Roberta Flack, the enduring vocalist who rose to stardom within the Nineteen Seventies with hits like “Killing Me Softly with His Tune” and “The place Is the Love,” handed away on Monday, as confirmed by her publicist. She was 88.
“We’re heartbroken that the fantastic Roberta Flack handed away this morning, February 24, 2025,” wrote Elaine Schock, her publicist, in a press release. “She died peacefully surrounded by her household.”
Discover out extra about her and her private life under.
Who Was Roberta Flack?
Born on February 10, 1937, in North Carolina, Flack was the daughter of a church organist and started taking part in classical piano at a younger age. She entered Howard College in Washington, D.C., on the age of 15 on a full scholarship.
She went on to turn into a Grammy-winning artist recognized for hits like her model of “Killing Me Softly With His Tune,” “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face,” and “Really feel Like Makin’ Love,” all of which earned her high spots on the Billboard charts. Flack was nominated for Grammy Awards 14 occasions and gained 4, in response to the Grammys.
Within the assertion issued by her publicist following her passing, it was famous, “Roberta broke boundaries and data,” including that “She was additionally a proud educator.” In line with Selection, she taught college in North Carolina and the District of Columbia.
“I used to be educating at Banneker Junior Excessive in Washington, D.C. It was a part of town the place children weren’t that privileged, however they have been privileged sufficient to have music training. I actually needed them to learn music. First, I’d get their consideration. (Flack begins singing a Supremes hit) ‘Cease, within the identify of affection.’ Then I may train them!” she advised the Tampa Bay Instances in 2012. “You must do all kinds of issues if you’re coping with children within the inner-city,” she stated. “I knew they’d just like the half the place (‘The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face’) goes ‘The primary time ever I kissed your mouth.’ Ooh, ‘Kissed your mouth!’ As soon as the children acquired previous the giggles, we have been good.”
She additionally devoted important time to the Roberta Flack College of Music in New York, which primarily serves college students between the ages of 6 and 14.
Was Roberta Flack Married?
Flack was not married on the time of her dying, however she was beforehand married to fellow musician Steve Novosel from 1966 to 1972.
Did Roberta Flack Have Children?
Flack didn’t have kids of her personal, however she was the aunt of well-known determine skater Rory Flack and the godmother of late musician Bernard Wright, who tragically died in 2022 after being hit by a automobile whereas crossing a avenue in Dallas.
Flack shared a submit on Fb following his passing: “Final night time, my godson and former musical director, Bernard Wright, handed away out of the blue. I cherished Bernard very a lot and believed deeply in his expertise. His loss is heartbreaking.”
How Was Roberta Flack’s Well being?
Throughout a 2018 efficiency at New York Metropolis’s Apollo Theater, Flack felt unwell and needed to go away the venue. It was later revealed that she had suffered a stroke years earlier.
In 2020, Flack was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to R&B, notably her affect on the Quiet Storm subgenre. She declined to offer a speech on the time and stepped away from performing in 2022 attributable to well being points, which have been later revealed to be a prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the identical yr.
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s illness, is a progressive neurological situation that impairs an individual’s means to manage their muscle mass, with the illness worsening over time.
