Photo Credit: Roberta Flack by annulla / CC by 2.0
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer of hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” has passed away. She was 88.
The singer, born in 1937 in North Carolina, was best known for hits in the 1970s like “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” A representative for Flack announced back in November 2022 that she was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and could no longer sing.
Representatives and family confirmed her passing on Monday, telling Digital Music News, “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 daughter of a church organist, Roberta Flack began playing classical piano at a young age. At only 15, her talents earned her a scholarship to Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was soon discovered in Mr. Henry’s, a Washington nightclub, by jazz musician Les McCann.
“Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known,” McCann said. “I laughed, cried, and screamed for more.”
McCann would eventually help Flack sign with Atlantic Records Group, where she recorded “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” written by Ewan MacColl. The song became a breakout hit for Flack on her debut album, 1969’s First Take. But after the song’s use in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, 1971’s “Play Misty For Me,” Atlantic Records released a radio version, which became a massive hit. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 and won Grammys for song and record of the year in 1973.
Roberta Flack enjoyed dozens of hits throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, but in the ‘90s she was introduced to a new generation of fans, thanks to the Fugees. Their version of “Killing Me Softly” was a worldwide hit in 1996.
In 1999, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and later that year toured South Africa. She famously performed for then-South African President Nelson Mandela.
In the late 2000s, she founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx. There, she provided “an innovative and inspiring music education program to underprivileged students, free of charge.”
Though she continued touring well into her 70s and 80s, Roberta Flack suffered with health issues in the 2010s. She had a stroke in 2016 and was hospitalized in 2018 when she felt dizzy at a Jazz Foundation of America event in which she was to receive an award. Nevertheless, she returned to the stage in October 2018 at a party for the same charity.
“Rest in peace, Roberta Flack,” wrote singer-songwriter Carole King on Bluesky. Actor and singer Jennifer Hudson, who covered Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” also praised the late singer on X. “Your legacy lives on!” she wrote, calling Flack “one of the greatest soul singers of all time.”
Flack herself praised Hudson’s cover of the song just last year, writing on the former Twitter, “Loving this smooth and powerful performance by Jennifer Hudson.”