"I Like It"
Single by DeBarge
from the album All This Love
B-side"Hesitated"
ReleasedAugust 20, 1982
RecordedNovember 1981– April 1982
Genre
Length4:40 (album version)
3:43 (single edit)
LabelGordy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
DeBarge singles chronology
"Stop! Don't Tease Me"
(1982) 		"I Like It"
(1982) 		"All This Love"
(1982)

"I Like It" is a 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 (1982).

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 [him] sound like [his brother] Bobby", to which Iris returned with, "you better thank your lucky stars if you sound even close to Bobby".[1]

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. 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[2] 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 those 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 1993, while artists such as Nelly, LL Cool J, Beyoncé, Grand Puba, Wreckx-n-Effect, 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.[3]

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
Chart (1982–83) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 31
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 2
US Cash Box Top 100[5] 24
Jomanda cover
Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) 67
UK Dance (Music Week)[6] 14
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[7] 15
US Billboard Hot 100 83
US Dance (Billboard) 29
US R&B (Billboard) 45
US Cash Box Top 100[8] 69

Personnel

References

  1. ^ DeBarge: Unsung (2008), TV-One
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 150.,
  3. ^ "Top 100 1993-07-24". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 150.
  5. ^ "Top 100 1983-04-16". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  6. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1993-09-11. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  7. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 1993-08-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  8. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 24, 1993
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