Roberta Flack, Soul and R&B legend, Passes Away

Roberta Cleopatra Flack, American pianist and Grammy-winning soul singer best known for her romantic ballads like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” has passed away.

According to a statement from her agent, Elaine Schock, Flack passed away on Monday at home with her family by her side.

“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 statement from her agent read.

Her death came after a number of years of health issues, including feeling ill and leaving during a show at the Apollo Theater in 2018, to which she later disclosed that she had had a stroke.

In late 2022, there was also a public revelation of her being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

During the public revelation, Flack’s managers disclosed that her degenerative illness prevented her from singing.

Before her death at the age of 88, Flack had already solidified her reputation as one of the defining voices of her generation.

She was a composer of her own songs and an interpreter of others who had achieved numerous chart-topping successes and earned numerous honors.

She became a defining voice in R&B, inspiring generations of performers over the course of her multi-decade career.

A tribute was paid to her by Questlove, a filmmaker, musical director of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and drummer for The Roots, thanking the lost icon.

Peabo Bryson also paid tribute to Flack, calling her an “iconic and divinely gifted artist and friend” who was his greatest inspiration.

The Lasting Legacy of Roberto Flack

Flack, who was born to musical parents in 1937, rose to stardom in her hometown in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

She was introduced to classic and religious music early, as her mother was a church choir organist.

Flack began playing the piano at the age of nine, and by the age of 15, she was offered a full scholarship to study music at Howard University, becoming one of the youngest students ever accepted in the history of the school.

Following her graduation from music school, she worked as a teacher and occasionally performed in nightclubs.

She was discovered during one of these performances in Washington, D.C., which paved the way for her rise to global fame.

She met soul jazz singer and pianist Les McCann, who then put her in touch with Atlantic Records, and by early 1969, she recorded her first album, “First Take,” allegedly in ten hours.

However, it wasn’t until 1971, after it was featured on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me, did her cover version of Ewan MacColl’s folk ballad, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” become her first major US hit.

It received a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1973 and 1974 after spending six weeks at the top of the charts in 1972.

Flack’s diverse variety of colleagues and influences was evidence of her unique style and unconventional approach.