Mark "Marty" DeBarge (born June 19, 1959) is an American R&B/

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-songwriter, drummer, percussionist, and plays a variety of wind instruments, such as the saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn and flute. He is best known for his work as an original member of 1980s

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 ...

singing 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 ...

. He is also known for writing the group's popular album track, " Stay With Me", later covered by the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Ashanti and

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

Biography

Early years

Mark was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

as the fifth of ten children to Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932-2009) and Etterlene (née Abney) DeBarge (1935-2024). His father, Robert DeBarge, is of French descent, while his mother, Etterlene, is of African American and American Indian descent. DeBarge sang in his local church choir as a child. Later, after his 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 ...

, he and the rest of his family began performing at Bethel Pentecostal church, where his uncle William Charles Abney, Jr. was pastor. His father Robert was reportedly physically and sexually abusive towards his children, leading to his and Etterlene’s divorce in 1974. DeBarge and his brothers and sister were inspired by

singers such as

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and brother

Bobby DeBarge Robert Louis DeBarge, Jr. (March 5, 1956 – August 16, 1995) was an American singer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group Switch, releasing hit records on the Motown label from 1977 to 1980. He has been noted for his fal ...

, who was the writer, lead singer, and pianist for the group

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 ...

in the late 1970s. In 1980,

Motown Records 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 ...

signed Mark DeBarge and his brothers El and

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 ...

and sister

Bunny Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

to a recording contract, with the group being known as

. The group released their debut album, '' The DeBarges'' on April 6, 1981.

DeBarge

By the time the group's second album, 1982's '' All This Love'' was released, brother James had joined the group. The second album was the group's first album to score hits and included songs such as " I Like It" and " All This Love", which featured Mark on backing vocals as well as playing the flugelhorn. Throughout the 1980s, other DeBarge hits included "

Love Me in a Special Way Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good hab ...

", " Time Will Reveal", " Rhythm of the Night", and " Who's Holding Donna Now". Mark remained in the group when brother El and sister Bunny left in 1986 for solo careers. Brother Bobby joined the group. DeBarge was released from Motown following the departure of El and Bunny and the group signed with the independent Striped Horse Records. Soon after, the new DeBarge line-up released the album ''Bad Boys'', but it contained no hit singles. DeBarge split up in 1989 after the convictions of brothers Bobby and Chico on drug trafficking charges. Mark, El, James, Randy, Bunny, twins Darryl and Carol, and all the siblings' mother Etterlene got together as The DeBarge Family and released the 1991 gospel album ''Back on Track''.

Later years

Mark is the father of six children. A girl, four boys, and another child: Lakeysha, Mark Jr., Devyn, Piper, Michael, and Giovanni Debarge. Mark DeBarge lives in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

according to mother Etterlene in an article about his family in '' Jet''.Jet Magazine March 3, 2008
/ref>

Discography

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

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 ...

'' (1983) * '' Rhythm of the Night'' (1985) * ''Bad Boys'' (1987) * '' Back on Track'' (1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debarge, Mark 1959 births Living people 20th-century American singers Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan DeBarge members American male trumpeters American saxophonists American male saxophonists American soul singers American tenors African-American male singers American contemporary R&B singers DeBarge family Singers from California 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American trumpeters Songwriters from California Songwriters from Michigan Singers from Detroit 21st-century American saxophonists African-American songwriters