"Time Will Reveal" 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 ...

and released in September 1983 as the first single off the group's third album, ''

In a Special Way ''In a Special Way'' is the third studio album by American R&B group DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on September 24, 1983. It was recorded at Kendun Records in Burbank and Westlake Audio in West Hollywood; written and produced by lead voca ...

'' 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. It was also the group's biggest hit prior to the group's 1985 hit, " Rhythm of the Night".

Overview

Recording

By 1983, DeBarge was riding off the crossover success of their 1982 second album, '' All This Love'', which included the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

and " I Like It". Boosted by its success, the group recorded a similar album with ''In a Special Way''. Among the songs chosen for a single was the crossover hit "Time Will Reveal", which was written by sister

Bunny DeBarge Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge (born March 10, 1955) is an American soul singer–songwriter and the lone female sibling of the Motown family group DeBarge. She was the lead vocalist on the R&B ballad "A Dream", from the group's ''In a Special Way'' ...

& brothers El and

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

Reception

Much like their two previous singles, DeBarge found a hit with "Time Will Reveal", which reached number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart and number 18 on the US pop singles chart. The success of this record and the preceding singles helped the group attain an opening slot for

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

' U.S. tour of 1984, in which by then DeBarge had become a national attraction, with its early success being compared to the earlier Motown family act,

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Charts

Personnel

* Lead vocals and keyboards 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 Hold ...

* Background vocals by El DeBarge,

Randy DeBarge William Randall DeBarge (born August 6, 1958) is an American R&B/soul singer and bass guitarist, best known for being one of the original members of the popular Motown singing family group DeBarge. Randy is also known for singing co-lead and pen ...

and

* 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 -

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

* Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa * String Arrangement by Benjamin F. Wright, Jr. * Produced by El DeBarge * Written by El DeBarge and

Tommy DeBarge The DeBarge family is a family of rhythm and blues artists from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1975, Bobby left Grand Rapids to start the funk-soul band, Switch (Tommy later joined the band), which first went by the moniker, First Class. Eventuall ...

* Associate Producer - Tommy DeBarge * Engineer - Barney Perkins

In popular culture

* '' The Game'', a comedy-drama television series, played the song on Season 4: Episode 6 "Men in Crisis" in 2011.

Cover versions

* In 1996, R&B group

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

covered the song in the closing track on their second studio album '' Another Level'', as "The Lord is Real". * In 1997, R&B group Shades covered the song on their debut album '' Shades''. * In 2004,

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 ...

covered the song on their ''

Throwback, Vol. 1 ''Throwback, Vol. 1'' is the seventh studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men, released by Koch Records, and featuring covers of classic R&B songs (hence the album title) from such artists as Teddy Pendergrass, The Isley Brothers and Michael ...

'' album. * In 2004,

Jed Madela John Edward Tiña Tajanlangit (born July 14, 1977), professionally known as Jed Madela, is a Filipino singer, recording artist, songwriter, TV host, entertainer, and occasional actor. He was the first Filipino to win the World Championships o ...

covered the song on his album ''Songs Rediscovered''. * In 2005, soul singer

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

did a cover of the song on the album '' Got Purp? Vol. 2'' by the

Purple Ribbon All-Stars Purple Ribbon All-Stars was an American Southern hip hop supergroup under the Purple Ribbon Records (distributed through Virgin Records) label. The group consisted of Big Boi, Killer Mike, Janelle Monáe, Sleepy Brown Patrick Leroy "Sleep ...

after originally featuring the recording on her 2003 demo album, '' The Audition''. * In 2008, Filipino R&B/pop singer

Jay R Gaudencio Sillona III (born February 1, 1981), known professionally as Jay R, is a Filipino-AmericanRicky Lo (April 11, 2004)Jay R: The Heart of The Hunk, ''The Philippine Star'' singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and model. In 2003, he ...

covered the song on his album '' Soul in Love''. * In 2011, American singer

Mayer Hawthorne Andrew Mayer Cohen (born February 2, 1979), better known by his stage name Mayer Hawthorne, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. Cohen performs a ...

covered the song on the album ''Stones Throw Direct to Disc #1'' recorded live directly to vinyl at Capsule Labs in Los Angeles. * In 2016, saxophonist

Kim Waters Kim Waters (born March 20, 1965) is an American jazz artist born in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Early life Waters grew up in Harford County, Maryland. Waters learned how to play the saxophone at a young age. He attended C. Milton Wright High ...

covered the song on his album ''Rhythm and Romance'' with James Robinson as background vocalist.

References

{{DeBarge 1983 singles DeBarge songs Songs written by El DeBarge Gordy Records singles 1983 songs Contemporary R&B ballads 1980s ballads