I Like It (DeBarge song)

"I Like It" is a 1982 R&B/Soul song by American family band DeBarge. Released on August 20, 1982 by Motown Records (Gordy), It was the second single from their second studio album, All This Love.

Overview

Recording
After releasing their poorly-received self-titled album, the group quickly returned to the studio to record their second album. Choosing to add younger brother James and shortening their name to simply DeBarge, the group returned to Motown's recording studios determined to produce a hit.

The song was musically composed by El DeBarge, who also produced the track with Iris Gordy, with lyrics provided by Randy, El and sister Bunny, who composed the much-copied bridge. While being interviewed for the TV documentary, Unsung, in 2008, co-producer Iris Gordy told El to sing the final ad-libs "I like it, I like it", in a higher register. El responded by telling Iris that she was "trying to make sound like [his brother] Bobby", to which Iris returned with, "you better thank your lucky stars if you sound even close to Bobby".<ref>DeBarge: Unsung (2008), TV-One</ref>

According to Randy, who was also interviewed for the show, while he wrote lyrics to and sang lead on the song's verses, while Bunny wrote the bridge, which El sung, while Bunny said El "was the producer, he brought it all home". El composed the musical track and played piano. It also featured a sing-along type unified harmony which was arranged by El.

Reception
"I Like It" was released in August 1982 and became the band's first huge hit, peaking at number two on the R&B singles chart while crossing over to the pop singles chart, where it peaked at number 31 helping to make their All This Love album go gold.

It has remained a covered and sampled track in R&B and hip-hop music since its release with some of its lyrics and melodies interpolated or recalled in other songs. The El-sung bridge, "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 shows how much you really care", has been often repeated.

The original song is deemed a "Motown classic" by fans of the label's sound.

Cover versions
R&B trio Jomanda covered it in 1991, while artists such as Nelly, LL Cool J, Beyoncé, Grand Puba and Warren G have sampled the song. In July 1993, Jomanda's cover reached #83 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #69 on the Cash Box Top 100.

Jesse Powell also covered the song in 2003 from his album, Jesse''.

In a tribute to Motown acts, Chico DeBarge performed the song at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2009 surprisingly hitting the high notes his brother El had hit in the original recording; Chico is known for singing predominantly in the tenor range.

Charts
De Barge version

Jomanda cover

Personnel
Lead vocals by Randy DeBarge and El DeBarge
Background vocals by DeBarge (Bunny DeBarge, El DeBarge, Randy DeBarge, Mark DeBarge and James DeBarge)
Produced by El DeBarge and Iris Gordy
Instrumentation:
Ollie Brown: drums
Curtis Anthony Nolen: guitar
Randy DeBarge: bass guitar
Mark DeBarge, George Bohannon, Ray Brown and Roy Popper: trumpets
El DeBarge: piano, keyboards

References

External links
 

Category:1982 singles
Category:DeBarge songs
Category:Songs written by El DeBarge
Category:1982 songs
Category:Gordy Records singles