'Killing Me Softly' singer and R&B icon Roberta Flack dies aged 88
24 February 2025, 15:38 | Updated: 24 February 2025, 16:18
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer best known for Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died aged 88.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
“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.”
An icon of soul and R&B, Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years - in 1973 for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - and in 1974 for Killing Me Softly With His Song.
Read more: Justin Bieber breaks silence amid fans' fears after series of gaunt and dishevelled photos emerge
Born in Black Mountain, North Carolina in 1937, Flack took to music at a young age and by 15 became one of the youngest students to be admitted to Howard University to study music in its history.
Trained as an opera singer, Flack began teaching in North Carolina while performing at nightclubs on evenings and weekends.
By 1968, Flack earned a residency at Mr Henry’s Restaurant, seeing her giving up teaching for good.
She earned her first US number one with a cover of Ewan MacColl’s folk ballad The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, with the track sitting at number one for six weeks and earning Song of the Year at the 1973 Grammy Awards.
A year later she released her best known track - Killing Me Softly With His Song - which earned the same award at the 1974 Grammy's.
After falling ill in 2018, Flack's management confirmed she had suffered a stroke some years earlier.
In 2022, Flack announced she was suffering from ALS and could no longer perform.
Veteran radio DJ Tony Blackburn has praised Roberta Flack's voice and music in a heartfelt tribute
He said: "How sad that Roberta Flack has passed away at the age of 88", he wrote on X alongside a photo of the US singer.
"She gave us so many beautiful songs, I just loved her voice. RIP and thanks for the music."
