Eldra "El"Patrick DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of thefamily groupDeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include "Time Will Reveal", "Who's Holding Donna Now", "Stay with Me", "All This Love", and "Rhythm of the Night". As asolo artist, he is best known for his unique hightenor register, strong falsetto and hits like "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always". He has alsocollaborated with artists such asDionne Warwick,Al Green,Lalah Hathaway,Tone Loc,Babyface,Faith Evans,Quincy Jones,Fourplay, andDJ Quik.^[1]

DeBarge is a five-timeGrammy Award nominee.^[2] Eldra remains the only member of the DeBarges to have Grammy nominations both outside of the group and in the family. In 2023,Rolling Stone included Eldra on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. It described his voice as "lean and elastic, zooming into falsetto with apparent breath-taking ease. The ribbons of notes he lets loose during the finish of the group's 'All This Love' are like caramel; nearly three decades later, he sang the solo 'Second Chance' with such lithe grace that when his voice broke a little at the end, it took the listener with it."^[3]

A native ofDetroit,Michigan, Eldra was the sixth of the children born to Robert Louis DeBarge Sr. (July 9, 1932 – August 30, 2009) andEtterlene DeBargenée Abney (October 13, 1935 – February 16, 2024).^[4][5] According to Etterlene, Robert was "insanely jealous" and "an extremely abusive father."^[6] His parents divorced when DeBarge was 13. DeBarge sang in his localchurch choir and played piano as a child. Later, after his family moved toGrand Rapids, Michigan, he and the rest of his family began performing at their uncle'sPentecostal church. DeBarge is of African-American and French descent.^[7]

Growing up, he was closest to his eldest brotherBobby and began imitating his brother's vocal styling. For several years, DeBarge spent time inprivate study with music educator Ricky Callier. By 1975, he had begun to express a desire to become a performer. He became a father for the first time at 16 and eventually fathered eleven more children. In 1977, he dropped out of high school and began performing with his elder brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan.^[8]

In 1979, Bernd Lichters was able to secure a deal with Source Records/MCA to release the Pall Mall Groove – Hot Ice album as SMASH for the USA/Canada market and moved Eldra from Michigan toLos Angeles, to have him, his brothers Mark and Randy DeBarge, in addition to their cousin Andre Abney, Elliot Townsend, and Stanley Hood, to back up the release as the SMASH band. His eldest sisterBunny joined her brothers in California. In 1980, because of the success of their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge with the hit groupSwitch, Eldra was able to perform live at the piano and sing in front ofMotown CEOBerry Gordy, who immediately signed the group, then known asThe DeBarges, to the label.^[9]

Motownmentored them, and members later worked with and contributed songwriting, arrangements, and production to the recordings of Switch, among them the 1980 albumsThis Is My Dream andReaching for Tomorrow. Eldra's first professional recording was asbackground vocalist to Switch's 1979 hit "I Call Your Name". He later helped to arrange music for several Switch songs including "Love Over and Over Again" and "My Friend in the Sky", which he, Bunny, and Bobby wrote. This song would later be sampled by the likes ofQueen Pen andRaheem DeVaughn.^[9]

In 1981,The DeBarges was released after the family had worked in the studio for a year recording it. The album was noted for most of its songs produced and written by all four family members including Bobby DeBarge, who helped end the album track "Queen of My Heart" after DeBarge had led the song for most of its tenure. The following album, 1982'sAll This Love, featured younger brotherJames and saw much success with the compositions "I Like It" andthe title track. Eldra would remain the producer and arranger for all of the group's Motown albums.

In 1983, DeBarge releasedIn a Special Way, which spawned the hits "Time Will Reveal" and "Love Me in a Special Way", and in 1984, the band became a sensation while touring forLuther Vandross on the singer'sBusy Body tour. Though the group enjoyed much success and appeared to be a family unit, there were growing tensions between Eldra and his brothers, mainly because of Motown's push to have him to become the only noted star of the group, repeating a pattern that began withSmokey Robinson andThe Miracles. By the end of the tour, Eldra was mainly called to handle the production of DeBarge's next album,Rhythm of the Night, without much help from his siblings. The DeBarge family had one more album,Bad Boys, although Eldra and Bunny were not on the album.

Rhythm of the Night became the group's best-selling album ever, although some contended that Eldra was the only member present on the album with the exception of thetitle track, which became a top five hit in several countries including the US and UK becoming the group'ssignature song. In late 1985, he appeared onThe Facts of Life in the Season 7 episode "Doo-Wah" as himself and performed his single "You Wear it Well" withLisa Whelchel,Kim Fields,Mindy Cohn, andNancy McKeon singing backup. In 1986, Eldra left the group and began his solo career with the release of hisself-titled debut album, which spawned the hits "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always". Three years passed, however, until DeBarge released his second album,Gemini in 1989. The album had two hits, "Real Love" and "Somebody Loves You". DeBarge's contract with Motown was terminated in 1990, and he signed withWarner Bros. In the meantime, DeBarge was featured on theQuincy Jones single "The Secret Garden", alongsideAl B. Sure!,James Ingram, andBarry White, released in 1990.

In 1992, DeBarge released his third album, theMaurice White-producedIn the Storm, which featured theChanté Moore duet "You Know What I Like", which was Moore's first professional recording. Critics noted the album for itsMarvin Gaye-styled productions. Eldra later admitted that Gaye was a huge influence on his musical style and once commented that he had initially written "All This Love" as a song he imagined Gaye doing; he even imitated Gaye's ad-libs during hisI Want You era near the end. That same year, Eldra had chart success on the R&B charts with a collaboration withFourplay on their version of Gaye's "After the Dance". DeBarge's next album, 1994'sHeart, Mind and Soul, co-produced withBabyface, yielded modest charted singles such as "Slide" and "Where is My Love" which featured Babyface on duet vocals.

While DeBarge continued to collaborate on other artists' projects, including those of his brotherChico and rapperDJ Quik with whom El collaborated on Quik's hit "Hand in Hand", he did not release any more albums between 1994 and 2009. In 2010, he finally emerged from a 16-year hiatus with the appropriately titledSecond Chance, released after a series of comeback performances and appearances, including a well received performance at the 2010BET Awards.^[10] The album yielded two singles, "Second Chance" and theFaith Evans duet "Lay With You", and later resulted in threeGrammy Award nominations:Best Male R&B Vocal Performance,Best R&B Song andBest R&B Album.^[2] On February 4, 2022, DeBarge performed aTiny Desk Concert forNPR Music at his home, playing keyboards and singing. The concert was part of a celebration ofBlack History Month.^[11]

DeBarge served 13 months of his two-year prison sentence in 2008 for drug-related convictions.^[12][13] In February 2011, while promoting his 2010 albumSecond Chance, DeBarge's label announced that the singer was canceling all public dates and appearances as he went back to rehab following a relapse.^[14] He has 12 children by different women.^[15][16]

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)

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

• El DeBarge atIMDb
• El DeBarge discography atDiscogs

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