Roberta Flack Diagnosed With ALS, Unable to Sing

Roberta Flack Diagnosed With ALS, Unable to Sing,Roberta Flack, the legendary singer behind 'The First Time I Ever saw Your Face' and 'Killing Me Softly With His Song,' can no longer sing. Flack, 85, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gherig's disease, her representative announced Monday. The disease has also made it difficult for Flack [...]

Roberta Flack Diagnosed With ALS, Unable to Sing

Roberta Flack, the legendary singer behind “The First Time I Ever saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” can no longer sing. Flack, 85, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gherig’s disease, her representative announced Monday. The disease has also made it difficult for Flack to speak.

ALS has made it “impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” her spokesperson announced, reports NPR. “Miss Flack plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits,” the statement continued. “Her fortitude and joyful embrace of music that lifted her from modest circumstances to the international spotlight remain vibrant and inspired.”

The news comes just before Roberta, a new documentary by filmmaker Antonio D’Ambrosio about Flack, debuts at the DOC NYC Film Festival on Thursday. It will air on PBS in January as part of the American Masters series. Flack also co-wrote The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, a children’s book inspired by her childhood that will be published in January.

“I have long dreamed of telling my story to children about that first green piano that my father got for me from the junkyard in the hope that they would be inspired to reach for their dreams,” Flack said in a statement about her new book. “I want them to know that dreams can come true with persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and most of all belief in yourself.”

Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of her album Killing Me Softly. The 1973 album was nominated for the Grammy Album of the Year and includes the iconic title song written by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel, and Lori Lieberman. Flack’s recording of the song reached the top of the charts and won the Grammy for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2020, the Recording Academy also honored Flack with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Killing Me Softly will be re-released in 2023.

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Flack has faced medical issues in the past. In 2016, she suffered a stroke. Two years later, she was rushed to the hospital after she fell ill while performing at the Appollo Theater during a concert for the Jazz Foundation of America. In February, Flack told PEOPLE she had high hopes to perform for fans again.

Flack, who was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, began her career in the late 1960s. She released her first album, First Take, in 1969. Her other hit songs include “The Closer I Get To You,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Where is the Love,” “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” and “Oasis.”