History By 1985, DeBarge had become pop/R&B sensations, with
ballads mostly making up the repertoire of their hit catalog, though they were as impressive as live performers, with a mixture of their trademark soft ballads and a collection of
dance material. Motown Records sought to produce DeBarge with a dance single, hoping to give them a bigger crossover success, mirroring label-mate
Lionel Richie, who like DeBarge, had created his initial fan base on soft songs before the release of "
All Night Long", which included a catchy dance beat influenced by
calypso. A similar influence would come in the production of "Rhythm of the Night", which featured more of El DeBarge's modal tenor voice with flashes of his trademark falsetto.
Richard Perry, the hit producer behind hit recordings for
the Pointer Sisters,
Harry Nilsson, and
Carly Simon, among others, produced the song; the lyrics were written by one of the label's newly hired songwriters, Diane Warren.
Reception The release of "Rhythm of the Night" coincided with the release of the Motown film
The Last Dragon, which featured the song as part of its soundtrack. The free publicity from the song's association with the movie helped boost its popularity. Eventually released as a single, the song produced DeBarge's biggest success yet, with the single reaching number three on the
Billboard Hot 100, number one on
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number one on the US
adult contemporary chart, and number four in the
UK—their only major hit single in the UK—going
gold and boosting similar success for its parent album of the same name. The
music video gained the group heavy rotation on
MTV and
BET and was actually the group's first (and last) real music video, starting a brief period where DeBarge became pop superstars. The song featured in the 2016 film
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call and a cover version appeared in the jukebox musical
Moulin Rouge!. The song also features in the
twelfth season of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race'' as a running gag, due to contestant Crystal Methyd's out-of-
drag resemblance to El DeBarge. Lyrics and sample from the chorus of "Rhythm of the Night" were adopted in
CNCO's song "
Pretend". ==Personnel==