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. The same year, El released his self-titled debut solo album. "Who's Johnny" was the first single released and was featured in the movie Short Circuit. The single was a major success, peaking at #3 in the U.S. The music video for the song reflected its use in the movie, depicting a mock trial for characters Stephanie Speck and Newton Crosby (Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg, respectively) for the theft of the movie's main character, the robot Johnny 5, with scenes from the movie being shown as evidence.
Other singles from this album were "Someone" and the laid-back ballad "Love Always". A break in El's career, according to some, kept him from the spotlight until 1989 when he returned with a second solo album, Gemini. This marked El's final Motown release to date. "Real Love" was a single, as well as "Broken Dreams." El signed with Warner Brothers and released his third solo album, In The Storm. "You Know What I Like," which featured Chante Moore (Latimore) on co-lead vocals, "My Heart Belongs To You," and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "After The Dance" (recorded with Fourplay and featuring Patti LaBelle) were singles. Two years later, in 1994, El collaborated with hit producer Babyface and released his fourth and most recent to date solo album Heart, Mind and Soul. "Can't Get Enough", "Slide," and a duet with Babyface, "Where Is My Love," were singles.
El teamed up with Quincy Jones to create the successful collaboration, "The Secret Garden," a single from 1990 which also featured Barry White, Al B. Sure!, and James Ingram on vocals. In 1998, El worked with DJ Quik for the single "Hand In Hand."
In 2008, Eldra was featured on RZA's album Digi Snacks on the track "Up Again". "Rhythm of the Night" will be the theme song of Lowes Motor Speedway during the 2008 NASCAR season.
Personal life
According to his mother, Etterlene DeBarge, El is the father of 11 children, the eldest born when El was only fifteen. His children include Adris DeBarge, who is an executive assistant for producer Tracey Edmonds.[3] He is currently separated from Monique DeBarge, having been arrested in 2007 for a conflict stemming from an individual described as "girlfriend."
Legal troubles
El DeBarge was arrested in Los Angeles County, California on August 26, 2007 for possible vandalism, drug possession, and alleged domestic violence.[4] On October 27, 2008 he was sentenced for possession of a controlled substance. Eldra had been arrested earlier in the month after police discovered two warrants for his arrest. [5]. On October 28,2008 he was sentenced to two years in state prison for possession of crack cocaine. He was recently released from prison on October 26, 2009 nearly a year after his sentence.
When I See You
El DeBarge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoo, hu.
Just a thought of you, being with someone else,
That will never do, want you for myself,
Girl, what we've been through,
Baby, me and you, guess we never knew who turned out to be who.
I can't explain and my heart stops
Without you, in my life, girl, the feeling takes me away,
When, I see you, I come alive, girl
I never wanted to wish somebody,
New, in my life girl,
And that's the way I feel when I see you, you, you.
No more loneliness, no more emptiness,
Tell I love you strong, let's hold on to this,
I will cherish you, let me shelter you,
And I promise you, all your dreams will come true.
'cause when I see you, I just die, girl
I can't explain and my heart stops
Without you, in my life, girl, the feeling takes me away,
When, I see you, I come alive, girl
I never wanted to wish somebody,
New, in my life girl,
And that's the way that I feel when I see you girl.
I never felt this much about anything,
Girl you know you got me good.. you got me going insane,
I see traces of your face, in the strangest of places,
It doesn't matter what I do.
'cause when I see you, I just die, girl
I can't explain and my heart stops
Without you, in my life, girl, the feeling takes me away,
When, I see you, I come alive, girl
I never wanted to wish somebody,
New, in my life girl,
And that's the way I feel when I see you, you, you.
It's funny how all this time, I know that we've been through,
Gets better, and better, I love you forever,
Baby you never know who turns out to be you,
September, I'll always remember,
All this time I know what we've been through,
Yeah, gets better and better, I love you forever
Baby I never thought it turn,
After all we've been through, I'm still in love with you.
When I see you, girl, I just die, girl,
'cause when I see you, girl I just die, girl,
When I see you, I just die, girl.
El DeBarge's song "When I See You" is a romantic ballad that describes the intense emotions the singer experiences upon seeing a particular person. He starts by expressing his concern about the thought of the individual being with someone else and states that he wants the person for himself. Despite the fact that he and the person have been through a lot, there's still uncertainty about who they each really are.
When El DeBarge sees the person, his heart stops, and he can't explain the feeling that rushes over him. The singer feels that the person's presence is essential in his life, and without them, he feels lost. The emotions he feels when he sees the person seem to make him come alive, and he can't envisage finding someone else to take their place. As the song's chorus repeats, the singer insists that his feelings have only gotten stronger and remains in love with the person.
The song expresses a yearning for a past love and suggests that the love between the singer and the person can withstand anything they face. The song's melody is filled with various emotions, and the lyrics delve into the nature of love, uncertainty, and emotional attachment. It's all about preserving the love that the singer and the person share, regardless of the issues that they've faced.
Line by Line Meaning
Just a thought of you, being with someone else,
The idea of you being with someone else is unbearable to me.
That will never do, want you for myself,
I want you all for myself and won't accept anything less.
Girl, what we've been through,
We've been through a lot together.
Baby, me and you, guess we never knew who turned out to be who.
We've both changed and grown over time and it's hard to know who we are now.
'cause when I see you, I just die, girl
Seeing you makes me feel so intensely that it's almost too much to bear.
I can't explain and my heart stops
My emotions overwhelm me and I feel like I can't breathe.
Without you, in my life, girl, the feeling takes me away,
I need you in my life to feel complete and fulfilled.
When, I see you, I come alive, girl
You bring me to life and make me feel like anything is possible.
I never wanted to wish somebody,
I never wanted to replace you with someone else.
New, in my life girl,
I never wanted someone new to come along and take your place.
And that's the way I feel when I see you, you, you.
Seeing you reminds me how much I love and need you.
No more loneliness, no more emptiness,
Being with you fills the empty void in my life.
Tell I love you strong, let's hold on to this,
I want to hold on to our love and never let go.
I will cherish you, let me shelter you,
I will protect and care for you always.
And I promise you, all your dreams will come true.
I want to support and help you achieve your dreams.
I never felt this much about anything,
I've never felt this strongly about anyone or anything before.
Girl you know you got me good.. you got me going insane,
You have an intense hold over me, and it's driving me crazy.
I see traces of your face, in the strangest of places,
Your memory is imprinted on my mind and I see reminders of you everywhere.
It doesn't matter what I do.
No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about you.
It's funny how all this time, I know that we've been through,
It's strange how despite everything we've been through, my love for you has only grown stronger.
Gets better, and better, I love you forever,
Our relationship is constantly improving and growing, and my love for you will never fade.
Baby you never know who turns out to be you,
We never know who we will become as we grow and change over time.
September, I'll always remember,
September holds a special place in my heart, and I will always remember why.
After all we've been through, I'm still in love with you.
Despite everything we've faced together, my love for you has never diminished.
When I see you, girl, I just die, girl,
Seeing you takes my breath away and leaves me feeling overwhelmed with emotion.
'cause when I see you, girl I just die, girl,
I can't handle the intensity of my emotions when I'm around you.
When I see you, I just die, girl.
Seeing you is both wonderful and painful, because I love you so much.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ELDRA P. DE BARGE, KENNY BABYFACE EDMONDS, MISCHKE J. BUTLER, RONALD FAIR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind