Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose smooth vocals and intimate style made her a defining artist of the 1970s, died Monday at her home surrounded by family. She was 88. Her publicist, Elaine Schock, confirmed the news in a statement. Flack revealed in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, which had taken away her ability to sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her death came just one day after the passing of soul-funk singer Gwen McCrae, who died Sunday at 81. McCrae, best known for hits like \u201cRockin\u2019 Chair\u201d and \u201cFunky Sensation,\u201d was celebrated for her enduring influence on soul and disco music. It also came just days after three-time Grammy nominee and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Butler, a premier soul singer of the 1960s, died at 85.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Butler, known as \u201cIce Man,\u201d had numerous hits including \u201cFor Your Precious Love,\u201d and \u201cMake It Easy on Yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Butler\u2019s niece, Yolanda Goff, told The Associated Press that Butler died of Parkinson\u2019s disease at his home in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roberta Flack: A Life in Music<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, she was raised in Arlington, Virginia, where her musical roots were cultivated at the Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Flack began piano lessons at nine and earned a full scholarship to Howard University at 15. She initially studied piano before switching to voice. She graduated at 19 and later taught music and English in North Carolina after her father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Washington, D.C., Flack balanced teaching with nightclub performances, captivating audiences at local venues like Mr. Henry\u2019s on Capitol Hill. Her breakthrough came when jazz pianist Les McCann discovered her and arranged an audition with Atlantic Records. Her 1969 debut album First Take<\/em> initially received little attention until Clint Eastwood featured her rendition of \u201cThe First Time Ever I Saw Your Face\u201d in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me.<\/em> Released as a single in 1972, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and earned Flack her first Grammy Award for Record of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flack\u2019s success soared with her 1973 recording of \u201cKilling Me Softly with His Song,\u201d<\/em> which became her signature hit. The song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her two Grammys: Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. With the win, Flack became the first artist to earn consecutive Record of the Year awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her partnership with Donny Hathaway produced hits like \u201cWhere Is the Love,\u201d which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. She continued her chart success with \u201cFeel Like Makin\u2019 Love\u201d in 1974, making her the first female vocalist to top the Hot 100 in three consecutive years. Flack\u2019s later collaborations with Peabo Bryson and Maxi Priest yielded popular tracks like \u201cTonight I Celebrate My Love\u201d and \u201cSet the Night to Music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout her career, Flack advocated for artist rights and founded the Roberta Flack School of Music, providing free music education to underprivileged youth. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and performed for Nelson Mandela that same year. Flack is survived by her son, musician Bernard Wright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gwen McCrae: Soul and Disco Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gwen McCrae, celebrated for her rich voice and lasting impact on the disco and soul music scenes, died Sunday at 81. A statement from her official brand account called her passing \u201cmore bad news\u201d for the music world and acknowledged how fans \u201care still jamming to \u2018Rockin\u2019 Chair\u2019 all these years later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born Gwen Mosley in Pensacola, Florida, McCrae began singing in church choirs before meeting George McCrae, whom she married in 1963. The couple performed as a duo and signed with Henry Stone\u2019s Alston label. By 1970, McCrae had achieved early success with \u201cLead Me On.\u201d In 1972, she released \u201cAlways On My Mind,\u201d a song later popularized by artists including Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and the Pet Shop Boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her biggest commercial success came in 1975 with \u201cRockin\u2019 Chair,\u201d<\/em> which topped the R&B chart and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. While the single remains her most widely recognized hit, many fans and DJs remember her for the 1981 club favorite \u201cFunky Sensation,\u201d<\/em> which has endured as a dancefloor staple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McCrae\u2019s career spanned decades, and her other notable songs included \u201cKeep the Fire Burning.\u201d Despite her accomplishments, she often spoke about the lack of recognition and fair compensation for Black artists of her era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After suffering a stroke in 2012 that left her partially paralyzed, McCrae retired from performing. Her daughter, Leah McCrae, carries on the family\u2019s musical legacy as a solo artist and member of the group Daughters of Soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose smooth vocals and intimate style made her a defining artist of the 1970s, died Monday at her home surrounded by family. She was 88. Her publicist, Elaine Schock, confirmed the news in a statement. Flack revealed in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1596,1595,1594],"class_list":["post-2546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-gwen-mccrae","tag-lou-gehrigs-disease","tag-roberta-flack","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2547,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546\/revisions\/2547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}