(RepublicanJournal.org) – Singer Angela Bofill, who had several entries on the US R&B chart in the 1980s, has died. Bofill had been suffering from health problems since 2006, which brought an end to her musical career.
Angela Tomasa Bofill was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on May 2, 1954. Her parents were both immigrants; her father was Cuban and her mother came from Puerto Rico. Growing up in the Bronx, Bofill absorbed a wide range of musical styles. She was a fan of Latin music, but also picked up influences from black musicians and spent her weekends studying classical music and singing in NYC’s All City Chorus, which featured the best singers from all the city’s high schools. After graduating from the highly academic Hunter College High School in 1972, she went on to the Manhattan School of Music and earned her Bachelor of Music degree in 1976.
Bofill was already a professional musician by the time she graduated; she sang at the Dance Theater of Harlem, as well as with a group. Then, in 1978, she was signed by GRP records and produced her first album, “Angie.” One track from this, a cover of Pat Grant’s “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” narrowly missed a Top 100 spot in the US singles chart but made it to No. 23 in the R&B chart.
Between 1978 and 1996 Bofill went on to release a total of ten studio albums. In 1984 she married country singer Rick Vincent; they had one daughter, Shauna, before divorcing in 1994. After her last studio album, 1996’s “Love in Slow Motion,” Bofill continued touring and released several more compilation albums.
Then, in 2006, as she was planning to relaunch her career, she suffered a serious stroke. A second stroke in 2007 left her unable to sing, bringing her musical career to an end. However, five years later she was back on stage, telling her story to packed theaters.
On June 13 Bofill died at her daughter’s Vallejo, California home. She was 70.
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