Song:Somebody's Watching Me
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: 80's R&B
Somebody's Watching Me was a big hit in 1984 mainly because folks thought Michael Jackson recorded it under a pseudonym. He didn't but along with his brother Jermaine, that is him on background vocals. The problem was when Rockwell tried to do his own thing, nobody wanted to hear it and he had a very short music career. So how did this guy get Michael Jackson to record with him? That's easy. Rockwell was born Kennedy Gordy May 15, 1964 and he is the son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. To avoid accusations of nepotism, he secured a record contract with Motown without his father's knowledge. Motown execs decided to call him Rockwell because he...uh...rocked well. I can't make up stuff like this. After his dad kicked him out of the house, Rockwell went to live with Gordy's ex-wife Ray Singleton who was a producer at Motown. She hired him as a staff songwriter and heard him working on Somebody's Watching Me. She thought he should record it and convinced Motown house producer Curtis Anthony Nolen to work with him. It was Rockwell's idea to have Jackson sing background vocals. He picked up Jackson at his home and drove him to the studio. It must be nice to know people. When the record was finished, Singleton played it for Gordy. Gordy didn't recognize his son's voice but he was excited about Jackson's appearance on the record. And that's why Somebody's Watching Me reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. Listeners thought it was a Michael Jackson record. After Rockwell's second single Obscene Phone Caller reached the top 40, Rockwell never charted again. After recording three albums, he left the music business. You can get Somebody's Watching Me on this various artists budget CD. The last time Rockwell was in the news was when TMZ reported his 2013 divorce. Here's the video for Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell.
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