It has been revealed that Roberta Flack has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and is no longer able to sing.
As The Guardian reports, Flack’s manager, Suzanne Koga, has stated that the progressive disease “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak” for the 85-year-old singer and pianist.
However, the Grammy-winning artist, known for classics such as Killing Me Softly With His Song and The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits.”
“It will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon,” Koga said.
The announcement arrives ahead of documentary Roberta, which will premiere this week as part of the Doc NYC Film Festival, the country’s largest festival of its kind. The film will receive a wider release in 2023.
Also next year, Flack will release children’s book The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, which “recounts her childhood in a home surrounded by music and love: it all started with a beat-up piano that her father found in a junkyard, repaired, and painted green”. Scheduled for release on Jan 10, the book was co-written by acclaimed author Tonya Bolden.
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“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.
“I want them to know that dreams can come true with persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and most of all belief in yourself.”
2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of Flack’s landmark Killing Me Softly album.
