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Music Legend Passes Away at 88


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Roberta Flack, Grammy winner and legendary singer, has tragically handed.

The music icon is understood for “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Track.”

She was profoundly influential, working with fellow music legends. Her final album got here out final decade.

Flack died at house and amongst household. She was 88 years outdated.

Roberta Flack smiles in 2017.Roberta Flack smiles in 2017.
The legendary Roberta Flack attends Black Women Rock! 2017 backstage at NJPAC on August 5, 2017. (Picture Credit score: Paras Griffin/Getty Pictures for BET)

Roberta Flack has died

In keeping with a assertion by her representatives, Roberta Flack handed away on Monday, February 24, on the age of 88.

Born in Black Mountain, North Carolina in 1937, Flack’s eager curiosity in music manifested from an early age.

At 15, she enrolled in Howard College in Washington DC on a scholarship. Notably, this made her one of many college’s youngest college students.

Roberta Flack on January 26, 2020.Roberta Flack on January 26, 2020.
Music icon Roberta Flack arrives for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020. (Picture Credit score: VALERIE MACON/AFP through Getty Pictures)

For years, Roberta Flack labored as a trainer, in each Maryland and in North Carolina. Nonetheless, within the Seventies, she erupted into fame with “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face.”

That music received a Grammy for File of the 12 months in 1973. The next 12 months, she received File of the 12 months for “Killing Me Softly With His Track.” She was the primary artist to ever win this award consecutively.

Over time, Flack had many extra hits. She additionally labored with music legends like Donny Hathaway, Leonard Cohen, Burt Bacharach, and extra. Her final album got here out in 2012. “Let It Be Roberta” was a set of Beatles covers. Notably, her music had already influenced some members of the historic boy band.

Roberta Flack on March 3, 2011.Roberta Flack on March 3, 2011.
Roberta Flack attends the fortieth Anniversary Gala for “A Thoughts Is A Horrible Factor To Waste” Marketing campaign at The New York Marriott Marquis on March 3, 2011. (Picture Credit score: Andy Kropa/Getty Pictures)

What was Roberta Flack’s explanation for dying?

The assertion from Roberta Flack’s representatives didn’t disclose her explanation for dying.

Nonetheless, in 2018, Flack needed to depart the Apollo Theater stage throughout a efficiency.

Later, her administration shared that she had suffered a stroke the earlier 12 months. On the time, there was an insistence that Flack was “doing effective.”

Roberta Flack on June 5, 2017.Roberta Flack on June 5, 2017.
Iconic singer Roberta Flack attends the sixth Annual Sing for Hope Pianos Kickoff Occasion At 28 Liberty Plaza on June 5, 2017. (Picture Credit score: Craig Barritt/Getty Pictures for Sing For Hope)

Then, in November of 2022, supervisor Suzanne Koga revealed that Flack had obtained a prognosis of ALS.

Koga detailed that Roberta Flack’s ailment “has made it not possible to sing and never straightforward to talk.”

That spelled the top of her prolonged and indelible music profession.

Roberta Flack in 2010.Roberta Flack in 2010.
Singer Roberta Flack performs onstage through the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Middle on January 31, 2010. (Picture Credit score: Kevin Winter/Getty Pictures)

What’s ALS?

ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s illness, is a uncommon and terminal neurodegenerative dysfunction.

There isn’t a identified treatment, with efforts focusing upon slowing the grim strategy of the illness. On common, individuals would possibly survive a few years following their prognosis.

We have no idea if ALS was the reason for dying within the case of Roberta Flack, however many naturally assume so. Whatever the particulars, our ideas are along with her family members as they grieve this loss.

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