekend to this song, and by the time I went home I was using my tongue properly to make the S sound and have ever since!
So thank you Roberta Flack for saving my tongue!
