MuthaFunka said:

Generally, El DeBarge didn't smile on album covers. He wasn't smiling on the "In a Special Way" cover I posted earlier and he's also not smiling on the "Rhythm of the Night" cover:



He didn't smile on his solo album covers, either. Here is his self-titled debut in 1986:



1989's "Gemini:"



1994's "Heart, Mind and Soul:"



I didn't include 1992's "In the Storm," which featured a "I Want You"-type painting as the album cover.
[Edited 9/12/07 18:06pm]

Did El have any solo hits?

I don't recall anything from his solo efforts.

PurpleCharm said:

Yeah, El DeBarge did have some hit songs. The cheesy "Who's Johnny?" from the soundtrack to the 1986 movie "Short Circuit" actually reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. Here are El's other top singles:

"Love Always," a ballad written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager (No. 7)
"Real Love," an uptempo song featuring El getting down on the video (No. 8)
"You Know what I Like," a ballad with Chante Moore singing background (No. 14)
"Can't Get Enough," the Babyface-penned lead single from his last album (No. 21)
"Where Is My Love," a duet with Babyface (No. 19)
"Somebody Loves You," another uptempo, more inspirational song (No. 24)

That's not including his lead vocal on Fourplay's remake of the Marvin Gaye classic "After the Dance" (No. 2) and his contribution to Quincy Jones' "The Secret Garden" (No. 1). El also did the vocals to the chorus for Tone Loc's "All through the Night" (No. 16).
[Edited 9/15/07 4:13am]

PurpleCharm said:

Besides "Secret Garden" with Quincy, Barry and 'em, he had "Who's Johnny", "After the Dance" and I'm sure he had a few successful R&B hits in between there.

Najee said:

Speaking of, he and the rest of DeBarge were like BIG Marvin Gaye fans, especially Chico.

Timmy84 said:

Yeah, I know the three you posted, but weren't Secret Garden and After The Dance songs that only featured El?

Secret Garden - Quincy
After the Dance - Four Play
[Edited 9/12/07 18:20pm]

Timmy84 said:

The title song to El DeBarge's last album, "Heart, Mind & Soul," was essentially a tribute to Gaye with its "I Want You"-inspired arrangements.

PurpleCharm said:

I named some other songs by El DeBarge that did fairly well on the Billboard R&B Singles charts earlier.

Speaking of "Real Love," I remember when this video came out and how surprised I was to see El getting down!
[Edited 9/12/07 19:29pm]

Najee said:

Damn, you're right. I must be thinking about the Right On mag covers, but he doesn't smile. His teeth are cool, right?

MuthaFunka said:

Yeah, his teeth are cool. El DeBarge smiled on the back of the "Rhythm of the Night" album cover and like you said on practically every other promotional photo you can find. I guess he wanted to look more straightforward/semi-serious on the album covers.

Can't Get Enough

I swear to God, this one got me when it first came out. I bought the 'cassingle' (remember those..?), and I swear it didn't leave my player for about a week.

Najee said:

Ok, just checkin'. He may have had Yuckmouth or somethin' back then !

Najee said:

I remember on chico's long time no see album he made reference to losing his
brother to the war on drugs in the song love still good.

Najee said:

Notice debarge's rhythmn of the night album cover. It was a sign of the times.
Another west coast group namely the deele wore the same hair styles and clothing then. It seemed to be a l.a west coast thing during this time period.
It is very sad to see what is happening to the siblings in this family and sadly just like a couple of members in my family, this stuff is starting to happen to them in their mid to late 40's.

I saw a pic of the two them together a few years ago and they didn't look as bad as they do in this pic.^^^^ El looks like he's hanging on to his brother for dear life.

JackieBlue said:

IMO, when El DeBarge started hanging and working with DJ Quik was a sad indication of far his star had fallen. Quik has not been a factor in years (and not much of a rapper even at his best), but looking at concert clips and documentary footage it seemed like El was hanging on to him for relevancy.
[Edited 9/13/07 21:26pm]

Jboogiee said:

Oops meant 2 say Bobby!

Najee said:

Here'a a link 2 that clip, when I 1st checked it out I was like what is El evening doing there.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...uJ5FDv2hGs

Jboogiee said:

Yeah, when I saw that link it seemed like DJ Quik was making a joke out of El DeBarge. The sad part is that El sounded good at first, I thought it was the missing member of Bones, Thugs and Harmony who was brought out as an El look-alike in parody until he started singing.
[Edited 9/15/07 4:02am]

He’s blessed to still have his vocal skills.

In an old interview with DJ Quik and you could tell the interviewer was like how in the HELL did you two hook up? But Quik said some things that lead me to believe that El wasn’t the squeaky clean guy I thought he was all those years. I had no idea.

the latest Vibe???
who is on the cover??

i got to check this out!!
[Edited 9/14/07 20:01pm]

You can see El's life all over his face.

Of all the songs to hype at a rap concert, damn that's crazy to see. I know this is years old but at least he didn't lose all the dynamics of his voice. But I wonder what he sounds like today?

JackieBlue said:

Yeah, the 10 kids by nearly as many baby-mommas, the drugs, the other issues have been such a part of El's life for so long. It's hard to look at this guy and equate him with that lifestyle. It's like watching Bambi getting turned out and becoming the Happy Doe-Ho of the Forest.
[Edited 9/15/07 5:31am]

Najee said:

I'm sorry for laughing but that's funny!!!

violator said:

Can you post this story??? And did Debarge make a guest apperance on Punky Brewster back in the day

Najee said:

I can't believe either of those bitches went sleeveless w/ those arms