Angela Bofill, ‘I Try’ Singer, Dies at 70 ArticlePure

R&B singer Angela Bofill has died. She was 70 years old.

On Friday, June 14, a rep for the performer, whose hits include “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter,” “I Try,” and “Angel of the Night,” told PEOPLE she died Thursday morning at her daughter’s home in Vallejo, Calif.

News of her death was also shared on the artist’s personal Facebook account in two separate posts on Friday. 

“ON BEHALF OF MY DEAR FRIEND ANGIE, I AM SADDENED TO ANNOUNCE HER PASSING ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 13TH,” the first post read, adding that her funeral will be held at St. Dominick’s Church in California on June 28 at 1 p.m.

A second update added, “JUST TO CLEAR UP THE CONFUSION. ON BEHALF OF SHAUNA BOFILL, HUSBAND CHRIS PORTUGUESE, WE ARE SADDENED BUT MUST REPORT THAT THE PASSING OF ANGELA YESTERDAY IS INDEED TRUE. WE THANK MELBA MOORE AND MAYSA FOR THEIR EARLY CONDOLENCES. THANKs FOR YOUR MANY POST.”

The message was signed by her friend and manager, Rich Engel. 

In a December 2020 interview with Essence magazine, Bofill opened up about her life and career after rumors of her death had circulated online just months berfore. 

Laughing at the time, the “I’m on Your Side” singer said she found out about the death hoax after she received “a lot of calls confirming [if] it’s true.” 

“Friends calling up, ‘Oh my God, am I talking to the ghost of Angela Bofill?’ Thank God it’s not true,” she told the outlet. 

When asked how it felt to see the tributes pouring in, she replied, “You always must welcome love.” 

“I figured, ‘They really like me!’ [I’m just] laughing at it, really. It’s better to have a sense of humor,” the performer continued.

She added that she had a will to live in order to see her grandchildren graduate from high school and college.

Rumors of Bofill’s death in 2020 followed previous health complications after the singer had two strokes in 2006 and 2007.  

Speaking to The Denver Post in 2011 after a five-year hiatus to focus on her health, Bofill said she was happy to be back. 

“I feel happy performing again,” Bofill says. “I need crowd. In the blood, entertain. Any time a crowd comes to see me, I’m surprised. No sing no more and still people come. Wow. Impressed,” she told the publication. 

Engel also spoke with the Post at the time, recalling Bofill’s career during the 1970s and ‘80s.

“She had a rare voice,” he said of his client and friend. “She could hit low notes and could hit high C. Her pitch was perfect.”

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While discussing complications from her stroke, such as learning to walk again and her voice not being quite the same, Bofill still remained positive. 

“But my voice no sing. I rather not sing. Awful. Crack me up! Funny! I laugh about it. But very grateful — still living. Never take things for granted,” she said.

Bowfill began recording in her teens and released her first studio album, Angie, in 1978. She continued recording new albums into the 1990s. Some of her other hit singles include “Something About You,” “I’m on Your Side,” “Let Me Be the One,” and “I Just Wanna Stop.”