A Grammy-winning music icon Roberta Flack left this world while reaching 88 years of age after defining 1970s music with her soulful ballads. According to her publicist, her death happened peacefully with her family present at their home. The world learned in 2022 that Flack received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which eliminated her singing capabilities from her body despite being an artist who had mesmerized audiences with her voice.
A Sudden Rise to Fame
Clint Eastwood launched Flack’s career through his 1971 film Play Misty for Me when he selected “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to use in a critical scene. The song succeeded to the point where she received both a Grammy along Record of the Year in 1972. She won Best Record at the Grammys in 1973 following “Killing Me Softly with His Song” to become the first singer to achieve two consecutive wins in this category.
A Voice That Moved Millions
Les McCann discovered Roberta Flack during the late 1960s and described her vocals as an emotional experience that simultaneously touched, tapped, captured and kicked through every emotional tone he ever experienced. The musical prodigy surfaced from a North Carolina birth in Black Mountain before moving to Arlington Virginia during her childhood development. At the age of 15, she received a full scholarship at Howard University after training as a classical pianist.
Her activism reached beyond music because she established deep connections with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis while deeply supporting the civil rights movement. She carried out two important actions during the period: she made prison visits to Davis and performed at Robinson’s memorial service.
Tragic End to a Legendary Partnership
During the 1970s Roberta Flack established herself as a musical success by releasing both “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and numerous memorable duets with Donny Hathaway who was her close University colleague and best friend. Due to their mutual musical efforts, Roberta Flack and Her close friend Donny Hathaway produced hits that live on forever such as “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You.”
Their musical relationship ended disastrously. During the recording of their duet album in 1979 Hathaway had a mental breakdown which led to his eventual death from falling. The same evening he passed away through his Manhattan hotel window forcing his closest friend Roberta Flack into deep sorrow.
“We were deeply connected creatively,” Flack reflected in 2022. “Our musical synergy was unlike anything I’d had before or since.”
