Rhythm of the Night (album)
| Rhythm of the Night | ||||
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| Studio album by DeBarge | ||||
| Released | March 14, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984-1985 | |||
| Genre | R&B, dance-pop | |||
| Length | 42:33 | |||
| Label | Gordy | |||
| Producer | Jay Graydon, Giorgio Moroder, El DeBarge, Bunny DeBarge, Bobby DeBarge, Richard Perry | |||
| DeBarge chronology | ||||
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| Singles from DeBarge | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
Rhythm of the Night is the fourth studio album by DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on March 14, 1985. It reached #19 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the R&B Album Chart. The album was also certified Platinum by the RIAA.
DeBarge continued their success streak with their third album, 1983's In a Special Way. They went back into the studio to record what became Rhythm of the Night. Although the group had creative control, the group's managers Tony Jones and Suzanne de Passe elected to have outside producers to helm the project. Producers included Richard Perry, Giorgio Moroder and Jay Graydon with the members of DeBarge on a few songs.Rhythm of the Night contained six new songs, which were recorded specifically for the album. The remaining songs were old material that were previously released. "Single Heart" originally appeared in the 1983 film D.C. Cab, while "Share My World" originally appeared on their 1981 debut The DeBarges. When asked on why the group's contributions were minimal on Rhythm of the Night, El noted that it was largely due to them being busy touring with singer Luther Vandross.
However, in a 2008 episode of TV One's Unsung, the group members revealed that drugs were the real reason behind their limited involvement. Most of the members were drug addled - much like their brothers in the group Switch. Ironically, El DeBarge was very zero tolerant when it came to drug use, and as such, Motown solely relied on him to complete the album. The drug use overpowered the remaining members of the group so much that El threatened to attempt a solo career on the Vandross tour. Motown then handed El the task of recording and finishing Rhythm of the Night with little to no input from his siblings. Most of the backing vocals were performed by El with an array of session vocalists.James DeBarge mentioned that he had no idea where the studios were to record his vocals and the only song he actually sang on was the title track, while Bunny was asked to sing over the background singers' parts.
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