Josh Groban - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (audio) May 2026

At the time, MacColl was still married to his second wife, Jean Newlove.

The song was written in 1957 by British folk singer and political activist . It was a raw, direct expression of his obsession with American folk singer Peggy Seeger . Josh Groban - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Audio)

MacColl reportedly sang the song to Seeger over a "crackling transatlantic phone line" after she had returned to the U.S. to escape their complicated affair. At the time, MacColl was still married to

MacColl wrote the melody to mimic the heartbeat of someone intensely in love. In his original vision, it was a faster-paced folk tune—far removed from the slow, operatic style Groban would later adopt. The Roberta Flack Transformation (1972) MacColl reportedly sang the song to Seeger over

Before Groban, Roberta Flack completely reinvented the song's identity by slowing it down to a "slow-as-molasses" tempo. Behind the Song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"