Released nine months before the album of the same title, the song became one of the greatest musical successes of 1974, as well as of Roberta Flack's recording career. It scored a week as number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Flack's third #1 single. It also scored five weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart.and two weeks as #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Flack produced the record under the pseudonym Rubina Flake. It went on to receive three Grammy nominations for Flack:Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.