The singer Roberta Flack died, recognized interpreter of “Killing Me Softly with His Song”

Roberta Flackwhose soft, rich, agile and fascinating voice in the 1970 “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “Feel Like Making Love”he died today, according to his representative. He was 88 years old.

Publicist Elaine Schock announced to Associated Press that Flack died at her home surrounded by her family. The cause of death was not revealed, but the four -time Grammy winner announced in 2022 that he had ELA, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s diseaseand that I could no longer sing.

“We are disconsolate by the death of the glorious Roberta Flack this morning, February 24, 2025,” reads a representative’s statement. “He died in peace surrounded by his family. Roberta broke barriers and records. It was also a proud educator “.

Roberta Flack’s extensive trajectory

Born like Roberta Cleopatra Flack On February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, Flack would become one of the most praised vocalists of his generation.

Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for the recording of the year in two consecutive years: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” won in 1973 and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” In 1974. Both reached number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, as well as its 1974 song “Feel Like Makin ‘Love”.

By signing with Atlantic Records, he had a series of successes that included “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “where is the love” (A duet with his former colleague of Howard, Donny Hathaway), “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, “Feel Like Makin ‘Love”, “The Closer I get to you” (also with Hathaway), “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” and “Set The Night to Music”.

The Flack version of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” He reached only the 76th position on the lists in 1972, but another of his first songs, the disturbing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”was chosen by the actor and director Clint EastwooD to appear in the soundtrack of his 1971 suspense film Play Misty for meand the song began to climb on the lists until it became the greatest success of 1972.

In the 80s and 90s, Flack had successes with “Making Love”written by Burt Bacharachand, With Péabo Bryson, “Tonight, I celebrate My Love”. “Oasis” From 1988 it was his last success of R&B number one, but he did not reach Hot 100. In total, he had half a dozen pop trinks top 10, 10 Top 10 hits of R&B and four LP Top 10, headed by his platinum debut, First Take , which spent five weeks at number 1.

Flack retired from the tours in 2018 and, from then on, he would only make special appearances. In 2020, he received a Grammy award for the trajectory and raised and raised funds for Feed the Children.org during the Covid-19 pandemic.