"All This Love" is a single by

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

, released on October 17, 1982. The song was released as the third and final single from their second studio album of the same title on the

Gordy ''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of others ...

label. The single would help DeBarge rise to R&B stardom. A cover version of the song was recorded by

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

on her 1994 gold album ''

Gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *Gems (Aerosmith album), ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 *Gems (Patti LaBelle album), ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 *G ...

''. A video for her version was also filmed.

Overview

History

In 1982, having released one album that did not go anywhere, DeBarge went into recording their follow-up with their own songs, chiefly handled by

El DeBarge Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include "Time Will Reveal", "Who's Holding ...

, who was also the main lead singer and focal point of the group, including the song, "All This Love", in which DeBarge sung in a high tenor and had written it in a year earlier in hopes then-label mate and longtime idol

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

would record it. Gaye had served as El's inspiration for the song, hinted in the group's vocal harmonizing in the final part of the song, which was similar to Gaye's " I Want You" vocal style period. By the following year, Gaye had left the label and DeBarge ended up recording it themselves. Producing this song with

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

's niece Iris, the single was issued as the third release from ''All This Love''. The song was featured in a 1983 episode of the US daytime soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''.

Reception

Much like their first hit, " I Like It", "All This Love" was immediately embraced by the R&B community while the group gained a pop fan base. In the US, The single reached number 5 on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, helping its parent album of the same name reach

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

status by the summer of 1983.

Personnel

* Lead vocals, keyboards and rhythm arrangement -

* Background vocals - DeBarge * Keyboards -

James DeBarge James Curtis DeBarge (born August 22, 1963) is an American R&B/soul singer. He was one of the members of the singing family vocal group DeBarge who became famous with their mid-1980s songs " All This Love", "Love Me in a Special Way", " Rhythm ...

* Guitar solo -

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " ...

* Drums -

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

* Bass - Freddie Washington * Percussion by Nathan Hughes and Richard Heath * Guitars - Charles F. Fearing, Curtis A. Nolen, and

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield ...

* Rhythm, string and horn arrangements by Benjamin F. Wright, Jr. * Horns - Clarence Lawrey,

George Bohanon George Roland Bohanon, Jr. (born August 7, 1937) is a jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith (musician), Johnny Griffith, Paula Gr ...

, John Ervin, Cliff Ervin, Nolan A. Smith, Jr., Raymond L. Brown, Roy Poper and

Mark DeBarge Mark "Marty" DeBarge (born June 19, 1959) is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, drummer, percussionist, and plays a variety of wind instruments, such as the saxophone, flugelhorn, trumpet, and flute. He is best known for his work as member o ...

* Flute by Gerald A. Albright * Produced by El DeBarge and

Iris Gordy Iris Gordy is an American songwriter, producer, and music executive. She is a former vice president at Motown, where she helped launch the careers of DeBarge, Teena Marie, and Rick James, Mandre, Bobby Nunn and Tata Vega. Her credits include ...

* Written by El DeBarge * Engineering - Barney Perkins * Executive Producer -

Cover versions

* It was covered by American jazz violinist John Blake on his 1987 album ''Adventures of the Heart'' with vocals by

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made fa ...

. * Pop group Scene 23 from the WB show

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Realit ...

recorded a version on the song for their debut album, ''Introducing Scene 23''. *

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

-based guitarist Calvin Brooks recorded an instrumental version of it on his 1992 album ''My Favorite Thing''. * The song was re-recorded by R&B legend

on her 1998 album, ''

''. LaBelle's version, produced by

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. " Tedd ...

, was released as a single and peaked at #42 on the Billboard R&B chart. DeBarge and LaBelle later sung the song together as a duet live in concert. * Mexican-American percussionist

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. "Pete Escovedo Biography & Awards" With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke ...

, along with saxophonist

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

did an instrumental version of "All This Love" for Escovedo's 1995 album ''Flying South'', which had considerable air time on

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

radio stations. * In 1996 R&B group Xscape covered the song on the American

police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American Police procedural, police drama that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and ...

'' episode 44 "

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consid ...

" and it also appears on the 1998 soundtrack for the show. * Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Bill Cantos recorded a

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

-oriented version on his 2000 album ''Movie in the Night Sky''.Bill Cantos - ''Movie in the Night Sky'' (2000) album credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* The song was covered by

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

and released on their 2007 compilation album '' Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA'' of

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

hits. *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

covered the song on his 2008 album, ''A Night to Remember''.

Samples

* West side rapper

Skee-lo Antoine Roundtree (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Skee-Lo, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1995 song "I Wish", which became a hit in several countries and reached No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His fir ...

sampled "All This Love" in the "I Wish (Street Mix)" remix of his hit song "

I Wish I WiSH was a Japanese pop group consisting of two members, Ai Kawashima and nao. Ai is responsible for the vocals and occasionally plays the piano also with nao on the keyboard or piano. Their most notable track is and was in the Oricon ranking ...

" from his 1995 debut album ''

''. * In 1996, Rapper

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album ''Funkda ...

sampled the track for "Ghetto Love" on her second album ''

Anuthatantrum ''Anuthatantrum'' is the second studio album by Da Brat. It was released in 1996 and went Gold in 1997. A single culled from the album was "Ghetto Love", which featured TLC member Tionne Watkins. The album peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200. ...

''. * In 1996,

Tha Mexakinz Tha Mexakinz are a Latin rap duo from Long Beach, California, who released three albums in the 1990s on Wild West Records. The first LP, "Zig Zag", was distributed by Wild West/Mad Sounds/Motown. Wild West was also affiliated with American Record ...

sampled the track for "Problems" on their second album ''

''. *

Tionne Watkins Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

(a.k.a. T-Boz) of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

sung an interpolation of the first verse of the "Debarge" track as the opening and the same chorus. * In 2000,

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

sampled the beat for the song "Life I Live" featuring Short Circuit & Slay Sean off his album '' Ghetto Postage''. * In 2001,

AZ (rapper) Anthony Cruz (born March 9, 1972), better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He is known for being a longtime and frequent music partner of East Coast rapper Nas and also a member of hip hop group The Fi ...

sampled the track for his song called "Problems" off his album '' 9 Lives''. * In 2004,

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

sang an interpolation of the outro as the chorus to her song "I Wanna Thank Ya" from her album '' Stone Love''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1983 singles 1994 singles DeBarge songs Patti LaBelle songs Songs written by El DeBarge 1982 songs Gordy Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads Soul ballads 1980s ballads