DeBarge -- I Like It

 

Welcome to another Reminiscings of Youth entry for this Thursday, the final day of July 2025. And what better way to end it with something nice and groovy from the 1980s? Referring back to my article "If I Had an All-Night Radio Show...", I rather regret not having included DeBarge in my midnight playlist but I just had so many candidates to put up. Still, easily, something like their "All This Love" would have gotten airplay on that first episode.

This would be another sure bet from them. "I Like It" was their 3rd single from August 1982 and it was the one that preceded "All This Love" which was my introduction to the singing family. Instead of the swaying love ballad that "All This Love" is, "I Like It" is more in the mid-tempo range but still has Randy and El singing about someone fully in love with his significant other through all things big and small. I like it...or I love it rather for those mellow horns, the bass and the overall rhythm which could represent that someone constantly eyeing his girlfriend or wife as she's doing the most mundane things such as washing the dishes or trying out a new dress. The song managed to reach No. 31 on US Billboard.

I'm going to go way down on the Oricon list to see what else was hitting the Japanese charts in August 1982. I have Nos. 18 and 19.

18. Hideki Saijo -- Sei Shojo （聖・少女）

19. Naoko Kawai -- Natsu no Heroine （夏のヒロイン）

DeBarge -- Rhythm of the Night

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Can't quite believe that this song is over forty years old now. Recently, commenter Brian Mitchell remarked that he would be taking a look at the DeBarge file here on KKP, and I realized that it's been a good while since I posted a ROY tune regarding this talented musical family from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In fact, I think the last time I did, it was nearly three years ago and it was for the cool-as-ice "You Wear It Well" from October 1985.

DeBarge could do the upbeat as well as the amazing balladry and even earlier that year from February, the group had another catchy happy-go-lucky hit in the form of "Rhythm of the Night". Yes, I remember seeing the music video with El and the rest of the family almost weekly on the video shows, and dang, that was the most choreographically-talented block party I've ever seen. Diane Warren was the songwriter here and "Rhythm of the Night" is just one of those symbolic 80s songs that makes me swoon and sigh for a decade that I had once inhabited. I also notice that there are a few musicians involved in the song that have had associations with Japanese artists and their works such as guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. and percussionist Paulinho da Costa.

"Rhythm of the Night" peaked at No. 3 in both Canada and the United States. I also have to remember that it was also part of the soundtrack of "The Last Dragon".

So, what was coming out as singles in February 1985? We've got three right here.

Yuki Saito -- Sotsugyo (卒業）

Teresa Teng -- Aijin （愛人）

Momoko Kikuchi -- Sotsugyo （卒業）

DeBarge -- You Wear It Well

 

Got together for a ramen lunch with an old friend whom I hadn't seen in a few years in person and made a new friend today. It was good to have the Meat Lover's Ramen at Touhenboku; good soup and plenty of protein. Unfortunately, I may have overdone it with the Fuwa Fuwa pancake dessert and then the usual dinner at home a few hours later, but my gastrointestinal tract (or what's left of it) was gradually able to process everything.

Anyways, as I told Gary over pancakes this afternoon, I said that I would be doing DeBarge tonight for the weekly Reminiscings of Youth article. I've already written up on a couple of articles on this family of talented singers and songwriters from the 1980s. "All This Love" and "Love Me In A Special Way" are some of the most wonderful love tunes this side of Quiet Storm that I had ever heard from this Michigan-based group, but this time, I wanted to re-check their more upbeat and party-hearty work as well as get a vicarious workout from today's large ingestion of food.

It's too bad that the original music video for "You Wear It Well" is not up on YouTube but that's OK. The song on its own is just smashing to listen to. It's cool, it's 80s, it's downtown and it's darn funky. Created by El and Chico DeBarge as an October 1985 single, it just pops like a pan of Jiffy-Pop popcorn and it seems to be the perfect song for a slow-motion montage during a scene of paint-the-town-red luxury.

According to the Wikipedia article for "You Wear It Well", El and the stylish song made their appearances on a few shows such as the stylish "Miami Vice", and though I couldn't find a video, I swear that it also got used in a montage scene of "Moonlighting". And yep, it was a pretty luxurious scene, too.

Of course, being the 1980s, "You Wear It Well" did get a few dance remix versions including the M&M Club Mix. The song hit No. 46 on the US Billboard Top 100, but it did hit the top spot on its Hot Club Dance Play chart. It was also included on DeBarge's "Rhythm of the Night" album released in March 1985.

So, how was Oricon doing in the month of October 1985? Here are No. 1, 2 and 4.

1. Momoko Kikuchi -- Mou Aenai Kamoshirenai（もう逢えないかもしれない）

2. Akiko Kobayashi -- Koi ni Ochite (恋におちて）

4. Akina Nakamori -- Solitude

DeBarge -- Love Me in a Special Way

 

Here I was about to devote this week's ROY article to the wonders of DeBarge and "All This Love", only to find out that I'd already devoted the classic soul ballad to ROY-dom last year! I may have to increase my intake of fish oil.

Still, the oversight gives me the opportunity to add another romantically-charged DeBarge love song to "Kayo Kyoku Plus", and that would be "Love Me in a Special Way". Next to "All This Love", this would be the DeBarge song that I adore the most. Released in November 1983 as a single, the El Debarge-penned "Love Me in a Special Way" is a slow dance-worthy or sway-worthy number that has a quietly grand opening with El's piano and then the gradual introduction of those strings. Stevie Wonder has always been the saffron in any R&B paella, and he does so here as well thanks to his solo guest appearance via a melodica or harmonica (the Wikipedia article for the song says both in different parts, but I think it's the latter).

Ironically, the "All This Love" article was the first time that I got the idea to apply the ROY tag to my old favourites from America, Canada and the UK. Anyways, I would love to add more DeBarge to this Label in the months to come.

Now what were the Top 3 of November 1983 on Oricon?

1. Seiko Matsuda -- Hitomi wa Diamond （瞳はダイアモンド）

2. Masahiko Kondo -- Royal Straight Flush（ロイヤル・ストレート・フラッシュ）

3. Seiko Matsuda -- Glass no Ringo （ガラスの林檎）

DeBarge -- All This Love

For nostalgia's sake tonight, I put on one of my ancient Canadian Tire tapes with stuff that I had recorded all the way back in my high school years (1980s). Unfortunately, my tape recorder, Jaws, got a bit peckish so it nibbled on some of the tape, and if you have read my article on Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Crimson", it can get a little too messy on the devouring. Luckily, though, the damage wasn't too bad.

The first song on my various tapings from the FM stations on Toronto radio happened to be DeBarge's "All This Love" which was released back in October 1982. "All This Love" stands as one of the great soulful romantic ballads of all time in my estimation. It's one of those special tunes that can truly transport me into a happy place for nearly 6 minutes. Moreover, I don't think it would be too much of a stretch for me to say that thanks to this classic and other great 80s R&B/pop songs, this helped me appreciate Japanese City Pop.

Now, considering that this may be my fourth time paying tribute to a Western tune after also having written about "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Vacation" and most recently "Lovely Day", I've decided to pack these all together into a new Label called Reminiscings of Youth. Basically, if I talk about one of my favourite American, Canadian or British songs when I was a teen or kid, I will see if I can find some of the timely kayo that had come out around the same time as that song.

So, without further ado, here are the Top 3 songs on the Oricon singles chart for October 1982:

1. Aming -- Matsu wa

2. Ippu-Do -- Sumire September Love

3. Masahiko Kondo -- Horeta ze! Kanpai