Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge (born March 10, 1955) is an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

–

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and the lone female sibling of the Motown family group

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consiste ...

. She was the lead

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

on the R&B ballad " A Dream", from the group's ''

In a Special Way ''In a Special Way'' is the third studio album by American R&B group DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on September 23, 1983. It was recorded at Kendun Records in Burbank and Westlake Audio in West Hollywood; written and produced by lead voca ...

'' album, and is also the co-writer of the group's 1982 breakthrough hit, " I Like It" and the number-one hit, " Time Will Reveal".

Early life

Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge is the eldest of 10 children, born to Etterlene (née Abney) and Robert DeBarge, Sr. While spending her initial childhood in Detroit, her family moved to

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

when she was 16. Bunny would later recall years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father, stating that he had started molesting her when she was seven and this carried on until she was 13. Bunny found solace in music, singing in her uncle's church as a child. She and her brothers soon participated in several groups together in various times. In 1972, DeBarge dropped out of school and married her first husband, with whom she had two children; they later divorced. Bunny taught herself how to write songs and compose melodies, which paid off as she got older.

Music career

In 1979, after a couple years watching her brothers Bobby and Tommy ride to musical stardom as members of the band

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

, Bunny teamed up with her three brothers

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolph, and Miranda, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them. '' Randi'' is approximat ...

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

and El and became

. They signed with

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

after their demo tape was passed off by Switch's Gregory Williams to Motown CEO

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

, who was left impressed by the siblings and soon put the band on a salary. Between 1979 and 1981, Bunny and her brothers worked behind the scenes mainly on the works of Switch, with Bunny in particular collaborating with her brother Bobby on songs such as "Hold On to My Love", "Love Over and Over Again" and "My Friend in the Sky". In 1981, Bunny co-produced the DeBarges' self-titled debut album and was featured on lead vocals alongside brother El on "Share My World" which they wrote. A year later, in 1982, the group brought along their teenage brother James, and shortened their name to just DeBarge. That year, they released their second album, '' All This Love'', with which the siblings found musical success, particularly with " I Like It", for which Bunny wrote parts of the lyrics, alongside her brothers Randy and El. The group followed up this success with their third album, ''

In A Special Way ''In a Special Way'' is the third studio album by American R&B group DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on September 23, 1983. It was recorded at Kendun Records in Burbank and Westlake Audio in West Hollywood; written and produced by lead voca ...

'', in 1983. The album yielded another hit with Bunny as a lyricist, with the gospel-influenced " Time Will Reveal". The album also included several more highlights including two more Bunny-composed ballads, " Stay with Me" and " A Dream", the last song Bunny took lead vocals on. Like ''All This Love'' before it, ''In a Special Way'' went gold, paving the way for the group's biggest success in 1985 with the '' Rhythm of the Night'' album, with the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

becoming a top five crossover hit.

Personal life

Bunny DeBarge has been married twice. In several of DeBarge's albums, she is listed as Etterlene Jordan and is sometimes referred to as either Etterlene Jordan-Knight or Etterlene DeBarge Knight. Bunny is the mother of four children and a grandmother of fifteen and still lives in Michigan, having moved back to Grand Rapids after years living in California. Much like her brothers, Bunny DeBarge has dealt with drug issues, going back to her teen years, which started with

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and moving up to

prescription medication A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs ca ...

during her heyday with DeBarge. It soon escalated to usage of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. Bunny entered rehab several times to kick her habit. In 2008, she broke her silence issuing her autobiography, ''The Kept Ones'', in which she talked about her father's abuse towards her and her siblings and her dealings with substance abuse. That year she appeared on the debut episode of the TV One series, '' Unsung'', in which she talked about her childhood and her time with DeBarge, along with brothers Randy and James. The trio again appeared on TV three years later in September 2011, on the show '' Lifechangers'' alongside Bunny's daughter Janae. James entered the rehabilitation program but left a few hours later. Randy left a few days later. Bunny entered the rehabilitation program and completed her entire experience. After leaving the rehabilitation program in West Hollywood, California, Bunny has been touring and focusing on her new album.

Discography

;with DeBarge * '' The DeBarges'' (1981) * '' All This Love'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) * '' Rhythm of the Night'' (1985) * '' Back on Track'' (1991) ;Solo * '' In Love'' (1987)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Debarge, Bunny 1955 births Living people DeBarge members 20th-century American singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American women singers American sopranos Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan American gospel singers American soul singers Motown artists American contemporary R&B singers 20th-century American composers American Christians DeBarge family Singers from Detroit 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women composers Singer-songwriters from Michigan