Angela Bofill: Platinum & Gold Collection

Raised in the Bronx by a white Cuban father and an Afro-Latino Puerto Rican mother, Angela Bofill was born with music in her bones. She was an outstanding student at the Manhattan School of Music, and in her early 20s she won the respect of New York’s premier jazz musicians, including Dave Grusin, who signed her to his label and produced her first two albums. “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “Angel of the Night,” and “I Try” are drawn from those albums, and they remain three of the singer’s finest recordings. After signing with Clive Davis, Bofill cracked the pop market with sassy, simplified dance tunes like “Too Tough” and “Something About You.” Her voice poured forth like a force of nature: part girl next door, part mystical talent. She was never a bombastic diva on par with Chaka Khan or Whitney Houston, but her blend of courage and sensitivity—surely honed over those years of instruction at music school—made “Tonight I Give In,” “Let Me Be the One,” and “I Wanna Love Somebody” enduring R&B ballads.