Singer Roberta Flack, known for 'Killing Me Softly,' dies at 88

Roberta Flack, one of the great American soul voices, known for Killing Me Softly With His Song in the 70s, died at the age of 88, her agent announced on Monday, February 24. "She died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones," it was stated in a press release.

Born in North Carolina to an organist mother, a virtuoso pianist, the African-American singer had a great influence on soul, which she mixed with jazz and folk. Her first hit, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, won the Grammy Award for song of the year in 1973. A rare performance, another song performed by Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly With His Song, did it again the following year. The hit would be successful again in the 1990s when it was covered by the Fugees and their singer Lauryn Hill.

Roberta Flack was also one of the voices of the American civil rights movement. She performed in 1999 in front of the hero of the end of apartheid in South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2022, she was no longer able to perform in recent years.

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