We have heard the last of Roberta Flack’s singing voice. The legendary singer and musician has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and is no longer able to sing, according to Associated Press.
Suzanne Koga, the representative for the Grammy-winning artist, shared with the Associated Press that the disease “has made it impossible for Flack to sing and not easy to speak.“ But she also stated, “it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon.”
Koga made it clear that Flack, “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits” through her Roberta Flack Foundation and other creative endeavors she plans on pursuing.
This is sad news not only because we won’t ever be able to hear the voice of one of the most iconic and legendary singers of all time, but her health is also in question, which is scary news.
She previously suffered a stroke in 2016.
This announcement also comes just ahead of the premiere of the full-length documentary, Roberta, which debuts this Thursday at the DOCNYC film festival and is about the life and career of the Killing Me Softly artist. The film will air in January 2023 as a part of PBS’ American Masters series.
In the 1970s, she was one of the premiere artists in R&B, with two Grammy wins in 1974 for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance for her landmark record “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” The song has inspired countless other artists, most notably the Fugees, who remixed the song in 1996.
While she’s mostly known for her fourth album, Killing Me Softly, she has a multitude of other exceptional albums that she’s created including First Take, Roberta FLack & Donny Hathaway, Feel Like Makin’ Love and Born To Love.
While music fans as a whole should be sad we won’t be able to hear Flack sing in the near future, we should be more focused on her health and safety.