NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Roberta Flack, one of the world’s most recognizable voices, revealed that she’s been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and the malady has made it difficult for her to talk and impossible for her to sing.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. There is no known cure for the disease, which is often called often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famed New York Yankee who was diagnosed with it in 1939.
Flack, who is the first artist to win back-to-back Grammys for Record of the Year in 1973 and 1974, is known for her numerous hits such as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, among numerous others.
Her life and music are the subject of an upcoming feature-length documentary, “Roberta” which will make its premiere at in competition at DOCNYC, the nation’s largest documentary film festival, at the SVA Theatre at Manhattan’s School of the Visual Arts, followed by a Q&A with its director Antonino D’Ambrosio.
The film will examine Flack’s lyrical and thematic choices as well as her influences, with commentary from contemporary artists whom she has inspired.
The film was made by director Antonino D’Ambrosio, who has written books about other musical icons, including Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer.
The documentary will be available for streaming on the festival’s website from November 18 to 27. It will be available to the general public on television on January 24, 2023 as part of the prestigious PBS “American Masters” series.
