She was a one-of-a-kind musical pioneer who impacted us in so many ways, it is difficult to measure. Today we say a sad goodbye to Roberta Flack, who has died at age 88. Her death was confirmed for us by her publicist. Flack had been diagnosed with ALS in 2022.

The message we received was as follows: “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning February 24, 2025. She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”

Over the two decade period from 1970-1990, Roberta Flack quietly opened doors for a new generation of female singers, making beautiful music but also making history. Her gentle amalgamation of Soul, Gospel and folk, combined with a message of both empowerment and love, created an intelligent, thoughtful pathway for modern singers such as India.Arie and Jill Scott.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1937, Flack was attracted to music and became a talented singer and pianist at a very young age. In addition to her musical family, the members of which were involved in their church choir and orchestra, she was influenced by the great Gospel singers of her day, especially Mahalia Jackson. Amazingly, she was accepted into Howard University on a full music scholarship at age 15, and there she met future singing partner Donny Hathaway. Jazz pianist Les McCann heard her perform in 1968 and brought her to the attention of Atlantic Records, which signed her in 1969.

SOURCE – SOULTRACKS.COM