LONDON – Grammy-winning US singer Roberta Flack has died aged 88, her publicist has confirmed.

She was known for songs including ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, originally by Ewan MacColl, and ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, written by Lori Lieberman and Norman Gimbel.

Publicist Elaine Schock told the PA news agency: “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away on Monday.

“She died peacefully surrounded by her family.

Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”

Flack was born on 10 February 1937 in North Carolina, but grew up in Virginia, and started classical piano lessons at the age of nine.

She was awarded a full scholarship to Howard University in Washington aged 15, and was assistant conductor of the university choir for a while before returning to North Carolina following her father’s death in 1959. She returned to the capital a year later.

In 2020, she won a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys. -Nampa/AFP