Singer and songwriter Angela Bofill dies at the age of 70

Longtime singer and songwriter Angela Bofill, known for R&B hits such as “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “I Try,” “I’m On Your Side” and “Tonight I Give In,” died on Thursday, June 13, 2024. She was 70 years old.

Although reports of Ms. Bofill’s death were reported years earlier and proved false at the time, manager Rich Engle and members of the Bofill family confirmed her death. She had previously suffered two strokes that had left her weakened but still able to perform. During this time, friends and colleagues in the music industry supported Ms. Bofill as she told the amazing story of her life during the performance of

“The Angela Bofill Experience.” Ongoing complications from Ms. Bofill’s strokes continued to plague the singer – who will be inducted into the Women Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2023.

“It is with heavy hearts that we confirm the loss of Angela Bofill, our mother, grandmother and sweet singer to the music industry and dear friend to many,” said daughter Shauna Bofill-Portuguez. “She loved each of her fans and always read letters and kind messages from those who adored her and continued to support her wonderful legacy in music.”

Born on May 2, 1954, to Cuban and Puerto Rican parents, Ms. Bofill aspired to be a singer. Influenced by the rich Latin culture of her childhood in the Bronx and early schooling in Harlem, Angela sang and sought opportunities to shine on stage. Her friend and exemplary jazz flautist Dave Valentin introduced her to the executives of GRP Records, Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. Grusin and Rosen’s label was then distributed by Arista Records.

Her first album under the Arista/GRP banner, Angie (1978), spawned the Quiet Storm classic “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” and the jazzy/Latin-tinged “Under the Moon and Over the Sky.” Both songs and the project were well received by jazz/R&B radio and she returned to the studio less than a year later. Bofill’s second Arista/GRP album, Angel of The Night (1979), included the title track (an R&B/jazz hit) as well as the stunning ballad and hit single

“I Try” along with “What I Wouldn’t Do (For The Love of You).” Due to good sales and radio airplay of the above recordings on jazz/R&B stations, Ms. Bofill’s success with African-American audiences and the Afro-Latino community was solidified.

After the Grusin/Rosen team parted ways with Arista Records, Bofill found herself for her third project directly under the wing of Arista founder/president and music luminary Clive Davis – who had success with singer Phyllis Hyman, discovered Whitney Houston, and revived the careers of Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Her third album, Something About You (1981), was produced by Narada Michael Walden, who also produced “Holdin’ Out for Love” and the dance hit “Too Tough,” which became Bofill’s first top 5 R&B success, spending 4 weeks at #2 on the dance charts. A follow-up single, “Tonight I Give In,” reached the top 20, and “I’m On Your Side,” from her fourth album, spawned the top 20 R&B hit of the same name.

Bofill recorded two more albums for Arista before moving to Capitol Records in the late 1980s. Angela collaborated with producer Norman Connors on the album “Intuition” (1988) and had success with a remake of Gino Vannelli’s “I Just Wanna Stop,” which reached No. 11 on the R&B charts. Over the next eight years, she recorded three more albums and later worked with the legendary Diana Ross and jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum. On Connors’ album “Eternity” (2000), Ms. Bofill can be heard on “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore.” She also appeared in the stage plays “God Don’t Like Ugly” and “What a Man Wants, What a Man Needs.”

Unable to sing following a second stroke, Ms. Bofill returned to the stage on the advice of her longtime manager, Rich Engel. Since she had no health insurance, a benefit concert, The Angela Bofill Experience, was organized to pay her hospital bills. The event, planned by Engel and supported by New York radio stations Kiss FM and WFAN-FM, took place on March 11, 2006, at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. The show featured a witty and good-humored Bofill recounting her life and career in words while she was backed vocally by singers Maysa Leak, Phil Perry and Melba Moore, who sang her biggest hits and best-known songs. Similar events followed as the music industry rallied around Ms. Bofill and additional help was requested from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

In 2012, Ms. Bofill was profiled and interviewed for the hugely popular TVOne documentary series Unsung. A year later, she was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Angela Bofill was married to Rick Vincent from 1984 to 1994. From this marriage she had a daughter, Shauna. Mrs. Bofill spent her final years in California with Shauna Bofill-Portuguez and her husband Chris Portuguez and their four children. Mrs. Bofill-Portuguez says: “She was loved and spent her final years as a mother and grandmother, being cared for and just having a beautiful life with her family.”

Funeral services will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time at Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church, 475 East I Street, Benicia, CA 94510.