El Debarge

Born In Detroit Michigan Eldra Patrick DeBarge Was Born The Fifth Of Eight Brothers And Sixth Of Ten DeBarge Family Members. El As Well As His Siblings Were Born To An African-American Mother And A Caucasian French-Canadian Father. In 1972 El's Mother Etterlene Moved Her Children From Detroit To Grand Rapids Michigan. Like His Siblings El Participated In The Local Church Choir And Was Labeled A Child Prodigy Thanks To His Skills As A Vocalist And A Keyboardist And Years Of Private Study With Music Educator Ricky Callier. El Was A Natural In The Role Of Lead Singer For The Group DeBarge. In 1982 DeBarge Found Success With Their Acclaimed Album All This Love Which Gave DeBarge Major Chart Success With Singles "Stop! Don't Tease Me " The Perennial "I Like It " And The Title Track With El As Producer Writer And Lead Singer. In 1983 DeBarge’s Album Titled In A Special Way Garnered Yet More Success For The Group Again With El Producing Writing And Singing Lead In Most Of The Songs Including The Hit Singles "Time Will Reveal" And "Love Me In A Special Way." In 1985 El Debarge Realized Major Success With The Release Of His Pop- Hit "Rhythm Of The Night" Accompanied By A Video With His Siblings Featured In Berry Gordy’s Film The Last Dragon. El Has Also Produced Such Hits As "The Heart Is Not So Smart " "Who's Holding Donna Now " "You Wear It Well" And The Silky Smooth Ballad “Love Always” Written And Produced By The Successful Writing Duet Burt Bacharach And Carol Bayer Sager. The Massively Successful Title Track Rhythm Of The Night Soared To The Top Of The Charts Both In The U.S. And In The U.K. El Also Performed His Hit Song You Wear It Well In An Episode Of Miami Vice Season 2 Called "Bought And Paid" For And Appeared As Himself In An Episode Of The Television Series The Facts Of Life. After The Commercial Pop Success Of "Rhythm Of The Night " El Left The Group In 1986 To Begin A Solo Career. The Same Year El Released His Self-Titled Debut Solo Album. "Who's Johnny" Was The First Single Released From That Album And Was Featured In The Movie Short Circuit. The Single Was A Major Success Peaking At #3 In The U.S. The Music Video For The Song Featured El DeBarge With Co Actors Ally Sheedy Steve Guttenberg And Robot Johnny 5 The Movies Main Characters . The Year 1989 Marked El's Final Motown Release Date. El Then Signed With Warner Brothers And Released His Third Solo Album In The Storm Which Featured Duets With DeBarge’s Prodigy Chante Moore Latimore And Collaborations With Musical Peers Including Fourplay Patti LaBelle And Maurice White Of Earth Wind And Fire. Critics And Fans Still Today Call This Album A Masterpiece. El Teamed Up With Quincy Jones To Create The Successful Collaboration "The Secret Garden " A Single From 1990 Which Also Featured Barry White Al B. Sure! And James Ingram On Vocals. Two Years Later In 1994 El Collaborated With Hit Producer Babyface And Released His Fourth And Most Recent To Date Solo Album Heart Mind And Soul. "Can't Get Enough" "Slide " And A Duet With Babyface "Where Is My Love " Were Singles. In 1998 El Was Featured With DJ Quik On Hit Single "Hand In Hand." In 2008 Eldra Was Featured On RZA's Album Digi Snacks On The Track "Up Again". "Rhythm Of The Night" Was The Theme Song Of Lowes Motor Speedway During The 2008 NASCAR Season. Eldra Will Be Performing At The Conga Room In Los Angeles And In Washington DC. After El Was Released From Prison He Has Began To Appear More Often In The Public Eye. In March 2010 El Appeared On The Brian Mcknight Show Where He Talked About The Past And Finished With Performing Time Will Reveal. El Has Done Shows With And Without His Family During 2010. He Has Now Signed To Interscope Records And Will Be Releasing His Long Awaited 5th Album In September 2010 His First Since 1994. The Album Is Entitled "Second Chance" And A Single Will Be Released In July 2010. read less