El DeBarge facts for kids

Eldra "El" Patrick DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is famous for his amazing voice and for leading the family music group DeBarge.

El DeBarge helped create many popular songs with his family group, including "Time Will Reveal", "Who's Holding Donna Now", "Stay with Me", "All This Love", and "Rhythm of the Night". As a solo artist, he is known for his unique high voice and hit songs like "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always". He has also worked with many other famous artists, such as Dionne Warwick, Al Green, Babyface, and Quincy Jones.

El DeBarge has been nominated for a Grammy Award five times. He is the only member of the DeBarge family to receive Grammy nominations both with the group and as a solo artist. In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine named him one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. They described his voice as "lean and elastic, zooming into falsetto with apparent breath-taking ease."

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

El DeBarge was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was the sixth of many children born to Robert Louis DeBarge Sr. and Etterlene DeBarge. As a child, El sang in his local church choir and played the piano.

Later, his family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he and his family began performing at their uncle's Pentecostal church. When El was 13, his parents divorced. El has both African American and French family roots. He was very close to his oldest brother, Bobby, and learned a lot about singing from him.

By 1975, El wanted to become a professional performer. In 1977, he left high school and started performing with his older brothers in clubs around Michigan. In 1979, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. His oldest sister, Bunny, also joined her brothers in California. In 1980, because their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge were successful with the group Switch, El got a chance to perform for Motown CEO Berry Gordy. Gordy was very impressed and immediately signed the group, then called The DeBarges, to his record label.

Motown helped the group develop their skills. El and his family members also helped write and produce songs for Switch, including their 1980 albums This Is My Dream and Reaching for Tomorrow. El's first professional recording was singing background vocals for Switch's 1979 hit "I Call Your Name." He also helped arrange music for several Switch songs.

Music Career

In 1981, the group released their first album, The DeBarges. The family worked together to write and produce most of the songs. Their next album, All This Love (1982), featured younger brother James and became very popular with songs like "I Like It" and the title track. El continued to produce and arrange all of the group's albums for Motown.

In 1983, DeBarge released In a Special Way, which included the hits "Time Will Reveal" and "Love Me in a Special Way". In 1984, the band became even more famous while touring with Luther Vandross. Even though the group was very successful, there were some disagreements among the family members. Motown wanted El to be the main star of the group, similar to how they promoted Smokey Robinson with The Miracles. By the end of the tour, El was mostly in charge of producing DeBarge's next album, Rhythm of the Night, with less help from his siblings.

Rhythm of the Night became the group's best-selling album ever. The title track became a huge hit, reaching the top five in many countries, including the US and UK. This song became the group's signature song. In late 1985, El appeared on the TV show The Facts of Life and performed his song "You Wear it Well."

In 1986, El left the group to start his solo career. His first solo album, El DeBarge, included the hits "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always". Three years later, in 1989, he released his second album, Gemini, which had two more hits: "Real Love" and "Somebody Loves You."

In 1992, El DeBarge released his third album, In the Storm, which was produced by Maurice White. This album featured a duet with Chanté Moore called "You Know What I Like". Critics noticed that the album had a style similar to Marvin Gaye. El later said that Gaye was a big influence on his music. That same year, El had another hit on the R&B charts with a collaboration with Fourplay on their version of Gaye's "After the Dance". DeBarge's next album, Heart, Mind and Soul (1994), was co-produced with Babyface. It had popular songs like "Slide" and "Where is My Love," which featured Babyface singing with him.

El DeBarge continued to work with other artists, including his brother Chico and rapper DJ Quik. He did not release any new albums between 1994 and 2009. In 2010, he returned to music after 16 years with his album Second Chance. This album followed several successful comeback performances, including one at the 2010 BET Awards. The album had two singles, "Second Chance" and a duet with Faith Evans called "Lay With You." It also earned him three Grammy Award nominations: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album. On February 4, 2022, DeBarge performed a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music from his home, playing keyboards and singing. This concert was part of a celebration for Black History Month.

Discography

Solo albums

• El DeBarge (1986)
• Gemini (1989)
• In the Storm (1992)
• Heart, Mind and Soul (1994)
• Second Chance (2010)

with DeBarge

• The DeBarges (1981)
• All This Love (1982)
• In a Special Way (1983)
• Rhythm of the Night (1985)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart