Bobby DeBarge
Bobby DeBarge was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States on March 5th, 1956 and is the R&B Singer. At the age of 39, Bobby DeBarge biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 39 years old, Bobby DeBarge has this physical status:
Robert Louis "Bobby" DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 – August 16, 1995) was an American singer and guitarist.
DeBarge, the lead singer of Motown R&B/soul's vocal band Switch, was known for his dazzling falsetto vocals.
He later on served as both mentor and co-producer of his siblings' band, DeBarge, before joining them to fill in for missing members El and Bunny.
DeBarge was plagued by personal issues, including opioid use, which culminated in drug trafficking charges in 1988, when the former singer began to sing again in 1988, mainly because of his musical career.
In the 1980s, he contracted HIV and died of AIDS-related complications in 1995, at the age 39.
Personal life
He fought La Toya Jackson of the Jackson family for several years. In the Switch ballad "You & I," Jackson's song "Night Time Lover" he wrote in reaction to Jackson's single, he mentioned Jackson's "Night Time Lover." DeBarge had divorced Jackson by 1984 and later married Teri, with whom he had two children, Christian and Bobby III. DeBarge's heroin use began in the early 1970s and, later, DeBarge developed heroin and crack use.
In Switch's episode of the Unsung movie on TV One, Bunny DeBarge and former Switch bandmate Gregory Williams discussed Bobby's bisexuality.
In 1988, he was sentenced to five years in a Wisconsin jail for drug trafficking allegations. Following his release in 1993, he promised to remain clean, signing a management contract with Bernd Lichters (for whom DeBarge, with Hot Ice), and advising him in 1994 to write songs he wrote in jail. It's Not Over, the resulting album, which was released on A&E Records in August 1995 right before his death, was titled It's Not Over. He was lying low in Gregory Williams' California home all year long, until he returned to Michigan for his final days.
While in jail, DeBarge told his family that he had contracted HIV in his family. His family took him to a hospice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as he became critically ill. On August 16, 1995, he died of AIDS complications at the age of 39. He is buried in Grand Rapids' Garfield Park Cemetery.
Life and career
DeBarge was born in Detroit to Etterlene (née Abney) and Army soldier Robert DeBarge, Sr. He had an unhappy childhood as a result of his father's violence. DeBarge was first introduced to heroin at the age of 15, which became his lifelong heroin use. Bobby DeBarge and his family migrated to Grand Rapids after his parents separated and divorced in the early 1970s. He and his younger brother Tommy began performing in local bands.
The pair formed the band in 1975 after collaborating with fellow Grand Rapids musician Gregory Williams and then auditioned for Barry White's background group, White Heat, assisting in the production and debut of their debut album that year. Due to tax issues, White dropped just one singer from the band over the next year. The group, which included DeBarge, Williams, Phillip Ingram, Tommy DeBarge, Stanley Brown, Stanley Brown, Jody Sims, Jody Bros, Adam Frye, Darnell Wyrick, Stanley Carter, Stanley Brown, McGraw, Bentley Brown, Samuel Brown, Tom DeBarge, Stanley Brown, Jody Sims, Matthew Brown, Thomas Brown, Jody Sims, Kevin Brown, Tom DeBarge, Mitchell Brown, Stanley Brown, Steven Brown, Jody Sims,
DeBarge returned to Grand Rapids in 2011 as a result of his work; he fell deeper into heroin use. Gregory Williams stayed in Akron and sought out new musicians [including Tommy DeBarge, Phillip Ingram, Jody Sims, Eddie Fluellen, MC Clark, and Arnett Hayes] after the breakup of White Heat, beginning with Arnett Hayes. After completing a demo tape, he took it to Motown Records; the label wanted to sign the band, who were now called Switch because of their ability to "switch" instruments. DeBarge, a musician looking for a chance to be famous, vowed to get away from his heroin use at Williams' invitation. Soon after, Motown, Bobby's brother Tommy, was added to the group.
The band's debut album in 1978 was a year after their signing. The album, which featured Jermaine Jackson's music, earned gold status thanks to "There'll Never Be" by DeBarge and included "I Want to Be Closer," which Phillip Ingram and DeBarge wrote lead on. The group resurfaced in 2011 with Switch II, another Jermaine Jackson-produced album, which also featured another DeBarge-penned hit, "I Call Your Name." Switch became a recording and live attraction, not only due to the band's overall success but also due to DeBarge's multi-octave vocal range. This Is My Dream, the band's third gold-selling album, was released in 1980, and DeBarge, Jody Sims, and Gregory Williams co-produced. The album contained the hit song "Love Over and Over Again." By then, DeBarge had recovered to using heroin after several years of sobriety and recently started using cocaine, which caused tensions between DeBarge and Switch group members.
Things came to a halt in 1981, when Bobby DeBarge, the manager of Switch's fifth album Switch V, decided to leave the company shortly after Motown gave him a solo recording contract, which was later confirmed in 1983. By that time, DeBarge was in charge of his siblings' albums' production. Bobby co-produced their debut album and co-wrote with younger brother El the song "Queen of My Heart," in which he performed falsetto ad-libs near the end of the album. The song was re-appeared on DeBarge's third album, In A Special Way, which El himself produced, resulting in a more polished version.
El and their sister Bunny left DeBarge in 1987 to pursue solo careers, with El finding the most success by 1988, perhaps taking their cue from Bobby splitting from his own family. Bobby had trouble producing his solo debut and his solo career didn't flourish, so he decided against his ambitions and joined his siblings' band, DeBarge, which produced the album's hit song, Bad Boys. The project's vocal leads, Bobby and his younger brother James split on it. However, Bobby's career halted in 1988 after being charged with drug trafficking charges in Grand Rapids and was sentenced to five years in jail. Following his release, he returned to performing and recording, while still struggling with AIDS, which he acquired in the late 1980s shortly before his prison term. He completed his last musical project, It's Not Over, just over a month before his death, but the album was not available on a standalone basis.