![]() ![]() ![]() In 1980, because of the success of their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge with the hit group Switch, El was able to perform live at the piano and sing in front of Motown CEO Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the group, then known as The DeBarges, to the label. His eldest sister Bunny joined her brothers in California as well. By 1979, Bernd Lichters was able to secure a deal with Source Records/MCA to release the Pall Mall Groove – Hot Ice album as SMASH for the USA/Canada market and moved El from Michigan to Los Angeles, to have him, his brothers Mark and Randy DeBarge, in addition to their cousin Andre Abney, Elliot Townsend, and Stanley Hood, to back up the release as the SMASH band. In 1977, he dropped out of high school and began performing with his elder brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan. He became a father for the first time at 16 and eventually fathered 11 more children. ![]() By 1975, El had begun to express a desire to become a performer. For several years, El spent time in private study with music educator Ricky Callier. ![]()
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