Roberta Flack, '70s R&B singer behind 'Killing Me Softly', dies aged 88

GRAMMY-WINNING US singer Roberta Flack has died aged 88, her publicist has confirmed.

The soul and R&B icon was best known for songs including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song.

In 2022, it was announced the veteran musician had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurological condition that had made it “impossible” for her to sing, according to a representative.

Publicist Elaine Schock told reporters today that they were “heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning”.

Schock added that the vocalist died peacefully, surrounded by her family.

“Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator,” Schock said.

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.

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She was awarded a full scholarship to Howard University in Washington DC aged 15 and was assistant conductor of the university choir before returning to North Carolina following her father’s death in 1959.

She began her recording career at the age of 32, after decades of classical study, teaching music and accompanying opera singers.

The singer found fame shortly after, when Clint Eastwood employed her 2-year-old version of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in his 1971 directorial debut “Play Misty for Me.”

It also won the Grammy for record of the year in 1973, with her song Killing Me Softly With His Song winning best female pop vocal performance a year later.

In 2020 the Recording Academy awarded her with a lifetime achievement award.

Flack’s impressive range of influences and collaborators was testament to her career – she prevfiously duetted with Michael Jackson, toured with Miles Davis and covered Leonard Cohen and Laura Nyro.

Her R&B legacy later inspired the likes of Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and the Fugees (whose own take on Killing Me Softly would rival Flack’s to be the definitive version). 

Additional reporting from PA.

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