10 astonishing facts about late American singer Roberta Flack

By Kudirat Adewale

American singer Roberta Flack, aka Rubina Flake, was one of the greatest soul singers and pianists of all time. She died on Monday February 24 in New York. She was aged 88.

Here are ten astonishing facts about her.

1. Roberta Flack was born on February 10 1937 in the Black Mountain, North Carolina, United States.

2. She was known for her emotive, genre blending ballads, jazz, soul and R&B music.

3. Some of her successes included appearing in the singles billboard Hot 100 chart. The singles are “the first time ever I saw you”, killing me softly with his song” and “feel like making love.

4. She was the first known artiste to win the Grammy Award for ‘Record of the year’ for consecutive years.

5. She also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

6. She recorded several hits such as “Killing Me Softly,” “Tonight I Celebrate Love.”

7. She did duets with Donny Hathaway to produce hits such as “Where is the Love” and “The Closer I Get To You”.

8. She also did duets with Peabo Bryson (Tonight I Celebrate Love,1983) and Maxi Priest (Set The Night To Music).

9. Roberta Flack lived a great life and derived so much strength from music. She was also very active in the music industry.

10. She interpreted works of other songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and the members of The Beatles.