El DeBarge will join Wendy Williams, The entire cast of R&B Divas, James Fortune, and more celebrities to be announced soon. Save the date, Saturday, April 26, 2014 at the newly renovated Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.
Read more about El DeBarge below:
Leading one of the premiere families in musical history, The DeBarge family, Eldra “El” DeBarge was blessed to have greatness richly flowing through his veins.
The quintessential middle child, El was influenced by his five older siblings and an Inspiration for his four younger ones. El was exposed to music at an early age and “soaked It up like a sponge,” says older sister, Bunny. “Music was all around me,” El says, “My Mama, my uncles, everybody sang or played something.” El’s biggest musicial influence was his older brother Bobby (of the 70s Band, Switch). “He was a musical genius. Everything I learned musically, I learned it from Bobby,” El says in retrospect.
Signing with Motown records in 1979, along with his brothers, Randy, Marty and James and sister Bunny (as the group DeBarge), marked the beginning of El’s undeniable love affair with the music industry. During the 80s, DeBarge’strademark harmonies spawned numerous hits off of their back-to-back, platinum albums, “All This Love,” “In A Special Way,” and “Rhythm of The Night.” Ballads like “I Like It,” “All This Love,” “Time Will Reveal” and “Love Me in A Special Way,” made DeBarge an instant hit and solitified their place in musical history.
After almost 10 years as lead singer of DeBarge, El threw his hat into the solo artist arena. Staying consistant with the harmonious and melodic resonance thatmade up the DeBarge sound, and adding to it a little acumen and a lot of soul, El released four solo albums; “El DeBarge,” “Gemini,” “In The Storm,” and “Heart, Mind and Soul.” In addition to working on his solo efforts, El has leant his sultry falsetto to the projects of some of music industry’s elite. Quincy Jones, Babyface, Bob James, Maurice White, Burt Bacharach and Prince are just a few artists that benefited from El’s signature high notes and intricate cord progressions. Never a conformist to the times, El has even colaborated with Hip-hop Pioneers, DJ Quick and Snoop Dog.
Taking the time to “enjoy the craftsmanship of music,” El has been spending a lot more time producing and writing for others. “Music today is lacking the soul, depth and mastery of the music that I’m used to. I want to bring that quality back to music.” El says determinedly.
Currently collaborating with his younger brother Chico DeBarge and Babyface, El says that he’s taking the time to “stretch out” musically.
With El’s track record for hits and exciting live performances, along with his doggedness to continue to build and preserve the quality of music, El DeBarge is just getting started!
