The music world is in mourning after the passing of Roberta Flack, the soul and R&B legend whose hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” became cornerstones of a generation. She died peacefully on Monday, February 24, 2025, at age 88, surrounded by loved ones, her representatives confirmed.
A Legacy Woven Through Soul and Song
Born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1937, Flack’s gifts shone early. By 9, she mastered the piano; by 15, she won a music scholarship to Howard University. Trained as a classical pianist, her path veered toward soul after spellbinding nightclub sets in Washington, D.C. Jazz legend Les McCann spotted her there, paving the way to a 1968 deal with Atlantic Records.
Her debut, First Take (1969), hinted at greatness, but “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”—featured in Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me—rocketed her to fame. It topped charts and snagged the 1973 Grammy for Record of the Year. The next year, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” did the same, making Flack the first solo artist to claim back-to-back Record of the Year Grammys, a feat later echoed by U2 and Billie Eilish.
The 1970s saw her deliver smooth hits like “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and duet with Donny Hathaway on classics like “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You.” Her “quiet storm” R&B sound shaped neo-soul, influencing Erykah Badu and the Fugees, whose 1996 take on “Killing Me Softly” roared worldwide.
Beyond Music: Teaching and Resilience
Flack’s reach extended far beyond the stage. Before fame, she taught music, later founding the Roberta Flack School of Music in New York to lift up underserved youth. Health setbacks, including a 2016 stroke and a 2022 ALS diagnosis, dimmed her voice but not her spirit. She still released Let It Be Roberta, a Beatles tribute, in 2012.
Her final years were marked by ALS, which silenced her singing after the 2022 announcement. Though no cause was specified, her death closes a chapter for soul and R&B. Flack’s warm, reflective tone—praised by Dionne Warwick as “Aretha Franklin makes you sweat, Roberta makes you think”—cements her as a towering figure in music.
