Roberta Flack, Grammy-winning singer with DC roots, dies at 88

Honoring Roberta Flack: The DC pub that launched a legend
Legendary and multi-Award-winning singer and pianist, Roberta Flack has died at age 88. Best known for her soulful ballads like "Killing Me Softly With His Song," she was raised in Arlington Virginia, and got her musical start right here in D.C. FOX 5's Gwen Tolbart has the story.
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist best known for her popular song "Killing Me Softly with His Song," has died. She was 88.
Flack died at home surrounded by her family, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.
In 2022, the entertainer announced she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and could no longer sing.
Roberta Flack's DC, Virginia ties
The legendary singer was born in 1937 near Asheville, North Carolina, but her musical roots took hold in Arlington, Virginia.
At just 5 years old, she moved to the Green Valley neighborhood — formerly known as Nauck — where she began playing piano and organ at the age of nine. She showcased her talent at local churches, including Macedonia Baptist Church and Lomax AME Zion, setting the foundation for a remarkable career.
She also attended Hoffman-Boston High School, then the only school available for African American students in Arlington.
Roberta Flack's career
The backstory:
Flack was a classically trained pianist discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann while singing at a D.C. nightclub. She received a music scholarship at age 15 to attend Howard University.
She graduated from Howard in 1958 with her Bachelor's in Music Education.
Flack’s musical journey flourished in Washington, D.C., where she balanced a career as a teacher at Rabaut and Brown junior high schools while pursuing her passion for performance.
By night, she took the stage at venues like the Tivoli Theater and Mr. Henry’s. At the Tivoli, she accompanied opera singers as a pianist, but her defining moment came with an unexpected rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock" at Mr. Henry’s — an experience she later described as her "cue that people would listen to [her] as a singer."
Recognizing her undeniable talent, Henry Yaffe, the owner of Mr. Henry, became one of her earliest supporters.

Flack became an overnight star after Clint Eastwood used "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" as the soundtrack for his 1971 film "Play Misty for Me."
The Associated Press reported the song topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year. In 1973, Flack matched both achievements with "Killing Me Softly," becoming the first artist to win consecutive Grammys for best record.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Arlington Public Librar and the Associated Press, which obtained a statement from Roberta Flack's publicist confirming the entertainer's death. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.