Roberta Flack has ALS and can no longer sing, officials say

Grammy Award-winning singer Roberta Flack, whose work has been described as “intoxicating, mesmerizing mood music” on such classics as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” announced today through a representative announced that she has ALS and can no longer sing.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive disease that celebrities such as Stephen Hawking, Lou Gehrig and Charles Mingus have battled. ALS “made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” his publicists said in a statement obtained by multiple outlets today. “But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon.”

The statement continued: “Miss Flack intends to remain active in her musical and creative pursuits.” In fact, she has a children’s book out next year.

Flack, 85, became the first artist to win the Grammy for Record of the Year in two consecutive years. She won for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973 and for “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1974. Both also won Song of the Year and are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. She has four career Grammys from 14 nominations.

A few years after singing with Atlantic, Flack’s records did not sell well. Clint Eastwood then chose “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for the soundtrack of his directorial debut Play Misty for me (in which Eastwood played a Monterey Bay disc jockey). The song became the biggest hit of 1972, spending six consecutive weeks at number one and earning Flack a gold record.

“Killing Me Softly with His Song” spent five non-consecutive weeks at no. 1 in 1973 and was the biggest single of the year. It appeared on the CD of the same name, Kill me softlywhich became Flack’s best-selling album and eventually went double platinum.

The Fugees released their own version of the song titled “Killing Me Softly” on their 1996 debut album. Featuring Lauryn Hill on vocals, the group’s recording became an international hit and topped the US Billboard Hot 100.

Flack’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” reached No. 1 in 1974, and her duet with Donny Hathaway, “The Closer I Get to You,” stayed at No. 2 for two weeks in 1978. Her other Top 10 single was a 1991 cover of Starship’s “Set the Night to Music” with Maxi Priest.

In 2018, Flack was performing at a benefit at the Apollo Theater when she became ill and left the stage. She was taken to Harlen Hospital Center. Her manager later revealed that Flack had suffered a stroke years earlier and was still not feeling well, but was “doing well” and was being kept overnight for observation.

Since at least 2017, Flack has often performed in a wheelchair.

Roberta, a documentary about Flack’s life, premieres Thursday on DOCNYC. It will air on PBS American Masters on January 24.