--- description: The acclaimed singer called Angelou a close friend as well as a collaborator — the two co-wrote a song for Flack's 1988 album, Oasis title: R&B legend Roberta Flack remembers Maya Angelou image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt96026b6fb225c5ea/69869127adae44ad515434a7/maya-angelou-obit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Roberta Flack Remembers Maya Angelou: 'We All Have Been Inspired'  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 10:43 PM CUT  American poet and writer Maya Angelou shown on Dec. 15, 1992 in Washington. American poet and writer Maya Angelou shown on Dec. 15, 1992 in Washington.Doug Mills—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 10:43 PM CUT R&B legend Roberta Flack remembers her close friend Maya Angelou, [who died today at age 86](http://time.com/123036/maya-angelou-a-hymn-to-human-endurance/ "undefined"), as a poet who inspired “generations \[to\] try harder and get up once more to fight for a better day, a better life and a better future.” “Thank you for your wisdom, for your unfailing strength, your courage and your honesty which have moved people around this world to a better place,” Flack said in a statement provided to TIME. “We all have been inspired by you to not give up when we otherwise might have.” The two artists weren’t just friends, they were also collaborators. Though Angelou is mostly known for her poetry, she had a brief music career as a singer-songwriter, releasing an album of calypso music in 1957, well before her writing career took off. For Flack’s 1988 album _Oasis_, Angelou co-wrote the song [“And So It Goes.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YEkNEvjeFw "undefined") “Thank you Maya, my friend. Your steady heart, humor and humility have been a touchstone for me through our friendship that has spanned so much of my life. I appreciate the roads we have walked together as friends, as artists and as women sharing our hopes, dreams, defeats and sorrows. I will miss you, my friend. Good journey.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/132808/roberta-flack-maya-angelou/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/132808/roberta-flack-maya-angelou/"},"headline":"Roberta Flack Remembers Maya Angelou: 'We All Have Been Inspired'","datePublished":"2014-05-28T22:43:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:05:43.676Z","description":"The acclaimed singer called Angelou a close friend as well as a collaborator — the two co-wrote a song for Flack's 1988 album, Oasis","url":"https://time.com/132808/roberta-flack-maya-angelou/","keywords":["Music","Maya Angelou"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt96026b6fb225c5ea/69869127adae44ad515434a7/maya-angelou-obit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt96026b6fb225c5ea/69869127adae44ad515434a7/maya-angelou-obit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Maya Angelou 1992","caption":"Maya Angelou 1992","creditText":"Doug Mills—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/132808/roberta-flack-maya-angelou/","name":"Roberta Flack Remembers Maya Angelou: 'We All Have Been Inspired'"}}]}] ```