Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer known for Killing Me Softly With His Song and other hits, has died aged 88, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement.
Schock said: “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025. She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
The American singer topped the Billboard charts with the singles The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly with His Song, and Feel Like Makin’ Love. Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record 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 won in 1974.
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, returning to the capital a year later. In 2020 she won a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys.
She had health problems in her later years. In 2018, Flack was appearing onstage at the Apollo Theater at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America. She became ill, left the stage, and was rushed to the Harlem Hospital Center. In a statement, her manager announced that Flack had had a stroke a few years prior and still was not feeling well.
In late 2022, it was announced by a spokesperson that Flack had been diagnosed with ALS and had retired from performing, due to the disease making it “impossible to sing”.