Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate, emotive style made her one of the defining voices of the 1970s, died Monday at the age of 88.
Flack passed away at home surrounded by family, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement. In 2022, she revealed her ALS diagnosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which left her unable to sing.
A classically trained pianist, Flack rose to fame in the early 1970s after Clint Eastwood featured her rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in his film *Play Misty for Me* (1971). The song, a slow-burning ballad carried by Flack’s ethereal vocals over a delicate piano and string arrangement, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 and won a Grammy for Record of the Year.
“The record label wanted it re-recorded at a faster tempo, but he [Eastwood] said he wanted it exactly as it was,” Flack told *The Associated Press* in 2018. “Once it was in the movie, the song took off.”
In 1973, she achieved another career-defining moment with *Killing Me Softly With His Song*, which also won Record of the Year, making Flack the first artist to win consecutive Grammys in the category.
Flack’s artistry extended beyond the charts. A prodigy, she received a full music scholarship at age 15 to Howard University, a historically Black institution. Jazz musician Les McCann, who discovered her in the late 1960s, once wrote, “Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known.”
Her versatility allowed her to deliver up-tempo gospel-infused anthems akin to Aretha Franklin while maintaining a signature style—introspective, soulful, and lyrically profound.
Beyond music, Flack was an influential presence in the civil rights movement, forging close ties with activists like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis, whom she visited in prison before Davis was acquitted of murder and kidnapping charges. She also performed at Jackie Robinson’s funeral and contributed to the feminist children’s album *Free to Be… You and Me*.
Her 1970s hits included *Feel Like Makin’ Love* and duets with longtime friend and Howard classmate Donny Hathaway, including *Where Is the Love* and *The Closer I Get to You*. Their musical partnership ended in tragedy in 1979 when Hathaway died after falling from his Manhattan hotel room while battling mental illness.
“We were deeply connected creatively,” Flack told *Vibe* in 2022, reflecting on their million-selling 1972 album *Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway*. “He could play anything, sing anything. Our musical synergy was unlike anything I’d had before or since.”
Flack remained a force in music through the 1980s and 1990s, scoring hits with *Tonight, I Celebrate My Love* (with Peabo Bryson) and *Set the Night to Music* (with Maxi Priest). She gained renewed recognition in 1996 when the Fugees’ Grammy-winning cover of *Killing Me Softly* introduced her music to a new generation.
Over her career, Flack won five Grammys, including three for *Killing Me Softly*, and received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020.
“I love that connection to other artists because we understand music, we live music, it’s our language,” she told *Songwriter Universe* in 2020. “Through music, we understand what we are thinking and feeling.”
Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack in Black Mountain, North Carolina, she was raised in Arlington, Virginia, the daughter of musicians. After graduating from Howard, she taught music in Washington, D.C.-area schools while performing at nightclubs, including Mr. Henry’s, a venue that became a launching pad for her career.
She married jazz bassist Stephen Novosel, and though the marriage ended in divorce, their interracial relationship faced challenges from both families. She had a son, Bernard Wright, a singer and keyboardist who later found success in the 1980s.
For years, Flack resided in Manhattan’s Dakota apartment building, where she lived on the same floor as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. She became close friends with Ono, who later wrote liner notes for Flack’s Beatles tribute album *Let It Be Roberta*.
In her later years, Flack dedicated much of her time to the Roberta Flack School of Music, mentoring young musicians in New York.
Her legacy remains woven into the fabric of soul, jazz, and R&B, her voice a timeless emblem of emotional depth and artistic mastery.
