“Grammy-winning singer Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88 (Picture: Matt Licari/Invision/AP, File) Singer Roberta Flack, known for the hit Killing Me Softly, has died at the age of 88, it has been confirmed. The Grammy-winner and R&B legend was first catapulted to stardom in the early 1970s with tunes such as The”, — write: metro.co.uk
Grammy-winning singer Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88 (Picture: Matt Licari/Invision/AP, File) Singer Roberta Flack, known for the hit Killing Me Softly, has died at the age of 88, it has been confirmed.
The Grammy-winner and R&B legend was first catapulted to stardom in the early 1970s with tunes such as The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
In her early 30s at the time, Flack achieved stardom practically overnight when Clint Eastwood used the ballad as the soundtrack for an explicit scene starring Donna Mills in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me.
Following this, the tune reached number one on the Billboard chart and received a Grammy for record of the year.
Then, in 1973, her success continued, as Flack became the first-ever artist to win best record twice consecutively, thanks to Killing Me Softly.
While her representative announced the sad news of her death, no cause has been given.
Flack, pictured here in 2008, announced in 1981 that she had ALS (Picture: Paul Natkin/Getty Images) ‘We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,’ publicist Elaine Schock’s statement read.
She added that she ‘died peacefully surrounded by her family.’
‘Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.’
Flack announced in 2022 that she had ALS, which is a fatal motor neuron disease causing progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain.
Consequently, she was unable to sing anymore.
Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in North Carolina but grew up in Virginia and started classical piano lessons at the age of nine.
She was awarded a full scholarship to Howard University in Washington DC aged 15 and was assistant conductor of the university choir for a while before returning to North Carolina following her father’s death in 1959, moving back to the capital a year later.
Flack’s voice was widely revered. After she trained as a classical pianist in the late 60s, jazz musician Les McCann wrote that ‘her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known.’
Her other known songs from the 70s include Feel Like Makin’ Love, Where Is The Love, and The Closer I Get to You. The latter two were duets with her close friend and former classmate Donny Hathaway.
The two were working together on a collaboration album when Hathaway suffered a breakdown, later falling to his death from a hotel room.
Flack and Hathaway’s body of work went on to sell millions of copies. She said in 2022 that they felt ‘deeply connected creatively’.
As the years progressed, while Flack’s musical releases no longer reached the same success as her debut, she had a hit in the 80s with the Peabo Bryson duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love.
Flack won five Grammys throughout her career (Picture: Andrew Gombert/EPA/REX/Shutterstock) In the 90s, she featured on the Maxi Priest duet Set the Night to Music and was thrust back into the spotlight when the Fugees covered Killing Me Softly, which also won a Grammy. Flack performed onstage with the hip-hop group at one point.
The five-time Grammy recipient, born in North Carolina and raised in Virginia, was nominated a further eight times by the Academy.
In 2020, she was honoured with a lifetime achievement Grammy, with the likes of Ariana Grande and John Legend heaping praise on her.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Arrow MORE: Leonardo DiCaprio among celebrities flocking to London for ‘life-changing’ secret experience
Arrow MORE: Justin Bieber fights back against ‘exhausting narrative’ after weeks of concern from fans
Arrow MORE: Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater bizarrely shake hands in rare public outing at SAG Awards
