Roberta Flack is known for her hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly, which was famously covered by the Fugees
(Picture: Matt Licari/Invision/AP)Roberta Flack is unable to sing after being diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neurone disease.
The Grammy Award winner’s manager Suzanne Koga revealed the devastating news in a statement on Monday.
She said the progressive disease had “made it impossible [for Flack] to sing and not easy to speak”.
“But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon,” Koga said. She added that Flack “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits”.
There is no known cure for ALS, which is caused by the death of the nerves that carry messages from the brain to people’s muscles. It affects their ability to move, talk and even breathe.
The announcement about Flack’s condition comes before the premiere of Roberta, a feature-length documentary about the 85-year-old’s life at the DOC NYC film festival on Thursday. Flack also plans to publish a children’s book in January.
She is known for her hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly, which was famously covered by the Fugees.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of her fourth album Killing Me Softly, which was released in 1973.
After the acclaimed singer suffered a stroke in 2016, she told the Associated Press that she wanted her songs to be remembered as “classics” and not just an “old hit”.
“I could sing any number of songs that I’ve recorded through the years, easily, I could sing them, but I’m going to pick those songs that move me,” Flack said.
“Now that’s hard to do. To be moved, to be moved constantly by your own songs.”
Flack has won four Grammy awards and received 14 nominations during her distinguished career.
