I Like It (DeBarge song)

"I Like It" is a late 1982 hit single composed by Randy, Bunny and El DeBarge and released as a single by the family singing quintet, DeBarge, for Motown's Gordy imprint. It was the second single from their second studio album All This Love.

Overview

History

By 1982, DeBarge was struggling to find a hit. Brought on as the splinter group of a fellow Motown group, Switch, which included the group's eldest brothers Bobby and Tommy, and for whom had now left the group after scoring hit singles such as "I Call Your Name" and "There'll Never Be". The younger brothers and sister Bunny were influenced by Bobby vocally, especially El DeBarge.

After releasing their first album, which was handled by outside writers and producers including Jermaine Jackson, DeBarge members started to write their own songs. El, Bunny and Randy then co-wrote the song, which they recorded for their follow-up album, All This Love. Released in late 1982, the song featured Randy singing the lead verses with El singing the bridge and the final chorus ending the song in his trademark falsetto.

Reception

Released as the second single from All This Love - their first single, the dance single "Stop! Don't Tease Me" (led by El) peaked at number forty-six on the Billboard R&B chart, "I Like It" was the group's first big hit reaching number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B singles chart. Very popular immediately with their R&B fan base, the song would be an influential and covered single as several R&B groups covered El's verse, "I like the way you comb your hair/and I like the stylish clothes you wear/it's just the little things you do/that show how much you really care", and also interpolated the group's harmony chant created during El's repeat of the bridge. "I Like It" in turn also became one of the most sampled songs in R&B and today is regarded as a classic song. R&B trio Jomanda covered the song on their second album Nubia Soul (1993). Nelly's "My Place" featuring Jaheim sampled the song on Suit. The song was also sampled for Warren G's hit song, "I Want It All", as well as "I like it (I wanna be where you are)" on Grand Puba's album "2000" and "Make It Hot" on LL Cool J's 1995 album "Mr. Smith". El's brother, Chico DeBarge has been covered at the 2009 Soul Train Awards.

Charts

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Randy DeBarge and El DeBarge
• Background vocals by DeBarge (Bunny DeBarge, El DeBarge, Randy DeBarge, Mark DeBarge and James DeBarge)
• Instrumentation by assorted musicians and DeBarge:
  • El DeBarge: piano/keyboards
  • Randy DeBarge: bass guitar
  • Mark DeBarge: trumpet
• Produced by El DeBarge and Iris Gordy