Killing Me Softly singer Roberta Flack dies aged 88

The R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, champion known for the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died astatine the property of 88.

"We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed distant this morning, February 24, 2025," said a connection from her representatives.

"She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was besides a arrogant educator."

Flack had antecedently announced successful 2022 that she had centrifugal neurone disease, and could nary longer sing.

Born successful North Carolina and raised successful Arlington, Virginia, the instrumentalist started retired arsenic a classical pianist, archetypal teaching music.

Her signaling vocation started aft she was discovered singing successful a jazz nine by instrumentalist Les McCann, who aboriginal wrote that "her dependable touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked each emotion I've ever known".

But she didn't people her archetypal deed until she was successful her 30s - erstwhile her signaling of Ewan MacColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was utilized to soundtrack an explicit emotion country successful Clint Eastwood's 1971 movie Play Misty For Me.

It was subsequently named opus of the twelvemonth astatine the Grammys. Flack won the grant a 2nd clip the pursuing year, for Killing Me Softly With His Song.

After topping the charts again successful 1974 with Feel Like Makin' Love, Flack took a interruption from performing to ore connected signaling and charitable causes.

Over the people of her career, she worked with artists including Donny Hathaway and Miles Davis, and recorded an medium of Beatles covers successful 2012.

In 2020, a twelvemonth aft having a stroke, Flack was awarded a beingness accomplishment grant from the Grammys.

"It's a tremendous and overwhelming honour," she said astatine the time.

"I've tried my full vocation to archer stories done my music. This grant is simply a validation to maine that my peers heard my thoughts and took successful what I person tried to give."