Photo by: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Let’s keep this legend in our thoughts and prayers!
Roberta Flack, the renowned vocalist who became one of the most famous voices of the 1970s thanks to hits like “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (A.L.S.) and “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” according to a statement released by her publicist on Monday.
Photo by: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
According to Ms. Flack’s representative, Elaine Schock, the singer was diagnosed with the disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, this past August and has made it difficult for Ms. Flack to speak.
The 85-year-old singer racked up No. 1 singles including “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” She won Grammy Awards for the categories of Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance in both 1973 and 1974.
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Overall, she has been nominated for 14 Grammys in her career.
The singer had a stroke in 2016, and afterward, she told the Associated Press that she wanted her songs to be remembered as “classics” rather than just “old hits.”
Photo by: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
The press release also revealed that a film on the singer will make its world premiere this month at the Doc NYC festival.
Roberta, which was directed, produced, and written by Antonino D’Ambrosio, includes archive material and interviews with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Yoko Ono, Angela Davis, and other notable figures.
The film will be broadcast on PBS on January 24, 2023, for general viewing.
The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, an autobiographical picture book co-written by Tonya Bolden with artwork by Hayden Goodman, will be released by Flack in 2023, according to the press release.
It will be available on January 10 through Random House Children’s Books imprint Anne Schwartz Books.
Please join us as we keep Ms. Flack in thought and prayer.
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