Roberta Flack, the legendary R&B/pop artist behind the No 1 hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, has died aged 88.
A statement from her representative was provided to Variety, confirming that she died on Monday morning (24 February).
“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away,” the statement said. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
Flack announced in 2022 she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and could no longer sing.
Widely considered to be one of soul and R&B’s greatest voices, Flack demonstrated a rare ability to cross between genres with ease, whether on her tender cover of Ewan MacColl’s ballad “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” or on the meltingly smooth “Feel Like Makin’ Love”.
She was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1937. Both her parents were musical: her mother, Irene, was a church choir organist who introduced Flack to both gospel and classical at a young age.
Aged 15 and already adept at playing the piano, she was accepted to Howard University to study music on a full scholarship. Four years later, she considered a career as an opera singer until her father’s death, at which point she began teaching at a school in North Carolina.
At the same time, she impressed local audiences in DC with her virtuosic performances at nightclubs, leading to a residency at the restaurant and club Mr Henry’s. There, she met jazz pianist Les McCann, who in turn helped her sign to Atlantic Records in 1968.
Success came when director Clint Eastwood used her version of “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” in a love scene for his thriller, Play Misty For Me. It was her first major US hit, spending six weeks at the top of the US singles chart in 1972 and earning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
She repeated that feat in 1974 with her sublime, beautifully wrought performance of “Killing Me Softy”, becoming the first ever artist to win Record of the Year in two consecutive years.
More to follow...
