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Roberta Flack, ’70s R&B Vocalist Known for ‘Killing Me Softly,’ Dies at 88
Roberta Flack, best known for her '70s hits 'Killing Me Softly' (later covered by the Fugees) and 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,' has died.
Legendary pop/R&B vocalist Roberta Flack, who was launched to stardom in the early ’70s by the Grammy-winning hits “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” has died, according to a statement from her rep. No cause of death was cited; she was 88. However, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” — a ballad composed by English folksinger Ewan MacColl and cut by the American folk-pop act the Kingston Trio in 1962 — supplied popular liftoff for Flack after Eastwood used it behind a love scene in his thriller “Play Misty for Me.” Flack reached the height of her popularity among both the public and her peers with “Killing Me Softly.” Penned by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, the number was inspired by singer Lori Lieberman’s reaction to a performance by pop folkie Don McLean.
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