American music icon Roberta Flack died on Monday at the age of 88. The information was confirmed earlier in the day to the American press by the singer and pianist's spokeswoman, Elaine Schock.

"We are devastated that the glorious Roberta Flack died this morning. She died peacefully and surrounded by her family," reads a statement.

Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born in North Carolina, USA, and developed a taste for music attending church, where her mother was an organist. She started playing the piano at the age of 9, studied music and graduated from the University of Washington, working as a teacher and conductor.

The note recalls that Roberta Flack, who is considered one of the greatest soul and R&B artists of all time, "broke barriers and records" and "was also a proud educator".

In the 1960s, he switched from classical music to soul and R&B and released his first album, "First take", in 1969.

Success came at the beginning of the following decade, when she became the first artist to win Grammys two years in a row, one of which was for "Killing me softly with his song". In 1971 she was named Female Vocalist of the Year by DownBeat magazine.