Grammy-winning singer and pianist Roberta Flack has died today (February 24) at the age of 88.
According to her publicist Elaine Schock, Flack was surrounded by her family at home when she passed away. In 2022, a representative for her announced that she had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and that she was no longer able to sing.
Flack was best known for her 1973 recording of "Killing Me Softly with His Song," which won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
A classically trained pianist, at the age of 15 Flack received a full scholarship to Howard, the historically Black university based in Washington, D.C. After graduating, she became a junior high school teacher, and taught piano on the side.
In the 1960s, she was discovered singing and playing piano in a Washington, D.C. jazz club by jazz musician Les McCann, who helped her get a record deal with Atlantic Records.
Her breakthrough would arrive in her mid-30s when her version of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” was featured during a scene in Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty for Me. The song would reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 and win a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1973.
Flack would win five Grammys in her life, including Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus in 1973 for "Where Is The Love," her collaboration with Donny Hathaway, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.