Remember Switch’s 1979 classic, “I Call Your Name”? Well, guess what? That song was inspired by a famous R&B singer who was also the love of Bobby DeBarge’s (the lead singer of Switch) life at that time. According to switch member, Gregory Williams, Bobby and this female singer were madly in love.

Their relationship was kept very private back in the day and it wasn’t until a few decades later that some whispers leaked publicly about their puppy love.

The singer we’re referring to had a music career that was primarily crackin’ throughout the ’80s…but after that era fizzled out, so did her career. Okay family, those are all of the hints we’ll give. Scroll down to see who she is…

“I Call Your Name’ was Written For…

“I Call Your Name” was written about La Toya Jackson! Can you believe that?!! Gregory Williams — who co-wrote the song with Bobby — stated that all Bobby had on his mind during their writing session, was La Toya.

Here’s what he revealed about the night they wrote the song:

G. W. – “The night we wrote ‘I Call Your Name’ was a strange one. Bobby was dating LaToya Jackson and she was the only girl on his mind. One night, he started fooling around on the Fender Rhodes. I started singing along, and next thing you know we had a song. I’m not saying the song was written for LaToya, but they were in love, and Bobby couldn’t wait to play her the completed song.” -Vibe Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the DeBarge family (2007)

There were also reports that Bobby and La Toya were practically joined at the hip during that time.

Bobby Wasn’t La Toya’s Usual Type

LaToya is probably the singer you would least expect to have dated Bobby, given her dating track record of what seem to be the complete opposites of Bobby DeBarge- a street cat who dabbled with drugs and had a lot of swag and soul.

La Toya’s companion history included her tumultuous marriage to her former Jewish husband, Jack Gordon, who was rumored to have mafia ties. Their marriage had many folks asking, ‘What in the world does she see in that dude?!!’

Some years ago, La Toya was engaged to her long-time friend and business partner, Jeffre Phillips, which also raised a few eyebrows.

But La Toya and Bobby’s romance was genuine, and they’d began dating after Janet secretly started dating Bobby’s younger brother, James DeBarge, with whom Janet eventually eloped.

It’s been said that Bobby was very depressed after he and La Toya broke up, but that he never stopped loving her from a distance.

Bobby sadly passed away after years of struggles, including battling his heroin addiction, serving a 5-year prison sentence, and battling the AIDS virus all at the same time. He had one of the most incredible falsetto voices to have EVER touched the music industry and unfortunately he also had his demons that stemmed from his childhood and his horrific relationship with his father.

It’s hard not to imagine what would have become of Bobby if he and La Toya had stayed together. They say love conquers all…so you never know – with the right woman by his side, maybe, just maybe Bobby could have had a different outcome. Too bad it didn’t work out between the two of them.