Angela Bofill
| Angela Bofill | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Angela Tomasa Bofill |
| Born |
May 3, 1954 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | The Bronx, New York |
| Genres | R&B, dance, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | GRP, Arista, Capitol, Jive, Shanachie |
| Website | www |
Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 3, 1954) is an American R&B and jazz singer-songwriter.
Angela Bofill was born to a Cuban father and an Afro Puerto Rican mother. She grew up listening to Latin music and was also inspired by the African-American performers. Her weekends were taken up studying classical music and singing in a city chorus. It was as a teenager that her professional singing began.
She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus before being introduced to Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen of the jazz label GRP Records by Dave Valentin, her friend and jazz flautist. Grusin and Rosen signed Bofill and produced her first album, Angie, in 1978. Angie was well received both critically and commercially and included the chart single "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" (co-written by Gwen Guthrie), and Bofill's sprawling jazz composition, "Under the Moon and Over the Sky".
Less than a year later, a second album, Angel of the Night was released and outperformed its predecessor. The album included the chart singles "What I Wouldn't Do (For the Love of You)" and the up tempo title track, as well as the song "I Try", written by Bofill and covered by Will Downing in 1991. The reception of these albums positioned Bofill as one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B and jazz markets.
Clive Davis, the head of Arista Records, showed interest in Bofill. Arista had a distribution deal with GRP. Bofill switched labels for her next album, Something About You (1981). Produced by Narada Michael Walden, the album was an attempt to move Bofill into mainstream R&B and pop music. It didn't perform as well as previous releases, despite the singles "Holdin' Out for Love" and the title track, which both reached the R&B Top 40.
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