"This Time I'll Be Sweeter" is a

soul ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballads ...

written by

Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. After writing songs for Sister Sledge and Ben E. King early in his career in a songwriting duo with his girlfriend Gwen Guthrie, Fyre spent some tim ...

(professionally known as Pat Grant) and

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, The Limit and Madonna, among others, and who wrote son ...

. The first release of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the May 1975

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

single release "Love Blind" by

Martha Reeves Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, which scored several major Hot 100 hits such as " Nowhere to Run", "Heat ...

; both sides of Reeves' single were produced by Bert De Coteaux and Tony Silvester who had hired composers Gwen Guthrie and Haras Fyre (a.k.a. Patrick/Pat Grant) as staff writers for the De Coteaux/Silvester company Penumbra Music in 1973. The Martha Reeves version of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was included on Reeves' 1976 album release ''The Rest of My Life''.

Early versions

*De Couteaux and Silvester also produced the version by

Linda Lewis Linda Ann Fredericks (27 September 1950 – 3 May 2023), better known as Linda Lewis, was an English singer, songwriter and musician. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo" (1973) and her version of Betty Everett's "The Shoop Sh ...

on her album '' Not a Little Girl Anymore'' released - also on Arista - in June 1975. Lewis' version - whose chorale consisted of the song's co-writer Gwen Guthrie with

Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...

- was released as the album's lead single in the US. It was later issued in the UK in September 1976 as the follow-up to the hit song " Baby I'm Yours", just missing the UK Top 50, peaking at #51. The track did afford Lewis a hit in Brazil ranking at #65 on that nation's ranking of the Top 100 singles for the year 1976. *"This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was also featured on the 1976 album release by

Marlena Shaw Marlina Burgess (September 22, 1939 – January 19, 2024), professionally known by her stage name Marlena Shaw, was an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and continued to perform until her death. Her music has often been ...

, ''Just a Matter of Time'', a Bert DeCoteaux/Tony Silvester production. Shaw's version of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" has been cited by the song's co-writer Pat Grant/Haras Fyre (also the bassist on several of the song's earliest versions) as being the original version of the song, as Fyre asserts that Shaw's recording of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" dates from 1974. *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

recorded "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" in the 1973-1974 sessions for her 1975 album release '' Feel Like Makin' Love'' with Gwen Guthrie contributing background vocals to the track, which would be held over for release on Flack's 1977 album ''

Blue Lights in the Basement ''Blue Lights in the Basement'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Roberta Flack, released by Atlantic Records on December 13, 1977. A commercial success, it peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming her third top-te ...

''.

Angela Bofill version

"This Time I'll Be Sweeter" had its highest profile incarnation as the debut single for

Angela Bofill Angela Tomasa Bofill (May 2, 1954 – June 13, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter and composer of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, she began her professional career in the mid-1970s and is most known for singles such as " T ...

who recorded "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" for her ''

Angie (Angela Bofill album) ''Angie'' is the debut album by American R&B singer Angela Bofill. It was produced by the GRP Records label heads Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. It was released in 1978 on the GRP label; a digitally remastered version was released on Buddah Re ...

'' album. Bofill's producer,

Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...

, knew of the song due to his being acquainted with its composer Gwen Guthrie who he had frequently utilized as a session singer (Guthrie was a member of the chorale featured on the ''Angie'' album although the chorale is not featured on "This Time I'll Be Sweeter"). Co-released with the ''Angie'' album on 21 November 1978, Bofill's "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" single reached No. 23 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 104 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100's,

bubbling under Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main Billboar ...

chart. A duet version with

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan (born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, and television personality. Prolific in multiple fields of entertainment, she is known for playing dramatic and comedic leading roles in film and television. ...

was released and performed in the 1983 film ''Friends in Love''. A live version of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" is featured on Bofill's 2006 '' Live from Manila'' concert album.

References

{{authority control 1975 songs 1975 singles 1978 debut singles Angela Bofill songs Songs written by Gwen Guthrie Songs written by Haras Fyre 1970s ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Soul ballads