The Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose legendary vocal and musical style brought us hits like “Killing Me Softly”, “Where is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You”, has passed away. She was 88.
At her passing, she was surrounded by her family at home, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement. Flack announced in 2022 she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and could no longer sing,
Little known before her early 30s, Flack became an overnight star after Clint Eastwood used “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” as the soundtrack for one of cinema’s more memorable and explicit love scenes, between the actor and Donna Mills in his 1971 film “Play Misty for Me.” The hushed, hymn-like ballad, with Flack’s graceful soprano afloat on a bed of soft strings and piano, topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year.
“The record label wanted to have it re-recorded with a faster tempo, but he said he wanted it exactly as it was,” Flack told The Associated Press in 2018. “With the song as a theme song for his movie, it gained a lot of popularity and then took off.”
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Flack reached her peak with the 1974 pop and R&B smash “Where Is the Love,” which claimed the apex of both charts. The Associated Press reported the song topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year. In 1973, Flack matched both achievements with “Killing Me Softly,” becoming the first artist to win consecutive Grammys for best record.
In all, Flack’s smooth and sultry vocals made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after. Her singing style brought her six top-10 pop hits and 10 top-10 R&B singles, some of them in partnership with vocalist Donny Hathaway.
Economically summarizing her appeal in “The Rough Guide to Soul and R&B,” Peter Shapiro wrote, “Urbane, genteel and jazzy, Roberta Flack was, in many ways, the perfect soul act of the early ’70s. Her pretty, sensuous ballads appealed to the Burt Bacharach/5th Dimension crowd, while her shimmering keyboards and flawless diction made her the poster child of the penthouse soul crowd.”
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Though her chart eminence faded at the close of the ’70s, Flack continued to record into the new millennium; her last album, the Beatles recital “Let It Be Roberta,” was released in 2012.
She Started Singing Very Young
Roberta Cleopatra Flack, the daughter of musicians, was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and raised in Arlington, Virginia. Flack was inspired as a girl by the gospel work of Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke. He began studying piano at the age of 9; something of a musical prodigy, she entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., at 15 on a full scholarship.
Within a year, Flack was conducting her sorority’s vocal quartet, accompanying pop, jazz, and opera singers, and changed her major from piano to voice as she was assisting the school’s choir conductor. To earn extra money, she also taught piano privately and played the organ at her parents’ church – a job previously held by her mother.
Her graduate work was cut short by her father’s death, and she taught school in North Carolina and the District of Columbia. She also began work as a nightspot performer in D.C.; a fateful engagement at the club Mr. Henry’s was attended by jazz pianist Les McCann, then a crossover star at Atlantic Records. McCann brought Flack to the attention of the label, which signed her in 1968.
Her Partnership with Donny Hathaway
Many people remember Flack’s famous duets with her Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway.
The pair recorded several songs together until Hathaway died in 1979 from a fall from a New York hotel room that was ruled a suicide.
“He was very sensitive, reacting to the things around him, and whatever was inside of him. He was a genius, so he wasn’t satisfied with his own performances, his own output,” Flack told The Washington Post shortly after the tragedy. “Like many creative people, his good periods were very exuberant and his lows were extremely low.”
The loss hurt personally and professionally, but Flack would find a new partner, teaming up and touring with Peabo Bryson in 1980. The duo scored a hit in 1983 with “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love.” She spent the remainder of the 1980s touring and performing, and returned to the Top Ten once more in 1991 with “Set the Night to Music,” a duet with Maxi Priest. In 1997, Flack released an anthology of Christmas standards simply titled, “Christmas Album.”
Flack’s music was introduced to a new generation in the ’90s thanks to the Fugees. With Lauryn Hill on lead vocals, their version of “Killing Me Softly with his Song” topped the charts around the world in 1996.
There are more than 160 versions of “Killing Me Softly”. The song has been covered in many languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Swedish, and Finnish.
The number of artists who sampled the song are in the hundreds too.
The Disease that Took Her Life
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons control voluntary muscle movements.
Causes:
The exact cause of ALS is unknown in most cases. However, genetic mutations and environmental factors may play a role.
Symptoms:
ALS typically begins with gradual muscle weakness and atrophy, usually in the hands, feet, or limbs. Other symptoms may include:
Difficulty speaking or swallowing, Muscle cramps and twitching, Stumbling and falls, Respiratory problems, and Cognitive changes (in some cases).
Progression:
ALS is a progressive disease, meaning symptoms worsen over time. The rate of progression varies widely among individuals. Most people with ALS live for 2-5 years after diagnosis, but some may live longer.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis of ALS typically involves a physical exam, medical history, and diagnostic tests such as:
Electromyography (EMG), Nerve conduction studies, and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Treatment:
There is no cure for ALS. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and improving quality of life:
Medications to slow disease progression, Physical therapy and assistive devices, Respiratory support, and Nutritional counseling.
Long-term Outlook:
ALS is a fatal disease. However, with proper care and support, individuals with ALS can live meaningful lives and enjoy their remaining time. Research into ALS is ongoing, and new treatments and therapies may be available in the future.
Rest In Peace, Roberta. Your rich legacy still lives on.
