Singer Angela Bofill died June 13th aged 70 at her daughter’s home in Vallejo, California. The announcement was made on her Facebook page by her manager Rich Engel and no cause of death was listed. Bofill was born in  Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in a Bronx household with parents who had sung with Afro-Cuban jazz great Machito. The exposure to Latin music and soul shaped her versatility as an artist. As a teenager, she sang in New York City’s All City Chorus of top singers from the five boroughs’ high schools.  She graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a bachelor’s degree in music and started her career in the late ’70s with GRP Records. Her 1978 debut album, Angie, introduced the world to her 3 1/2 octaves of uniquely rich and soulful vocals. Her cover of “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” was her first single and it was an R&B hit. Angel Of The Night was her second album and “I Try” which she composed as a teenager, charted and became one of her signature songs. “What I Wouldn’t Do (For The Love Of You)” was another hit song from this album. The Cuban-Puerto Rican singer was one of the first Latinas to have a fanbase from R&B and jazz audiences. Clive Davis signed Bofill to Arista and during this time “Tonight I Give In,” “Too Tough,” “Let Me Be The One” and “I’m On You Side” were some of her commercial singles. Narada Michael Walden, The System, George Duke, and Denny Diante produced her albums for Arista. The record company never knew how to market her but she still found her audience and critical acclaim. 

Bofill’s most consistent radio presence came from jazz outlets and Quiet Storm shows where album cuts like “Under the Moon and Over the Sky” “The Feelins Love,” and “Rough Times” were played in addition to “I Try.” She recorded five albums for Arista before going to Capitol Records and releasing the Norman Connors-produced Intuition in 1988. I Wanna Love Somebody came out on Jive and her last album Love In Slow Motion was a Shanachie release. In the early 2000s, she did backup vocals for Diana Ross and Kirk Whalum. She also appeared in the stage plays God Don’t Like Ugly and What a Man Wants, What a Man Needs. In 2006 Bofill had a stroke and in 2007 she had another one. In 2011 she returned to the stage with The Angela Bofill Experience, narrating her life story as Maysa Leak, Melba Moore, and Phil Perry performed her music. TV One made her the subject of an episode of Unsung in 2012. Nas, Big Sean, and Rick Ross are some of the artists who have sampled Bofill’s music. Will Downing covered “I Try” for his 1991 album A Dream Fulfilled. Bofill was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2023. 

[youtube]0RlxF7LxRtc[/youtube]

Angela Bofill started her professional singing career as a teenager in New York’s All City Voices and The Dance Theater Of Harlem. She would later meet Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen of GRP Records who would release her first album Angie in 1978. The album was successful on the jazz charts and “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” was the single to give her an identity point with the public. “Under The Moon And Over The Sky” comes from this debut that was playable from beginning to end. Bofill would follow her first project up with the even stronger Angel Of The Night. “I Try,” which would later be covered by Will Downing, is on this tracklist enhanced by some of music’s most essential talents. With a personnel including such stars as Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie and Eric Gale among others, Angel would be another collection best enjoyed by giving it a whole listen at once instead of digesting individual songs. Clive Davis bought her GRP contract, signed her to Arista and had Narada Michael Walden produce her third album Something About You. The results produced songs like “Break It To Me Gently” and “Holding Out For Love” that asserted her voice more with the R&B crowd leaving her jazz fans behind. Too Tough was her 1983 release and become her most commercially fruitful album. “Too Tough” the single and “Tonight I Give In” were radio hot and validated her unusual presence as a Latin singer on the soul charts. Of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, she would be one of the first Latin singers to do well with R&B fans. Teaser came out in the later part of ’83 back when R&B artists could record and release music before farmers could get organic certification for their soil. “I’m On Your Side” was a hit for her and became one for Jennifer Holiday when she covered it in 1991. Arista would soon have her working with The System and Let Me Be The One had a tepid chart reception despite favor in the community. She would record a last album Tell Me Tomorrow for Arista in 1985 before taking a three-year break. When she returned to her career she signed with Capitol and did the album Intuition produced by Norman Connors. Although it was not her very best work fans believed that Capitol should have treated the project as her pinnacle of the ’80s. Bofill released three more albums notably the Live From Manila CD recorded in 2004 and released in 2006. Manila is her first live recording the last one before she had two strokes in 2006 and 2007. Bofill has been recuperating and the proceeds from the Manila album and some benefit concerts have helped pay for her medical expenses. She has hopes to return to singing again has been practicing but even if she does not her legacy has already made her an unforgettable vocalist with solid fanbase.

As most SoulTrackers know, longtime soul music great Angela Bofill suffered a stroke in early 2006. Later that year she received the SoulTracks Lifetime Achievement Award and appeared to be on her way to recovery. Unfortunately, on July 10, 2007, Angie suffered another massive stroke and was in critical condition for quite awhile. Her fans continued their prayers for her and benefit concerts were held to help Angela (who was ininsured) pay for treatments and physical therapy.
Continue reading