Album of the Day

Always a critical favorite, Roberta Flack had also become a commercial force by the time of her sixth studio album, BLUE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT, released on this day in 1977. Accordingly, Atlantic lavished plenty of attention on the set, recruiting a legion of top instrumentalists (like Hugh McCracken, Ronnie Foster and Steve Gadd) well attuned to the performer's distinctive blend of R&B, jazz and singer-songwriter intimacy. Co-producer Gene McDaniels penned three of the ten tracks, including standouts “Why Don't You Move in with Me” and “25th of Last December,” but it was the Donny Hathaway duet “The Closer I Get to You” that scored on the singles chart, reaching #2. On the album chart, BLUE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT made the Top 10, and the richly romantic collection is a great way to warm up a cold night.