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 consecutively, thanks to Killing Me Softly.
While her representative announced the sad news of her death, no cause has been given.
‘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’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’.
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