Tommy DeBarge

Thomas "Tommy" DeBarge (born in 1957) is an African-American R&B and funk bass guitarist and member of the late seventies funk band Switch, which also included brother Bobby.

In 1975, the DeBarge brothers joined four other musicians to form the band First Class. After a tenure with Barry White's band, they eventually changed their name to Switch in 1977 and signed with Motown that year. In 1978, they released their debut album, which yielded the popular hit, "There'll Never Be", led by Bobby, as well as the hit, "I Call Your Name" from their sophomore release, "Switch II".

Switch enjoyed substantial R&B success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Eventually leaving the group in 1982, Tommy and his brother went on mentoring their younger siblings, who would form the group DeBarge before the group found success in the end of 1982 with their sophomore album, "All This Love".

After suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, DeBarge went to rehab in the late-eighties. A married father of nine, Tommy suffers from kidney dialysis, according to Tommy's mother Etterlene on her book, "Other Side of the Pain".