Roberta Flack Plans Beatles Cover Album, Drops Single

Legendary four-time Grammy award-winner Roberta Flack is back with a Beatles tribute album after an eight-year hiatus.

The songstress, who is most noted for tracks like 'Killing Me Softly' -- which inspired rap groups like the Fugees to cover it -- debuted her first cover, the 1965 hit 'We Can Work It Out,' this week (Sept. 27) on iTunes. The full album release is expected in February 2012.

"Love, inspiration, friendship and my own life's lessons come together when I sing the songs they created. I am honored to be a part of the fabulous legacy of the Beatles, " the R&B icon said in a statement.

Flack catapulted to stardom in 1969, with her debut cover of Ewan MacColl's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,' the same year the Beatles released 'Abbey Road.'

She lived alongside John Lennon and now, Yoko Ono, in the famed Dakota building in New York City -- where Lennon was murdered in 1980 -- so the musical influence of the Beatles infiltrated both her personal and professional career.

"I live in the same building [The Dakota] that John [Lennon] did up until the day he died. As a matter of fact, on the same floor -- and I'm a friend of the family." she told Spinner.

"My passion for this project comes from the magical genius of the greatest songwriters of all time," Flack added in a statement.