Known for her warm voice, literate lyrics, and folk-inflected style, it was Lori Lieberman who co-wrote and first recorded "Killing Me Softly with His Song," which became a number one hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and Fugees in 1996. Based on her poem about seeing Don McLean perform at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, the song appeared on Lieberman's 1972 eponymous debut album for Capitol Records. She cracked the Billboard 200 with the follow-up, 1973's Becoming. After releasing her fifth studio album, Letting Go, in 1978, the singer/songwriter took a hiatus from releasing albums. She came back in 1995 with A Thousand Dreams, which kicked off a return to periodic releases, including the politically charged Bricks Against the Glass in 2013 and 2022's Truly, an album that revisited "Killing Me Softly with His Song" as well as delving into the American Songbook with a backing jazz quartet.

Lieberman's childhood was split between California and Switzerland, where she eventually graduated from the International School of Geneva in 1970. A singer and composer from young age, upon returning to the States she signed a publishing and recording deal with Capitol Records and songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. (The latter two would soon become known for themes to movies like The Last American Hero and Foul Play and for TV shows including The Paper Chase, Happy Days, and Laverne & Shirley, to name a few.) Lieberman, Fox, and Gimbel quickly went to work on the singer's debut album, 1972's Lori Lieberman, which included "Killing Me Softly with His Song," a song about Lieberman's response to an L.A. concert performance by Don McLean. With the music by Fox, lyrics were credited to Lieberman and Gimbel. Roberta Flack covered the song in 1973 and took it all the way to the top of the Hot 100, winning Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance along the way.

Lieberman headed back to the studio with Fox and Gimbel for 1973's Becoming, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 192, marking her debut on the chart. She would record two more albums for Capitol -- 1974's A Piece of Time and the next year's Straw Colored Girl -- before parting ways with Capitol, Fox, and Gimbel. The collection The Best of Lori Lieberman appeared in Europe in 1976.

In 1977, the singer provided vocals for TV's Schoolhouse Rock on the song "Great American Melting Pot." Meanwhile, she recorded her next album, 1978's Letting Go, with producer Paul Leka (the Left Banke, Harry Chapin). Released by Millennium Records (with distribution by Casablanca Records/RCA), it included the track "Jingle," a sardonic recollection of experiences in the music industry. Aside from writing some songs for the TV series Fame in the mid-'80s, she then left the music business.

By the time Lieberman was encouraged to return to music by actor and future husband Joseph Cali, she had three children and several misgivings. She nonetheless went on to write and record 1995's A Thousand Dreams album for independent label Pope Music. With Lieberman fully re-engaged, the label also released Home of Whispers in 1996. That same year, the Lauryn Hill-led hip-hop group Fugees issued a version of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" that went to number one in at least 20 countries and won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Lieberman next released 1998's Gone Is the Girl, her final album for Pope, before self-releasing several long-players on her own Drive On Records. The label's debut release, Monterey, appeared in 2003.

Fully written and arranged by Lieberman, Gun Metal Sky followed in 2009. The album was issued under the title Takes Courage on V2 Records in Europe the following year. The follow-up, Bend Like Steel, arrived on Drive On/V2 in 2011. It included a cover of Simon Garfunkel's "Cecilia." Co-produced by Lieberman and Cali, 2013's protest-injected Bricks Against the Glass was followed by a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall in November 2014.

Butler Records issued the singer/songwriter's next LP, 2015's Ready for the Storm. The 15-song set was mixed by Bob Clearmountain (the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen). Another Butler Records release, The Girl and The Cat, followed in 2019. It was recorded with Dutch string ensemble Matangi Quartet, who appeared with Lieberman at her second sold-out Carnegie Hall date. Her first album of covers, Truly (Drive On Records), followed in 2022 and was dedicated to the Great American Songbook. Co-produced by Lieberman and Matt Rollings (and engineered by Clearmountain), it saw her accompanied by a jazz quartet and included a revision of "Killing Me Softly." ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi