Iconic R&B singer and pianist Roberta Flack has passed away at the age of 88. The news was confirmed by her publicist, Elaine Schock, who wrote, “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
Born Robert Cleopatra Flack in Black Mountain, North Carolina in 1937, Flack was raised in Virginia and began learning to play piano when she was nine years old, studying classical music and winning second prize in a piano competition for African-American students at 13. She began studying at Howard University, where she was awarded a full musical scholarship, at 15.
Flack released her first album, First Take, in 1969, and after charting for the first time with her 1971 rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” had a hit in 1972 with her rendition of “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” which featured in Clint Eastwood’s film Play Misty for Me. She won a Grammy for Record of the Year for it in 1973, and followed it with her second number one hit, “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” That took home Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1974 Grammy Awards.
Flack’s last album was 2012’s Let it Be Robert: Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles. She had a stroke a few years later, and was diagnosed with ALS in 2022, at which point she retired from performing.
Rest in peace, Roberta. Your music lives on.