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| Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly singer dies aged 88 | Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly singer dies aged 88 |
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| Roberta Flack scored several number one hits in the 1970s | Roberta Flack scored several number one hits in the 1970s |
| The R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died at the age of 88. | The R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died at the age of 88. |
| "We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025," said a statement from her representatives. | "We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025," said a statement from her representatives. |
| "She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator." | "She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator." |
| Flack had previously announced in 2022 that she had motor neurone disease, and could no longer sing. | Flack had previously announced in 2022 that she had motor neurone disease, and could no longer sing. |
| Born in North Carolina and raised in Arlington, Virginia, the musician started out as a classical pianist, first teaching music. | Born in North Carolina and raised in Arlington, Virginia, the musician started out as a classical pianist, first teaching music. |
| Her recording career started after she was discovered singing in a jazz club by musician Les McCann, who later wrote that "her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known". | Her recording career started after she was discovered singing in a jazz club by musician Les McCann, who later wrote that "her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known". |
| But she didn't score her first hit until she was in her 30s - when her recording of Ewan MacColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was used to soundtrack an explicit love scene in Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty For Me. | But she didn't score her first hit until she was in her 30s - when her recording of Ewan MacColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was used to soundtrack an explicit love scene in Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty For Me. |
| It was subsequently named song of the year at the Grammys. Flack won the award a second time the following year, for Killing Me Softly With His Song. | It was subsequently named song of the year at the Grammys. Flack won the award a second time the following year, for Killing Me Softly With His Song. |
| After topping the charts again in 1974 with Feel Like Makin' Love, Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes. | After topping the charts again in 1974 with Feel Like Makin' Love, Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes. |
| Over the course of her career, she worked with artists including Donny Hathaway and Miles Davis, and recorded an album of Beatles covers, called Let It Be Roberta, in 2012. | |
| 'True soul' | |
| According to the Guardian, she once told a journalist: "What I consider myself is a soulful singer, in that I try to sing with all the feeling that I have in my body and my mind. | |
| "A person with true soul is one who can take anybody's song and transcend all the flaws, the technique and just make you listen." | |
| Roberta Flack and The Fugees, pictured together in 2009 | |
| In 2020, a year after having a stroke, Flack was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. | In 2020, a year after having a stroke, Flack was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. |
| "It's a tremendous and overwhelming honour," she said at the time. | "It's a tremendous and overwhelming honour," she said at the time. |
| "I've tried my entire career to tell stories through my music. This award is a validation to me that my peers heard my thoughts and took in what I have tried to give." | "I've tried my entire career to tell stories through my music. This award is a validation to me that my peers heard my thoughts and took in what I have tried to give." |
| Once married, to US jazz musician Stephen Novosel, the star devoted a lot of her time to the Roberta Flack School of Music in New York. | |
| Flack's most famous song was introduced to a new generation of music fans when Lauryn Hill's hip-hop group The Fugees recorded a Grammy-winning cover of Killing Me Softly, which they would eventually perform on-stage alongside her. |