Robert Louis "Bobby" DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 - August 16, 1995) was an … Read Full Bio ↴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. He was also the mentor behind his younger siblings who formed the musical group DeBarge and was the biggest influence amongst its members, most prominently El DeBarge.

Robert Louis DeBarge, Jr. was born to Etterlene and Robert DeBarge, Sr. in Detroit, Michigan on March 5, 1956. After moving to Grand Rapids in the early 1970s, Bobby began playing in bands in the local area. A gifted singer and pianist since childhood, Bobby befriended fellow musician Gregory Williams and with three other guys eventually signed as Barry White's background group White Heat in 1975. In 1976, 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 1983, 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. In 1987, he promptly joined the El and Bunny-sans lineup of the group singing lead on several songs off DeBarge's final album, Bad Boys. He was with the group when they appeared in an Punky Brewster episode.

Bobby died from complications of AIDS on August 16, 1995, at the age of 39. 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".

Little is known about DeBarge's private life.According to a four part article in Vibe, by Michael A. Gonzalez, he also briefly dated LaToya Jackson.
After his death, he left behind a wife, Teri and two sons, Christian and Bobby III.

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".

Wikipedia is the credit