Switch Member Tommy DeBarge Passes Away At 64 Years Old [CONDOLENCES]

Switch Member Tommy DeBarge Passes Away At 64 Years Old [CONDOLENCES]

Tommy DeBarge, a member of R&B group Switch, has recently passed away.

Yesterday (Thursday, Oct. 21st), news broke that Tommy DeBarge died at the age of 64. Reportedly, Tommy DeBarge had been battling liver and kidney failure for quite some time, and the R&B singer finally succumbed to his condition in the hospital.

It’s worth noting that Tommy DeBarge‘s daughter, Marina DeBarge, also revealed the singer had contracted COVID-19 earlier this year–though he allegedly never suffered any pain from the virus and later recovered. She also stated she last spoke to him just one day before his passing (Wednesday, Oct. 20th).

Tommy DeBarge became known in the late 1970s when he helped form Switch in Mansfield, Ohio. In addition to Tommy, the group also consisted of his brother Bobby DeBarge, Gregory Williams, Phillip Ingram, Eddie Fluellen, and Jody Sims. The group is perhaps most known for hit songs like “There’ll Never Be”, “I Call Your Name”, and “Love Over And Over Again.”

The group released its last album, Am I Still Your Boyfriend? in 1984, though Tommy DeBarge, Bobby DeBarge, and Phillip Ingram had left Switch by this point. They were effectively replaced with new members Renard Gallo and Gonzales Ozen.

It’s also worth noting that both Tommy and Bobby DeBarge were later mentors for their younger siblings’ musical group–DeBarge. Bobby died in 1995 of AIDS-related complications.

We send our condolences and prayers to Tommy DeBarge’s friends and family at this time.

[VIA]