Historical Spotlight: El DeBarge
Some voices are so iconic that you can immediately identify them no matter how much time has passed since you last heard them. Legends like Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Prince, and others have impacted Black American culture with their distinct voices and timeless songs. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on El DeBarge. another voice that has withstood the test of time.
El, whose real name is Eldra, was born on June 4, 1961 in Detroit, Michigan to his parents Robert Sr. and Etterlene DeBarge. He was his parent’s sixth child and his mother, who was a famed Gospel singer, had an influential role in his musical career. He grew up seeing her express herself musically and was able to witness a successful artist.
Unfortunately, his parents divorced when he was just 13 years old. His father, who was a white American soldier of French and English descent, was physically, emotionally, and even sexually abusive to his Black wife and kids. He took advantage of Etterlene’s youth, the fact that her father died when she was only 16 years old, and her frequent pregnancies in order to control her. He was described as domineering, jealous, and was accused of sexually abusing several of his kids, including his oldest daughter, Bunny.
Of course, his parents’ separation took a toll on him and his siblings. Despite his father’s wrongdoings and shortcomings, it’s rough being a child and seeing your family split up. El sang in his local church choir and played piano as a reprieve from the hectic situation at home.
His family moved from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be closer to his extended family. Eventually, he and his siblings Bunny, Marty, Randy, and James started performing at their uncle’s Pentecostal church. His younger siblings Chico, Young, and Carol also took up singing, but were too young to join the family group, notoriously named DeBarge.
As a child, he was closest to his oldest brother Bobby and used him as inspiration for his vocal styling. For years, El had private sessions with a music teacher named Ricky Callier. By the time he was 14 years old, he knew he wanted to become a performer.
Betting on himself, he dropped out of high school when he was 16 and put his all into performing with his older brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan. He also became a father for the first time at just 16 when he welcomed his daughter Adris DeBarge into the world. In total, El had 12 children and was married and divorced three different times.
In 1979, El and his brothers Mark and Randy joined the SMASH band and moved to Los Angeles. During his first taste as a performer, he was mentored by the Motown group, Switch, which included his older brothers Tommy and Bobby. Eventually, his sister Bunny joined as well, providing the only female vocals in the group.
Due to their combined success, El was able to perform the piano and sing for CEO of Motown, Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the group to the label. For a year, the group worked with members of Switch by adding background vocals, instrumentation, arrangements, production, and songwriting. His very first professional recording was as a background vocalist on “I Call Your Name” released in 1979.
Their very first album The DeBarges was released in 1981 and featured El, Bobby, and Bunny as the main producers. It saw limited success and the group thought it was underpromoted by the record label. Their second album, All This Love, saw more success after adding their brother James to the lineup. It was also produced by El and officially transformed them into a household name. The tracks “I Like It” and “All This Love” hit number one on Billboard’s adult contemporary chart.
Released in 1983, their third album, In a Special Way, kept their momentum going with the two hit singles, “Time Will Reveal” and “Love Me in a Special Way”. The album hit gold in the United States. As a testament to their talent, DeBarge was chosen by Luther Vandross to open for his “Busy Body Tour” in 1984.
Despite their success taking off, there were simmering tensions amongst El and his brothers. Motown wanted to elevate him as the only noted star of the group similar to how they did Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Because of this, he was mostly in charge of producing the next album, Rhythm of the Night, without much input from his siblings. The album became the group’s best-selling album ever and went platinum.
The pressure of achieving such fame at a young age, might’ve gotten to them and caused them to turn to drugs to cope. A number of the members started struggling with drug addictions, forcing their musical careers to take a backseat. Several members served jail time for drug charges over the years and many have gone to rehab, including El.
In 1986, El left the group and began his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album. It took three years for his second album, Gemini, to be released, but it produced the hits, “Real Love” and “Somebody Loves You”.
After his contract with Motown ended in 1990, he signed with Warner Bros. He released his third solo album called In The Storm in 1992 after being heavily inspired by Marvin Gaye. His next album, Heart, Mind and Soul, was co-produced with Babyface and was released in 1994.
Over his career, El worked with artists ranging from DJ Quik, Faith Evans, Babyface, Quincy Jones, Al B. Sure!, and even Barry White. He is a five-time Grammy Award nominee and was included on Rolling Stone’s list of 200 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2023.
Before he split with DeBarge, the group had released nine top 40 R&B singles, five top 40 pop singles, two Pop top 10 hits, five top 10 R&B singles, two number-one R&B singles, one number-one single on the dance chart, and three number-one hits on the adult contemporary chart. El is the only member to have Grammy nominations both as part of the group and solo.
He took a musical hiatus between 1994 and 2009. Unfortunately, he was convicted on drug-related charges and served 13 months of a two-year prison sentence in 2008. He released another album called Second Chance in 2010.
In February 2011, his label cancelled all public dates and appearances to support a stint in rehab following a relapse. He initially fell into his drug addiction after getting addicted to prescription medication for tooth pain after an extraction by a dentist, but his addiction eventually transitioned to cocaine use. Similarly, his siblings battled addictions too, but he never truly recovered after losing his brother Bobby in 1995 to his heroin addiction.
Despite El’s personal struggles, his influence on the music industry is undeniable. From his pen to his distinct voice, he made his mark on the world while chasing his dreams. He is a living legend in his own right and is loved by many still to this day.
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
