Unforgettable performer of the song Killing Me Softly and five-time Grammy winner Roberta Flack has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – Lou Gehrig’s disease – the 85-year-old singer’s management said in a statement Monday.
This degenerative disease means that the singer and pianist “can no longer sing and barely speak”. “But it will take a lot more to silence this icon. »
This announcement is made as a documentary on the life and work of Roberta Flack will be presented on Thursday at the Doc NYC festival in New York. Directed by Antonino D’Ambrosio, Roberta can be rented on the festival site until November 27. It will be broadcast on January 24 by PBS.
The singer said that she will still continue her musical and creative activities. She will also launch a children’s book, The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Musicin 2023, the year in which the 50e anniversary of his fourth album, Killing Me solftly.