American singer. She is known for her No. 1 singles “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”; and “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You”, two of her many duets with Donny Hathaway. Roberta Flack is also having difficulty speaking, her manager said on Monday.
Flack, 85, has won four Grammy awards and received 14 nominations.
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A documentary about her life is set to premier next week in New York. She also has plans to publish a children’s book in January.
In addition to Killing Me Softly – which was later covered by musician Lauryn Hill – Flack is known for songs including “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, which launched her to stardom after it was used in Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”.
Her condition – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” her management said in a statement.
“But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon,” they said, adding that she “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits”.
There is no known cure for ALS, which is also known as motor neurone disease (MND). It is caused by the death of the nerves that carry messages from the brain to people’s muscles. It affects their ability to move, talk and even breathe, per BBC.
The timing of Flack’s film and book release next year coincide with the 50th anniversary of her fourth album “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, which was released in 1973.
After the singer suffered a stroke in 2016, she told the Associated Press news agency that wants her songs to be remembered as “classics” and and not just an “old hit”.
“I could sing any number of songs that I’ve recorded through the years, easily, I could sing them, but I’m going to pick those songs that move me,” Flack said.
“Now that’s hard to do. To be moved, to be moved constantly by your own songs.”
Next year will also mark a milestone for Flack, whose fourth album, “Killing Me Softly,” will celebrate its 50th anniversary along with a reissue. Atlantic Records, Flack’s longtime label from 1968 to 1996, is also celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023.
According to Variety, The singer’s tenured career in soul, R&B and jazz music has given her multiple accolades, including two Grammy wins in 1974 for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance for “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” She was honored by the Recording Academy in 2020 with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Flack previously suffered a stroke in 2016 and later fell ill while appearing at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America at the Apollo Theater in New York in 2018.
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Sources: BBC, Variety
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