Comment R&B singer Roberta Flack has been diagnosed with ALS, her manager announced this week, and the disease has “made it impossible for her to sing.” Flack had three hits topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1970s. Her first was “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1972, followed by “Killing Me Softly With His Song” the following year, according to Billboard. 1974’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” closed that streak. I am a scientist who studies brain diseases. Now I’m closeted, living with one of them: Lou Gehrig’s disease. She won four Grammy Awards out of her 14 nominations, according to the Recording Academy’s website. She won the Record of the Year award two years in a row, in 1973 and 1974. She was the first performer to win the award back-to-back, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. “Killing Me Softly With His Song” returned to the music scene when the Fugees covered the song. Their version won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1997. The National Trustees of the Recording Academy presented Flack with the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Flack was a major voice for Quiet Storm, which was a radio format started in DC that played smooth R&B geared toward black listeners. He attended Howard University at age 15 on a music scholarship, according to a Howard alumni website. The news of the ALS diagnosis drew the love of fans online. I’ve just* been reading through Roberta Flack’s catalog and have a few of her albums on vinyl, but I don’t think she gets the credit she deserves at all. He’s been a force for a long time,” one fan tweeted. I’ve just been reading Roberta Flack’s catalog and have a few of her albums on vinyl, but I don’t think she gets the credit she deserves at all. It has been a force for a long time. — William C. (@williamcson) November 14, 2022 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, causes nerve cells to slow down and die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The lack of functional nerve cells robs people of the ability to activate certain muscles, including the muscles around the lungs and mouth along with the vocal cords themselves, according to the ALS Association. Like most non-communicable diseases, ALS cases go unreported to federal health officials, so the CDC conducts surveys to study its prevalence. The latest research was published in 2017 and found that there were between nearly 18,000 and 31,000 cases of ALS in the United States. What you need to know about the new ALS drug The announcement from Flack’s manager included details about a documentary called “Roberta” that will premiere Thursday at the DOC NYC film festival at the SVA Theater in Manhattan. “Flack plans to remain active in her musical and creative pursuits,” her manager wrote. Flack has her own foundation that educates and mentors girls. Subscribe to the Well+Being newsletter, your source of expert advice and simple tips to help you live well every day