GRAMMY-winning singer and pianist Roberta Flack, one of the top recording artists of the ‘70s, passed away on Monday, February 24 at the age of 88.
Listen to She Sings and more on the free Audacy app
Publicist Elaine Schock in a statement that vocal icon Roberta Flack passed on Monday surrounded by family. The singer revealed in 2022 that she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Flack rose to prominence after her song, “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” was used in the love scene for Clint Eastwood’s 1971 film Play Misty for Me, topping the Billboard Pop chart in 1972 and earning her a GRAMMY for Record of the Year.
Flack followed with her massive 1973 hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” making her the first artist to take home consecutive GRAMMY wins for Best Record and received new attention for the track in the mid-90s, with the Fugees’ GRAMMY-winning cover. Flack was also bestowed a lifetime achievement GRAMMY in 2020.
“I wanted to be successful, a serious all-round musician,” she told The Telegraph in 2015. “I listened to a lot of Aretha, the Drifters, trying to do some of that myself, playing, teaching.”
Roberta was married to jazz bassist Steve Novosel from 1966 to 1972. She never remarried after that and is survived by no children.