Formed in conservative Grand Rapids, Michigan, the five member group (consisting of sister Bunny and brothers James, Mark, Randy and Eldra) was signed by Motown in 1981, thanks in part to older brothers Bobby and Tommy, who were part of the popular Motown group Switch ("There'll Never Be," "I Call Your Name"). The quintet was quickly groomed as heir to the family group throne occupied by the Jackson 5 a decade earlier, and its second Motown album, 1982's All This Love, appeared to deliver on the promise. Boasting two top ballads, the title cut and "I Like It," All This Love featured smooth group harmonies behind El DeBarge's attractive first tenor and light Pop/Soul arrangements.

DeBarge's next album, In A Special Way, continued the string, with "Love Me In A Special Way" and the pretty "Time Will Reveal" topping the Soul and Adult Contemporary charts, and 1985's Rhythm of the Night became the group's biggest yet, as its dance-oriented title cut went gold, and the follow up single, "Who's Holding Donna Now," hitting top 10 Pop and Soul. However, like the Jackson 5 ten years earlier, the group found itself with a shallow fan base and a singles-oriented popularity that would necessarily limit its longevity.

By 1986, El DeBarge was clearly becoming the first among equals in the group, and he recorded solo the upbeat main cut from the movie Short Circuit, "Who's Johnny." The cut went to number one, and he soon left the group to begin a solo career. His eponymous debut later that year was a solid disc and featured compositions by a number of the biggest Pop and Adult Contemporary writers of the time. The album included "Who's Johnny" but consisted mostly of very listenable ballads and mid-tempo numbers such as "Love Always" and "Lost Without Her Love."

El's three subsequent albums were far less popular than his debut (none hit the Soul top 20), and his solo recording career stopped after 1994's Babyface production, Heart, Mind and Soul. He found moderate success serving as a guest vocalist on the albums of other artists, especially on the sultry ballad "The Secret Garden" from Quincy Jones' Grammy Award winning Back On The Block and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "After the Dance" with Fourplay.

Without Eldra at the lead and with its teen fan base aging, DeBarge the group disintegrated pretty quickly. Bunny left the group soon after El and recorded one album, 1987's "In Love," which was largely ignored. Then a reformulated group, consisting of four of the DeBarge brothers, signed with Striped Horse Records and released the dance album Bad Boys in 1988 before breaking up. Brother Chico also gained some notoriety as a solo singer, but his career was interrupted by a conviction for drug-related offenses.  Sadly, several family members similarly ended up in trouble with the law, with four DeBarges (including El) being arrested for various offenses.

As the 1990s arrived, a number of DeBarge family members reunited for a single, well made Gospel album (The DeBarge Family) that served as the coda for a talented but only briefly popular family act.

by Chris Rizik