Written by By Deborah DeForrest for Right On! Magazine, April 1984.
Transcribed for the web by www.thedebarges.blogspot.com
Currently riding high on the charts with a hit album, the popular singing group DeBarge reveals that it wasn’t all that easy to record a hit LP. But they did it their way and in this case, “In A Special Way.”
It’s a rare occasion to find the members of DeBarge sitting quietly in one room. In fact, it’s a rare occasion to find all the members of DeBarge in one room period. But there they all were patiently awaiting their interview--El with a sexy grin on his handsome face looked more like the mischievous little brother than an up-and-coming record producer, Randy trying to coax shy baby brother James into conversation and Mark with a protective arm draped over Bunny who, although the oldest, is still very much looked after by all the brothers.
Yes, thanks to Motown’s miracle worker, Bob Jones, Director of Press and Publicity at the big “M”, all the members of DeBarge were in one spot and ready to answer questions for the readers of Right On! Magazine. None appeared nervous, rather a little anxious for the interview to begin.
Quite naturally the first question concerned the popular group’s current LP “In A Special Way.” Produced by El, the album was totally under DeBarge control without any outside influence or help. Very unusual for such a young and relatively inexperienced group, but then the members of DeBarge have unusual talent to back up their growing popularity on the charts and with the fans. However, when asked how it felt to be in total command over their latest musical endeavor the family quickly exchanged looks between themselves and a hush feel over the room.
After a little prodding , El was the first to break the silence. “Well, we kept telling everyone at Motown we wanted to do an album alone. We knew we could do it and we felt the time was right. We’ve always believed in each other and we felt no one knew us better than ourselves, so why not give us total control? And then after we got it…well, it got a little scary at first. All of at sudden it dawned on us that this is it. We either sink or swim and it’s all up to us.”
“You know what it’s like?” asked Bunny who was no sitting on the edge of the couch. “It’s like when you are growing up and you ask you parents for more responsibility because you keep telling them you are all grown up now. You tell your parents to quit treating you like a child and let you be an adult because you know you can handle it. Then they let you take on responsibility and you say to yourself, ‘Oh no, what did I get myself in for?’ That’s what this LP was like in the beginning for all of us. We wanted the responsibility to write and produce our own sound, but when they gave it to us, there was a moment of ‘Uh-oh, can we really do it?’ It was very scary in the beginning.”
Giving Bunny a quick pat on the shoulder, Mark was the first to agree that all the self-doubts only lasted for a brief moment or two. “I think we rose to the occasion. We said to each other, ‘Well, we asked for it, we got it and now let’s go for it.’ We had an album to do and fans were expecting the best from us, not to mention all the people at Motown who had been so supportive and helpful. So we had to dig in so to speak. After a while it was great.”
“Yeah, even if El did become a tyrant and a dictator,” laughed Randy.
With that remark El slouched deep into the chair and hid his face in his hands. “Come on, you guys. You know I did it for your own good,” smiled El. “I had to take control. I was the producer and someone had to have the final say. Please don’t give anyone the wrong impression. I wasn’t a dictator.”
It seemed like everyone was saying “yes, you were” at once until Bunny held up her arm. “Wait a minute. Let’s be fair here,” said Bunny as everyone quieted down at the sound of Bunny’s voice. It was obvious that the brothers both loved and respected their older sister. “True, El wasn’t always real tactful, but he did what he had to do for the sake of the album and in the end we were all happy with him and the product. Of course, we may never let him live it down, but he was in a rough position/ Every one had a tune of two that they thought was absolutely perfect for the album, but there hand to be a person to look at things objectively and say yes or no. That’s not a popular position to be in, but that’s where El was at.”
“It was hard,” acknowledged El. “Sometimes they looked at me like I was just a brother instead of the producer and the man in charge. But after a short period of time, everyone realized where I was coming from and they respected me and most importantly listened to me. It was hard at first--for me and them.. I’d be trying to reach a certain sound and I’d say, ‘Do you think you could sing it this way instead of the way you just sang it?’ One of my brothers might say to me, ‘Well, I wrote it and I hear it this way.’ So, I’d have to put on the producer’s hat and tell him, ‘Well, I know you wrote it and it’s a great tune and that’s why it’s on this album, but I’m the producer and I want you to sing it this way.’ But you know what? It all worked out in the end.”
“You know what it worked out?” questioned Randy, who had been looking fondly at his brother. “It worked out because we all love each other and we wanted to do the best we could do and I think out album shows it. I know that I can speak for the whole family when I say we would do it all over again-- and we probably will. We grew up a lot doing this album and I think we really grew as artists, too. It was a great feeling. And El brought it all out of us.”
“A bring grin had spread across El’s face as his older brother spoke. Looking around the room a;; the DeBarges were smiling, obviously proud of El and each other.
“I actually challenged each one to write the best music they possibly could and it worked,” recalled El. “And this album became a labor of love. We sort of hated to see it end in a way. Each of us had our own set of responsibility. For example, Bunny not only wrote and sand on it she also was out project coordinator.”
And that’s not an easy assignment. An album coordinator is responsible for logging studio time, contacting the session musicians and keeping track or when they come to the studio and when they leave, keeping accurate records for the union, keeping the label (in this case, Motown) updated on the status of the album and much, much more.
“It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed it,” admitted Bunny. “I learned a lot about the business side.”
James, who is definitely the shy guy of the group, hadn’t said over two words during the entire interview. When asked if he wanted to say anything about the album, James slowly said, “I’d like to thank someone. I’d like to thank God for allowing us to be here and for blessing us with musical ability.” The group slowly nodded in agreement. DeBarge, whose musical roots began back in the church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, never forgets to give thanks to the man upstairs. Whenever asked where their inspiration comes from, all are quick to give credit to the Creator.
“Without Him none of this would be possible,” stated El. “This has been said before, but I don’t mind saying it again. Through God all things are possible. We give thanks every day and we credit Him for any success which comes out way.”
DeBarge is also quick to give credit to those who have helped them along the way. “So many people have believed in us and helped us reach out goals that we have to do our best at all times,” explained Mark. “We can’t let anybody down--not our friends, not out family or fans. When out brothers Bobby and Tommy arrived at Motown with the band Switch, they told us that they wouldn’t forget the rest of the family back home. And they didn’t. Motown believed in us and supported us and now our fans are doing the same thing. How can you let people like that down? The answer is you can’t so we got out and do the best we can every time whether it’s writing or singing or performing.”
“It would have been easy for Tommy and Bobby to forget about us,” commented Bunny. “But we weren’t raised like that. We all sort of look out for each other. We are family who sticks together. I know I can always depend on each and everyone in this room and that’s a great feeling/”
Even brother Bobby who is no longer in Switch or with the group DeBarge contributed to the album as associate producer. “Hey, I needed him and he was there,” said El. “I don’t really have very many friends outside my family--close friends that is. But with brothers and a sister like mine who needs more?”
“In A Special Way” reflects the talent of a your musical group on the rise. The title can obviously reflect how the group feels about each other. It’s a sincerity that is hard to find in the rough an tumble record business where you are virtually only as good as your last hit record.
DeBarge, however, keeps coming up with hit after hit. But what does this close-knit family from Grand Rapids, Michigan, want out of this crazy business in the heart of Tinseltown, U.S.A.?
All agreed, they wanted longevity and to contribute something to the world. “That’s important for all of us--to feel like we contributed something,” explained El. “We like to sing about love and spread a little bit of it around. If we touch just one person’s life with our music…well, that’s what it’s all about. Make one person a little happier, move a person in a special way, that’s it. Hey, a special way--great title for an album don’t you think?
Bunny, who had been quiet for a few moments, chose her words rather carefully. “I want to be secure--financially secure not just for my self but for my family. We didn’t come from a wealthy family, but we never know we were poor growing up , wither. We had a lot of love. But I don’t want to have a worry about the well-being of my family when I’m older. I’m not talking about being super rich. I just want to be financially secure in life.”
Again all agreed that continued success would give Bunny and the DeBarge brothers the financial security that most people in and out of the music business are looking for in today’s crazy world.
The five DeBarges hand certainly come a long way in a short period of time. With only three albums under their belt, the group has established themselves as hitmakers of today. And with their attitude of love and unity and their immense talent, DeBarge most certainly will carry over into the music of tomorrow.
Transcribed for the web by www.thedebarges.blogspot.com
Currently riding high on the charts with a hit album, the popular singing group DeBarge reveals that it wasn’t all that easy to record a hit LP. But they did it their way and in this case, “In A Special Way.”
It’s a rare occasion to find the members of DeBarge sitting quietly in one room. In fact, it’s a rare occasion to find all the members of DeBarge in one room period. But there they all were patiently awaiting their interview--El with a sexy grin on his handsome face looked more like the mischievous little brother than an up-and-coming record producer, Randy trying to coax shy baby brother James into conversation and Mark with a protective arm draped over Bunny who, although the oldest, is still very much looked after by all the brothers.
Yes, thanks to Motown’s miracle worker, Bob Jones, Director of Press and Publicity at the big “M”, all the members of DeBarge were in one spot and ready to answer questions for the readers of Right On! Magazine. None appeared nervous, rather a little anxious for the interview to begin.
Quite naturally the first question concerned the popular group’s current LP “In A Special Way.” Produced by El, the album was totally under DeBarge control without any outside influence or help. Very unusual for such a young and relatively inexperienced group, but then the members of DeBarge have unusual talent to back up their growing popularity on the charts and with the fans. However, when asked how it felt to be in total command over their latest musical endeavor the family quickly exchanged looks between themselves and a hush feel over the room.
After a little prodding , El was the first to break the silence. “Well, we kept telling everyone at Motown we wanted to do an album alone. We knew we could do it and we felt the time was right. We’ve always believed in each other and we felt no one knew us better than ourselves, so why not give us total control? And then after we got it…well, it got a little scary at first. All of at sudden it dawned on us that this is it. We either sink or swim and it’s all up to us.”
“You know what it’s like?” asked Bunny who was no sitting on the edge of the couch. “It’s like when you are growing up and you ask you parents for more responsibility because you keep telling them you are all grown up now. You tell your parents to quit treating you like a child and let you be an adult because you know you can handle it. Then they let you take on responsibility and you say to yourself, ‘Oh no, what did I get myself in for?’ That’s what this LP was like in the beginning for all of us. We wanted the responsibility to write and produce our own sound, but when they gave it to us, there was a moment of ‘Uh-oh, can we really do it?’ It was very scary in the beginning.”
Giving Bunny a quick pat on the shoulder, Mark was the first to agree that all the self-doubts only lasted for a brief moment or two. “I think we rose to the occasion. We said to each other, ‘Well, we asked for it, we got it and now let’s go for it.’ We had an album to do and fans were expecting the best from us, not to mention all the people at Motown who had been so supportive and helpful. So we had to dig in so to speak. After a while it was great.”
“Yeah, even if El did become a tyrant and a dictator,” laughed Randy.
With that remark El slouched deep into the chair and hid his face in his hands. “Come on, you guys. You know I did it for your own good,” smiled El. “I had to take control. I was the producer and someone had to have the final say. Please don’t give anyone the wrong impression. I wasn’t a dictator.”
It seemed like everyone was saying “yes, you were” at once until Bunny held up her arm. “Wait a minute. Let’s be fair here,” said Bunny as everyone quieted down at the sound of Bunny’s voice. It was obvious that the brothers both loved and respected their older sister. “True, El wasn’t always real tactful, but he did what he had to do for the sake of the album and in the end we were all happy with him and the product. Of course, we may never let him live it down, but he was in a rough position/ Every one had a tune of two that they thought was absolutely perfect for the album, but there hand to be a person to look at things objectively and say yes or no. That’s not a popular position to be in, but that’s where El was at.”
“It was hard,” acknowledged El. “Sometimes they looked at me like I was just a brother instead of the producer and the man in charge. But after a short period of time, everyone realized where I was coming from and they respected me and most importantly listened to me. It was hard at first--for me and them.. I’d be trying to reach a certain sound and I’d say, ‘Do you think you could sing it this way instead of the way you just sang it?’ One of my brothers might say to me, ‘Well, I wrote it and I hear it this way.’ So, I’d have to put on the producer’s hat and tell him, ‘Well, I know you wrote it and it’s a great tune and that’s why it’s on this album, but I’m the producer and I want you to sing it this way.’ But you know what? It all worked out in the end.”
“You know what it worked out?” questioned Randy, who had been looking fondly at his brother. “It worked out because we all love each other and we wanted to do the best we could do and I think out album shows it. I know that I can speak for the whole family when I say we would do it all over again-- and we probably will. We grew up a lot doing this album and I think we really grew as artists, too. It was a great feeling. And El brought it all out of us.”
“A bring grin had spread across El’s face as his older brother spoke. Looking around the room a;; the DeBarges were smiling, obviously proud of El and each other.
“I actually challenged each one to write the best music they possibly could and it worked,” recalled El. “And this album became a labor of love. We sort of hated to see it end in a way. Each of us had our own set of responsibility. For example, Bunny not only wrote and sand on it she also was out project coordinator.”
And that’s not an easy assignment. An album coordinator is responsible for logging studio time, contacting the session musicians and keeping track or when they come to the studio and when they leave, keeping accurate records for the union, keeping the label (in this case, Motown) updated on the status of the album and much, much more.
“It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed it,” admitted Bunny. “I learned a lot about the business side.”
James, who is definitely the shy guy of the group, hadn’t said over two words during the entire interview. When asked if he wanted to say anything about the album, James slowly said, “I’d like to thank someone. I’d like to thank God for allowing us to be here and for blessing us with musical ability.” The group slowly nodded in agreement. DeBarge, whose musical roots began back in the church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, never forgets to give thanks to the man upstairs. Whenever asked where their inspiration comes from, all are quick to give credit to the Creator.
“Without Him none of this would be possible,” stated El. “This has been said before, but I don’t mind saying it again. Through God all things are possible. We give thanks every day and we credit Him for any success which comes out way.”
DeBarge is also quick to give credit to those who have helped them along the way. “So many people have believed in us and helped us reach out goals that we have to do our best at all times,” explained Mark. “We can’t let anybody down--not our friends, not out family or fans. When out brothers Bobby and Tommy arrived at Motown with the band Switch, they told us that they wouldn’t forget the rest of the family back home. And they didn’t. Motown believed in us and supported us and now our fans are doing the same thing. How can you let people like that down? The answer is you can’t so we got out and do the best we can every time whether it’s writing or singing or performing.”
“It would have been easy for Tommy and Bobby to forget about us,” commented Bunny. “But we weren’t raised like that. We all sort of look out for each other. We are family who sticks together. I know I can always depend on each and everyone in this room and that’s a great feeling/”
Even brother Bobby who is no longer in Switch or with the group DeBarge contributed to the album as associate producer. “Hey, I needed him and he was there,” said El. “I don’t really have very many friends outside my family--close friends that is. But with brothers and a sister like mine who needs more?”
“In A Special Way” reflects the talent of a your musical group on the rise. The title can obviously reflect how the group feels about each other. It’s a sincerity that is hard to find in the rough an tumble record business where you are virtually only as good as your last hit record.
DeBarge, however, keeps coming up with hit after hit. But what does this close-knit family from Grand Rapids, Michigan, want out of this crazy business in the heart of Tinseltown, U.S.A.?
All agreed, they wanted longevity and to contribute something to the world. “That’s important for all of us--to feel like we contributed something,” explained El. “We like to sing about love and spread a little bit of it around. If we touch just one person’s life with our music…well, that’s what it’s all about. Make one person a little happier, move a person in a special way, that’s it. Hey, a special way--great title for an album don’t you think?
Bunny, who had been quiet for a few moments, chose her words rather carefully. “I want to be secure--financially secure not just for my self but for my family. We didn’t come from a wealthy family, but we never know we were poor growing up , wither. We had a lot of love. But I don’t want to have a worry about the well-being of my family when I’m older. I’m not talking about being super rich. I just want to be financially secure in life.”
Again all agreed that continued success would give Bunny and the DeBarge brothers the financial security that most people in and out of the music business are looking for in today’s crazy world.
The five DeBarges hand certainly come a long way in a short period of time. With only three albums under their belt, the group has established themselves as hitmakers of today. And with their attitude of love and unity and their immense talent, DeBarge most certainly will carry over into the music of tomorrow.
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