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00:00She became one of America's most influential singers with hits such as this.
00:12Born in North Carolina, Roberta Flack started out as a classical pianist.
00:17After graduating with a degree in music education, her recording career began after musician
00:22Les McCann spotted her singing at a club in Washington, D.C.
00:26McCann helped her clinch an audition at Atlantic Studios.
00:30Her debut record, First Take, came soon after, in 1969.
00:35Combining elements of genres including jazz and soul, it included the ballad The First
00:39Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
00:48By featuring the song in his 1971 film, Play Misty for Me, actor-director Clint Eastwood
00:54helped her propel it to number one.
00:57In the years that followed, Flack swept up a string of awards at the Grammys, including
01:01in 1973 for her collaboration with Donny Hathaway on Where Is The Love?
01:07The musician was also presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
01:12Civil rights, racism and sexism were among the themes Flack explored in her music.
01:19In 1999, she performed for the late South African President Nelson Mandela.
01:23That same year, she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
01:28She died on Monday at the age of 88.
01:32Flack's death comes after several years of health struggles, including a diagnosis of
01:35motor neurone disease that she announced in 2022.