El DeBarge

Eldra "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) was an African-American/French R&B and soul singer, the older brother of singers James and Chico DeBarge and the focal point

Eldra "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) was an African-American/French R&B and soul singer, the older brother of singers James and Chico DeBarge and the focal point and lead singer of the DeBarge family group throughout the early 1980s.

After founding the group in 1978, the family was discovered by Jermaine Jackson, who signed them and El's older brothers' group, Switch, to Motown. While Switch went on to some success during the late-1970s, it took The DeBarges three years before their self-titled debut was released. El took more of a vocal leadership and also a penmanship as a songwriter and producer with the release of DeBarge's breakthrough, All This Love, which featured the hit title track and "I Like It", throughout 1982/1983. El's finest moment in DeBarge, however, was 1983's In A Special Way album, writing and singing most of the songs, including hits like the title track and "Time Will Reveal".