Born in Detroit, Michigan, Eldra Patrick DeBarge was born the fifth of eight brothers and sixth of ten DeBarge family members. In 1972, newly divorced from her abusive husband, El's mother Etterlene moved her children from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Like his siblings, El participated in the local church choir and was labeled a child prodigy thanks to his skills as a vocalist and a keyboardist and years of private study with music educator Ricky Callier. Later, he, Mark, Randy and Bunny formed DeBarge in 1979 (James joined three years later just before his high school graduation). ...show more

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Eldra Patrick DeBarge was born the fifth of eight brothers and sixth of ten DeBarge family members. In 1972, newly divorced from her abusive husband, El's mother Etterlene moved her children from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Like his siblings, El participated in the local church choir and was labeled a child prodigy thanks to his skills as a vocalist and a keyboardist and years of private study with music educator Ricky Callier. Later, he, Mark, Randy and Bunny formed DeBarge in 1979 (James joined three years later just before his high school graduation).

In 1981 DeBarge released their album The DeBarges, which produced one single, "What's Your Name." The album was not considered a success and quickly fell into obscurity. El was a natural in the role of lead singer for the group. In 1982, DeBarge finally found success with their acclaimed second album, All This Love, which gave DeBarge major chart success with singles "Stop! Don't Tease Me," the perennial "I Like It," and the title track. In 1983, DeBarge's third album, In a Special Way garnered yet more success for the group.

El and Bunny wrote most of the songs with El most often singing leads. The album produced the hit singles "Time Will Reveal" and "Love Me in a Special Way." In 1985, the group released their fourth album, Rhythm of the Night which produced hits "The Heart Is Not So Smart," "Who's Holding Donna Now," "You Wear It Well", and the massively successful title track, which was their second single to top the R&B charts, reached #3 in the U.S., and #4 in the U.K. Its music video was featured in the 1985 martial arts film, The Last Dragon as well as in an episode of Miami Vice (Season 2) called "Bought and Paid" for in which "You Wear It Well" was also performed. That year, El appeared as himself in an episode of the television series The Facts of Life and sang "You Wear it Well." Solo career After the commercial pop success of "Rhythm of the Night," El left the group in 1986 to begin a solo career. ...show less