<p id=”par-1_33″>Hollywood has lost one of its musical stars in Roberta Flack. The legendary R&B <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>singer</a> and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/pop-music/”>pop vocalist</a> has died at the age of 88. Ahead, learn what we know about Flack’s death. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-a-rep-for-roberta-flack-announced-her-death-on-feb-24-2025″>A rep for Roberta Flack announced her death on Feb. 24, 2025</h2>
<p id=”par-2_39″>Per <a href=”https://variety.com/2025/music/news/roberta-flack-singer-killing-me-softly-dead-1236318888/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Variety</a>, a representative for Flack announced the sad news of her death in a statement on Feb. 24, 2025. Flack’s cause of death wasn’t given. However, the rep did note that Flack died with family by her side. </p>
<p id=”par-3_36″>“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,” the statement read. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_11″>Flack is survived by her son and fellow musician, Bernard Wright.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-flack-s-hits-grammy-wins-and-last-album”>Flack’s hits, Grammy wins, and last album</h2>
<p id=”par-5_53″>Flack, a classically trained singer-pianist, rose to fame in the early 1970s with “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” a track <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/clint-eastwood/”>Clint Eastwood</a> used in his <em>Play Misty for Me</em> directorial debut that hit No. 1. Flack went on to get her most well-known chart-topping hit with 1973’s “Killing Me Softly.” </p>
<p id=”par-6_49″>Per the outlet, those two performances of Flack’s earned her Record of the Year awards at the Grammy in back-to-back years, which wasn’t broken until U2 did the same in 2001-02. During her lifetime, Flack was nominated for 13 <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/grammy-awards/”>Grammy Awards</a>—winning four—the last of which she received in 1995. </p>
<p id=”par-7_32″>Flack’s musical success continued with “Where Is the Love.” She had six top-1- pop hits and 10 top-10 R&B singles total. Her last album, “Let It Be Roberta,” came out in 2012. </p>
<p id=”par-8_46″>Flack, who hailed from Black Mountain, North Carolina, started studying piano at age 9 before attending Howard University at 15 on a full scholarship. Her time there ended sooner than expected because of her father’s death, and Flack began teaching in North Carolina and Washington, D.C. </p>