By Michael McKee
Correspondent
Pianist and R&B icon Roberta Flack died from cardiac arrest at the age of 88 on Feb. 24. At the time of her passing, she had been suffering from ALS.
Flack was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s, winning the Grammy Record of the Year twice in a row and receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. She is perhaps most well known for “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” as well as her covers of “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
Roberta Flack was born on Feb. 10, 1937, in Blake Mountain, North Carolina. As a child, her life was intertwined with music, according to The Times. At the age of 15, she became one of Howard University’s youngest students after receiving a music scholarship.
By the late 1960s, she decided to pursue a career as a professional musician by singing in various nightclubs where she was noticed by musician Les McCann. McCann arranged an audition with Atlantic Records, and in February 1969 her first album “First Take” was released.
Her stardom quickly rose through the 1970s. She was featured in the concert film “Soul to Soul” in 1971, had four Billboard No. 1’s and won Grammy Record of the Year in 1973 and 1974. The subgenre quiet storm was heavily inspired by her work. During this time, she divorced her husband, jazz musician Steve Novosel, in 1972, who is still alive today.
In 2010, she performed “Killing Me Softly” in a duet with Gerald Maxwell Rivera at the 52nd Grammy Awards. In 2012, she recorded her final album “Let It Be Roberta,” which covered songs from The Beatles. In 2018, at the age of 80, she recorded a song called “Running” for the documentary “3100: Run and Become.”
Aside from her musical career, Flack also stood against animal abuse alongside the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and was an advocate for gay rights, according to The New York Times.
Roberta Flack was one of the most iconic figures in the R&B and 1970s music scene. She remained dedicated to her craft into her 80s, and was willing to stand up for what she believed in. Flack will be remembered as one of the most talented, hard working and influential voices of her generation.
