b. Jonathan Arthur DeBarge, 23 June 1966, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Chico DeBarge was too young to join the family group DeBarge in 1978, but he was signed to a solo contract with Motown Records in 1986, issuing a self-titled album in a harder, funk-rooted style than his brothers and sisters. His debut single, ‘Talk To Me’, was a major US hit, and he had four more black music chart entries up to 1988. His promising career was effectively ended when he and his brother Bobby DeBarge (a former member of the Motown group Switch) were arrested and then convicted on charges of trafficking cocaine in October 1988. Released after six years’ imprisonment, DeBarge returned to music in the late 90s with Long Time No See.
