Roberta Flack to receive lifetime achievement award from NC Music Hall of Fame

Roberta Flack will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in a ceremony that has been postponed to 2021, the organization announced.

A Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and Black Mountain native, Flack is the only solo artist to win Record of the Year for two consecutive years. She was initially inducted into the NCMHOF in 2009.

More recently, Flack was featured in a statewide mural project depicting famous North Carolina musicians in their respective hometowns.

Artist Scott Nurkin said in July that Flack was at the top of his list.

“She is an undeniable power as a performer and songwriter," Nurkin said. "Although everyone knows her hits, her influence on popular music is immeasurable. She is an American treasure and easily one of the greatest talents to ever come out of North Carolina. It would be criminal not to highlight her.”

Flack’s portrait is featured on the side of Black Mountain Brewing in downtown Black Mountain.

Born in Black Mountain in 1937, Flack was raised in Arlington, Virginia, before being awarded a scholarship to Howard University at 15. She later received her two Grammy Awards with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” in 1973 and 1974, respectively.

Earlier this year, she also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to her contributions to music, Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in New York City. The program provides music education for underprivileged students free of charge.