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"Time Will Reveal"
Single by DeBarge
from the album In a Special Way
B-side	"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" [1]
Released	September 1983
Recorded	1983
Genre	Soul R&B
Length	4:17
Label	Gordy
Songwriter(s)	El DeBarge Bobby DeBarge Etterlene "Bunny" Jordan
Producer(s)	El DeBarge
DeBarge singles chronology
" All This Love" (1983) "Time Will Reveal" (1983) " Love Me in a Special Way" (1984)

"Time Will Reveal" is a single by DeBarge and released in September 1983 as the first single off the group's third album, In a Special Way on the Gordy 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 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 & brothers El and Bobby.

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. ^[2] The success of this record and the preceding singles helped the group attain an opening slot for Luther Vandross' 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.

Charts

Personnel

• Lead vocals and keyboards by El DeBarge
• Background vocals by El DeBarge, Randy DeBarge and Bunny DeBarge
• Drums - Ricky Lawson
• Bass - Nathan East
• Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa
• String Arrangement by Benjamin F. Wright, Jr.
• Produced by El DeBarge
• Written by El DeBarge and Tommy DeBarge
• 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

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• In 1996, R&B group Blackstreet 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 covered the song on their Throwback, Vol. 1 album.
• In 2004, Jed Madela covered the song on his album Songs Rediscovered.
• In 2005, soul singer Janelle Monáe did a cover of the song on the album Got Purp? Vol. 2 by the Purple Ribbon All-Stars after originally featuring the recording on her 2003 demo album, The Audition.
• In 2008, Filipino R&B/pop singer Jay R covered the song on his album Soul in Love.
• In 2011, American singer Mayer Hawthorne 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 covered the song on his album Rhythm and Romance with James Robinson as background vocalist.

See also

• List of number-one R&B singles of 1983 (U.S.)

References