Bobby DeBarge

Robert Louis "Bobby" DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 - August 16, 1995) was an American musician and the lead singer of the 1970s Motown R&B group, "Switch". According to an article in Vibe, he also briefly dated LaToya Jackson. [ [http://prince.org/msg/8/244389?jump=3&pg=1 VIBE Article-The Rise and Fall of The Debarge Family ] ]

A gifted singer and pianist since childhood, Bobby and younger brother Tommy befriended fellow musician Gregory Williams and with three other guys eventually signed as Barry White's background group White Heat in 1974. In 1975, White dropped them because of a tax problem and kept one of the group's saxophonists as part of White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. Afterwards, the group changed their name to Switch and eventually was signed to Motown after they gave a demonstration tape to Jermaine Jackson, formerly of the Jackson 5. The group (which also included brother Thomas DeBarge) recorded the hits "There'll Never Be", "I Call Your Name", "I Want To Be Closer", "Love Over and Over", and "My Friend in the Sky".

In the early 1980s, both Bobby and Tommy left Switch and Bobby later began producing his other siblings who made up the popular R&B group DeBarge and served as mentor of the group's lead singer and younger brother El. A longtime drug addict - he used heroin and cocaine, in 1988 Bobby and his younger brother Chico were arrested for intention to distribute drugs in their hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bobby and his brother served about six years in a federal penitentiary in Milan, Michigan. After leaving prison, DeBarge tried continuing his music career but shortly after his release, Bobby died from complications of AIDS on August 16 1995, at the age of 39. He left behind a wife, Teri and two sons, Christian and Bobby III. [ [http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/09/debarge_epi_3/ The Rise and Fall of the DeBarge Family (Episode 3) : VIBE.com ] ]

Bobby's final musical endeavor was the album entitled, "It's Not Over", which included the songs "Thief in the Night", "It's Not Over", and "Good Times".

DeBarge's voice and the intro to his band's 1979 hit, "I Call Your Name" was later sampled on rapper Rich Boy's 2007 hit, "Throw Some D's".

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Persondata
NAME=DeBarge, Robert Louis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Bobby DeBarge
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American singer
DATE OF BIRTH=March 5 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH=Grand Rapids, Michigan
DATE OF DEATH=August 16 1995
PLACE OF DEATH=Milan, Michigan