Grammy Winning R&B Vocalist Roberta Flack Dies at 88

Roberta Flack Grammy winning vocalist passes away at 88. - image courtesy of Wikipedia.

According to a statement from her agent, legendary pop/R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, who was catapulted to popularity in the early 1970s by Grammy-winning hits "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song," has passed away. She was 88; no cause of death was stated.

"We are saddened that the great Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025," the announcement says. "She passed away quietly among her family. Roberta exceeded expectations and set standards. She was a proud teacher as well.

Only after Clint Eastwood used her 2-year-old rendition of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in his 1971 directorial debut "Play Misty for Me" did the classically trained singer-pianist finally become well-known.

Topping the Billboard pop chart in 1972, the subdued, hymn-like ballad with Flack's elegant soprano floating on a bed of soft strings and piano earned a Grammy for record of the year.

With "Killing Me Softly With His Song," she repeated both successes in 1973 and became the first performer to win consecutive Grammys for best record. The song was later redone in 1996 by hip hop trio The Fugees allowing a newer set of ears to learn about Roberta Flack.

Along with two duets with her close friend and old Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway, "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You," a relationship that ended tragically, Flack's other 1970s singles were the homey "Feel Like Makin' Love." She and Hathaway were working on an album of duets in 1979 when he broke down during recording and subsequently passed away in his Manhattan hotel room later that evening.

She kept her career going in the 1980s with the Peabo Bryson duet "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet "Set the Night to Music." Her 1994 single, "It Might Be You" was featured on the cult classic film Waiting to Exhale.

With John Legend and Ariana Grande among many applauding her, she overall won five Grammys (three for "Killing Me Softly), was nominated eight other times, and received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020.