Tommy DeBarge
| Switch | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | White Heat, Hot Ice |
| Origin | Mansfield, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | R&B, funk |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | RCA, Polydor, Gordy (Motown), Total Experience |
| Website | reverbnation |
| Members | Gregory Williams Eddie Fluellen Phillip Ingram Michael McGloiry Akili Nickson James Strong Michael Norfleet Derek Organ |
| Past members |
Bobby DeBarge (deceased) Tommy DeBarge Jody Sims Attala Giles Renard Gallo Gonzales Ozen Howie Carbaugh Christopher Hawkins Anthony Watters |
Switch is an R&B/funk band that found fame recording for the Gordy label in the late 1970s, releasing hit songs such as "There'll Never Be", "I Call Your Name" and "Love Over & Over Again". Switch influenced bands such as DeBarge, which featured the siblings of Switch band members Bobby and Tommy DeBarge.
The group was formed in Mansfield, Ohio, around 1976 by Gregory Williams. They recorded a demo tape in Columbus, Ohio with the financial assistance of Bernd Lichters. Switch included brothers Tommy DeBarge and Bobby DeBarge, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with Akron, Ohio natives Phillip Ingram (brother of James Ingram), Eddie Fluellen, and Jody Sims (originally from Steubenville, Ohio). Williams, Bobby DeBarge, and Sims had been members of White Heat, which released a self-titled album on RCA in 1975, but the band's producer, Barry White, soon shuttered his Soul Unlimited production company and dropped all the acts on the roster. Williams, then living in Akron, decided to form his own band.
The new group would become Switch due to their ability to switch to different lead vocalist and instruments during a song. Williams and Sims met and got the attention of Jermaine Jackson, former member of the Jackson 5 and husband of Hazel Gordy (daughter of Motown Chief Berry Gordy, Jr.), who heard the group's demo tape. Within weeks, the group was signed to the Motown Records subsidiary label, Gordy. They recorded and released their self titled debut album some 18 months later in 1978, which featured their first Top 10 R&B hit single, entitled "There'll Never Be". The song also proved to be their biggest success on the Billboard Hot 100, where it was a Top 40 hit (their only one), peaking at #36.
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