You know the Debarge family, but do you know their story? These sibling singers rocked the music seen and climbed the charts in the early 1980s with hits like “All This Love” and “I Like It.”

Members El, Bunny, and Chico were household names. But there is one sibling arguably most responsible for the rising stardom of the others, who was a star in his own right, and whose gripping and compelling life led to the TV One original film, “The Bobby DeBarge Story.”

Nationally syndicated DJ, morning show host, and director of the movie, Russ Parr, decided this story needed to be told. “It’s not just about Bobby,” Parr told an audience during the recent premier viewing at AFI Theater in Silver Spring, MD. “It’s about our children.” Parr was referring to the child abuse, incest, and drug additions that occur in many families but are topics swept under the rug and not discussed or exposed. 

The movie features actor Roshon Fegan, currently on the TV series “Greenleaf” on the OWN Network as Bobby DeBarge. Bobby was a charismatic talent whose songwriting and singing led him to be a member of the award winning R&B/funk band Switch. With Switch he was the lead on one of their biggest hits “I Call Your Name.”

The movie displays the little known relationships between Jermaine Jackson, Barry Gordy, and Bobby DeBarge that led to the formation of DeBarge who grew to become one of the most talented musical families since The Jacksons. Through the internal conflicts of oldest child Bobby, the movie  reveals the family’s struggles including drug trafficking with caused the group to disband in 1989.