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DeBarge family AI simulator
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DeBarge family AI simulator
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DeBarge family
The DeBarge family is a family of rhythm and blues artists from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1975, musician Bobby DeBarge left Grand Rapids to start the funk-soul band Switch, which first went by the name First Class. Eventually signing with Motown Records in 1978, the group's debut album, yielding the hit "There'll Never Be", sold over one million copies and started the DeBarge musical dynasty.
In 1979, Bunny, Marty, Randy, and El DeBarge signed with Motown as the DeBarges and released their debut album two years later, under the guidance of Bobby and Tommy who had left Switch that year to begin mentoring their siblings. James DeBarge later joined the group prior to their second album, “All This Love” A year later in 1982, the group, now known as DeBarge, found fame with the singles, "I Like It” (DeBarge song)|and "All This Love” (DeBarge song). They would go on to have several more hit singles, such as "Time Will Reveal", "Love Me in a Special Way" and "Rhythm of the Night", by the mid-1980s.
Younger brother Chico became a solo success first with his 1986 dance-pop single, "Talk to Me", followed by singles such as "Iggin' Me" and "No Guarantees". El DeBarge also found solo fame in the 1980s with singles such as "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always", and with collaborations on hits by Quincy Jones, Tone Loc, and Fourplay. Etterlene's youngest son Darrell released his first solo album in 2005.
Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932–2009) from Cicero, Illinois, served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Robert met Etterlene Abney (1935–2024), who was African American, in Detroit, in the early 1950s. They married in 1953, at 21 and 17 years old, respectively, settling in a predominantly Black section of Detroit, where they had ten children.
In 1972, the DeBarges moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where Etterlene's brother, Bishop William Charles Abney, Jr., pastored Bethel Pentecostal Church. Etterlene divorced Robert in 1974 after 21 years of marriage. She later married a second time to George Rodriguez, who was Puerto Rican, leading to the erroneous rumor that the family was half-Hispanic.
Robert and Etterlene had 10 children:
Robert and Etterlene had dozens of grandchildren, several of whom are involved in the entertainment industry. They include:
DeBarge family
The DeBarge family is a family of rhythm and blues artists from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1975, musician Bobby DeBarge left Grand Rapids to start the funk-soul band Switch, which first went by the name First Class. Eventually signing with Motown Records in 1978, the group's debut album, yielding the hit "There'll Never Be", sold over one million copies and started the DeBarge musical dynasty.
In 1979, Bunny, Marty, Randy, and El DeBarge signed with Motown as the DeBarges and released their debut album two years later, under the guidance of Bobby and Tommy who had left Switch that year to begin mentoring their siblings. James DeBarge later joined the group prior to their second album, “All This Love” A year later in 1982, the group, now known as DeBarge, found fame with the singles, "I Like It” (DeBarge song)|and "All This Love” (DeBarge song). They would go on to have several more hit singles, such as "Time Will Reveal", "Love Me in a Special Way" and "Rhythm of the Night", by the mid-1980s.
Younger brother Chico became a solo success first with his 1986 dance-pop single, "Talk to Me", followed by singles such as "Iggin' Me" and "No Guarantees". El DeBarge also found solo fame in the 1980s with singles such as "Who's Johnny" and "Love Always", and with collaborations on hits by Quincy Jones, Tone Loc, and Fourplay. Etterlene's youngest son Darrell released his first solo album in 2005.
Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932–2009) from Cicero, Illinois, served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Robert met Etterlene Abney (1935–2024), who was African American, in Detroit, in the early 1950s. They married in 1953, at 21 and 17 years old, respectively, settling in a predominantly Black section of Detroit, where they had ten children.
In 1972, the DeBarges moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where Etterlene's brother, Bishop William Charles Abney, Jr., pastored Bethel Pentecostal Church. Etterlene divorced Robert in 1974 after 21 years of marriage. She later married a second time to George Rodriguez, who was Puerto Rican, leading to the erroneous rumor that the family was half-Hispanic.
Robert and Etterlene had 10 children:
Robert and Etterlene had dozens of grandchildren, several of whom are involved in the entertainment industry. They include: