Singer Roberta Flack dead at 88
After a lifetime of making the most celebrated R&B music of all time, vocalist Roberta Flack has passed away at the age of 88.
The soul icon was known for her massive run of songs in the 1970s, including her iconic versions ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ and ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’.
News of her death was confirmed by her representatives, saying, “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.” As of now, no cause of death has been revealed.
Flack had been known as one of the biggest names in R&B, first rising to prominence after her music was featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me. From there, she would earn ‘Record of the Year’ at the Grammys two years in a row, a record that wouldn’t be duplicated for decades that followed.
While Flack wouldn’t hit her stride until the late 1970s, she would be one of the most prominent voices in R&B, known for her frequent collaborations with fellow legend Donny Hathaway. The duo’s string of hits would be tragically cut short by Hathaway’s passing in 1979, with their final duet, back together coming out the following year.
Despite her flavour of R&B waning in the age of funk, Flack would continue to push herself as a vocalist throughout each decade. After taking an extended break after her Christmas album in 1997, she would eventually return to the studio with Let It Be Roberta, which saw her covering multiple Beatles songs.
In addition to her Grammy wins during her prime, the ceremony would also award her with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2020. This was the first time the Grammys had acknowledged Flack’s contribution to music since 1995, when she was nominated for her standards record, Roberta.
Since then, Flack has received multiple accolades for her contributions to the music world, including being inducted into the Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021 and receiving an honourary doctorate at the Berklee College of Music in 2023. However, Flack retired from singing in 2022 when she announced that she could no longer perform due to her struggles with ALS. Her last album, Running, was released in 2018.
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