Roberta Flack (born February 10, 1937), the beloved, Grammy-winning 1970s singer best known for such hits as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly” died on Monday (Feb. 24) at 88. At press time a statement from Flack’s spokesperson revealed that she died peacefully, with no official cause of death available.
“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,” a statement from her spokesperson read. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
Flack revealed in November 2022 that she had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and could no longer sing. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive illness that impacts nerve cells and causes paralysis and death.
With her graceful presence, genre-crossing versatility and ability to give voice to the full range of love’s highs and lows, Flack is widely considered one of soul and R&B’s greatest ever artists. She had several No. 1 hits in the 1970s and produced 20 studio albums. Although Flack wrote some of her own songs and collaborated on others, she considered herself as an interpreter of the music.
The singer won four Grammys and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. She was the first artist to win two consecutive Record of the Year trophies for 1973’s “First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” and 1974’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
After suffering from a stroke in 2016, she gave up touring two years later. A PBS documentary about her life, American Masters: Roberta Flack, was released in January 2023.
“I’ve always tried to express myself musically from a place of complete honesty in the hope that each person can find his or her own story when they listen in a way that helps them to feel their own truth,” she told Forbes.
