Roberta Flack, the US singer best known for her ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ hit, has died at the age of 88.
The Grammy-winning musician died “peacefully surrounded by her family” in New York on Monday, a statement from her representatives revealed.
“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24,” the statement reads.
“She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
In 2022, Roberta Flack was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
She was reportedly unable to sing and had difficulty speaking after being diagnosed with the motor neurone disease.
The cause of her death however remained unknown.
Roberta Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina. At the age of nine, she became interested in playing the piano.
By age 15, Flack was awarded a music scholarship at Howard University. She taught private piano lessons after graduation.
She started her recording career after she was discovered singing in a jazz club by musician Les McCann, who later introduced her to Atlantic Records.
In 1969, Flack recorded her debut album ‘First Take’ with the music label. However, her first hit didn’t come until 1971.
Her recording of Ewan MacColl’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ was used to soundtrack an explicit love scene in Clint Eastwood’s film ‘Play Misty For Me’.
The track earned Roberta Flack a Grammy award for Record of the Year in 1973. She also won the award in 1974 for ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, making her the first artiste to win the award two years in a row.
After reaching the top of the charts again in 1974 with ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, Flack stepped away from performing to focus on recording and philanthropic efforts.
Throughout her career, she collaborated with notable names such as Donny Hathaway and Miles Davis and, in 2012, released an album of Beatles covers titled ‘Let It Be Roberta’.
