Remembering Roberta Flack
• Variety reports that legendary pop/R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, who was launched to stardom in the early 1970s with the back-to-back Grammy-winning hits “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” has died in New York at the age of 88. No cause of death was cited.
A statement from Flack’s representative reads, “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025. She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
Over the course of her lengthy career, Flack earned 14 Grammy nominations, four wins, two GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductions, and a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Flack’s 1972 cover of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” was ranked by Billboard as the No. 1 Hot 100 single of 1972, and won Grammys for Record and Song Of The Year. It was succeeded in 1973 by “Killing Me Softly,” which also earned the Grammy for Record of the Year — a feat that wasn’t duplicated until U2earned the same back-to-back honors in 2001-02. “Killing Me Softly” also won the Grammy for “Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.”
Over the course of her lengthy career, Flack earned 14 Grammy nominations, and released six Top 10 pop hits and 10 Top 10 R&B singles, some of them in partnership with frequent vocal partner Donny Hathaway. Flack reached her peak with the 1974 Pop & R&B smash, “Where Is the Love,” with Hathaway, which topped the charts and won the Grammy for “Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group.”
Other essential Roberta Flack tracks, according to BET: “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (1974); “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” (with Peabo Bryson, 1983); “The Close I Get To You” (with Donny Hathaway, 1978); “Back Together Again” (with Donny Hathaway, 1980); “You’ve Got A Friend” (with Donny Hathaway, 1971); and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (1972).
Flack’s final Top 10 album, Blue Lights in the Basement (No. 8), was issued in 1978. Her last major pop singles were the Burt Bacharach-penned movie theme, “Making Love,” which reached No. 13 in 1982, and “Set the Night to Music,” a 1991 duet with reggae singer Maxi Priest, which hit No. 6. Flack’s 15th and final studio album, Let It Be Roberta (Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles) was released in 2012.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, noted, “The world has lost a musical great with the passing of the timeless Roberta Flack. A visionary artist and humanitarian, she created music that transcended genres, cementing her legacy as one of music’s most influential voices. Today, we honor her creative spirit, boundless talent, and lasting impact on music and beyond.”
• Benztown has made available its Audio Tribute to Roberta Flack, written and produced by Thomas Greenand voiced by James MacDaniel.
