Somebody's Watching Me - Music
Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell
Rockwell
Artist Biography For Rockwell
There Are At Least Six Artists Known As Rockwell. 1 A Pseudonym Of Kenneth Gordy From Detroit Michigan The Son Of Motown Records' Founder Berry Gordy He Changed His Name So As To Avoid Charges Of Nepotism Wanting To Make It In The Music Business On Just His Talent. He Signed To Motown As A Solo Artist Without His Father's Knowledge Taking His Name From His High School Band. His First Single The Michael Jackson-Esque "Somebody's Watching Me". Which Featured Backing Vocals From Both Michael And Jermaine Jackson Shot Into The Top Ten Hit Number One On The R&B Charts And Also Was RIAA Certified As Gold. Only Then Did He Reveal His True Identity. This However Was His Peak Of Success His Follow-Up Single Fizzled As Did His Next Album. He Continued To Base His Songs On Themes Of Paranoia And Spying Singing Tracks Such As "Obscene Phone Caller" And "Peeping Tom". Though Receiving Some Airplay Rockwell Mostly Faded From The Public View And Concentrated On Working With His Father. A Cover Of "Somebody's Watching Me" By The Dance Act Beatfreakz Was Released In The U.K. In March 2006 Peaking At Number Three On The U.K. Singles Chart. Yet Another Cover Version Of The Song Came Out By The Heavy Metal Band Warmen In 2005. The Swiss 90is Artist DJ Bobo's First Hit Was Also A Cover Version Of "Somebody's Watching Me". He Turned It To "Somebody Dance With Me". 2 Thomas Green– Aka ROCKWELL– Has Without Question Been One Of The Most Exhilarating Talents To Come Out Of The Drum And Bass Scene In Recent Times. His Distinctive Sound Has Seen Him Release On The Likes Of Digital Soundboy Renegade Hardware Critical And Darkestral Before Signing Exclusively To Friction’s Shogun Audio Imprint. Tracks Such As ‘Underpass’ ‘Reverse Engineering’ And ‘4U’ Have Highlighted ROCKWELL As One Of The Most Original And Talented Producers In Bass Music Today. His Productions Are Painstakingly Constructed Beautifully Arranged And Thoughtfully Mastered. Each Track Offers Unique Textures Seldom Heard In Electronic Music- Let Alone Drum And Bass- And His Unmistakable Signature Sound Is One Of The Few That Works Just As Well In The Living Room As In The Club. 2012 Has Seen ROCKWELL Start The Build-Up To His Debut Album Due In Early 2013. Tune Of The Year So Far ‘Tripwire’ And ‘Constantcomplexrhythmicsound’ Are Bona Fide Dancefloor Destroyers Whilst Forthcoming Remixes Of Jubei And Netsky Hint At A Future Away From The Constraints Of 170bpm. As A DJ ROCKWELL Is Starting To Build A Reputation For His Eclectic Sets Exemplified By His MoS And Rinse Shows And By His Increasing Tendency To Drop Rustie Tracks In His Sets. Behind The Decks As In The Studio You’re Always Kept Guessing As To What He’s Going To Pull Out Of The Bag Next. 3 A German Rock Band 4 An Early Power Electronics Group That Had Releases On Broken Flag.
http //www.Rockwell-Dezibel.De/band.Htm 5 Early Works Of A Dutch Amsterdam Collective Of Electronic/ Hip-Hop Musicians Including Designer Piet Parra Are Recorded Under The Name Rockwell. Limited Availability. 6 A Hungarian Rock Band Formed In 1979 Featuring Many Members Of Later Well-Known Hungarian Rock And Heavy Metal Bands Such As Bass Guitarist Imre Molnár Irigy Hónaljmirigy Drummer László Tarca Pokolgép Vocalist György Pazdera Pokolgép As Bass Guitarist Or Bass Guitarist/vocalist Endre Paksi Earlier Pokolgép Later Ossian As Vocalist Only .
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Somebody's Watching Me
Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
“Somebody’s Watching Me” Is Rockwell’s Biggest Hit. Released On January 14 1984 It Peaked At #2 On The Billboard 100 And Was Certified Gold In The US. It Also Reached The Top 10 In Eight Countries Overseas Including The UK. The Song Is Written About Paranoia And Has A Famously Spooky Halloween Vibe. Kennedy Gordy Son Of Berry Gordy CEO Of Motown At The Time Had Been Writing Songs As A Child He Later Called ‘mediocre At Best’. In His Frustration He Prayed ‘to Write A Song That’ll Go To The Top Of The Charts’. Over The Next Two Days He Wrote “Somebody’s Watching Me”. He Played A Demo Of The Song For His Father But He Was Not Impressed. So Kennedy Then Sang The Song For Long-Time Childhood Friend Michael Jackson Who Liked It So Much He Asked Kennedy To Perform It Multiple Times Each Time Adding More Of His Own Family Members To The Audience. When Jackson Then Asked Who Kennedy Planned To Have Sing Backups He Asked Jackson To Do It. Kennedy Wanting To Not Use His Father’s Name Secretly Submitted The Song To Motown Under The Name Rockwell. When Motown Signed Rockwell Without His Father’s Knowledge Berry Gordy Was Initially Flabbergasted – But Later Very Proud Of His Son Even Referring To Him As Rockwell In Public. Rockwell Told Rolling Stone How The Song Came To Him "I Asked God To Give Me It. The Prayer Was ‘God Grant Me The Creativity To Write A Song That’ll Go To The Top Of The Charts And Tickle The Taste Buds Of The Music Connoisseur.’ Everything Came To Me So Easily After That Prayer." Kennedy Gordy Aka Rockwell Was A Childhood Friend Of Jackson. He Played The Music Of The Song While Singing It For Jackson One Day "I Performed It About Eight Or Nine Times. Michael Says ‘Hey Rebbie! Hey Janet! You Gotta Hear This Song Kennedy Did.’ Every Time We Stopped The Song Michael Called Three More People Down. Afterwards Michael Pulled Me To The Side And Says ‘Kennedy I Gotta Talk To You For A Second. Who Are You Going To Get To Sing Background Vocals?’ I Said ‘Why Don’t You Do It?’ It Worked Just Like That."
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Biography - Rockwell
There Are At Least Six Artists Known As Rockwell. 1 A Pseudonym Of Kenneth Gordy From Detroit Michigan The Son Of Motown Records' Founder Berry Gordy He Changed His Name So As To Avoid Charges Of Nepotism Wanting To Make It In The Music Business On Just His Talent. He Signed To Motown As A Solo Artist Without His Father's Knowledge Taking His Name From His High School Band. His First Single The Michael Jackson-Esque "Somebody's Watching Me". Which Featured Backing Vocals From Both Michael And Jermaine Jackson Shot Into The Top Ten Hit Number One On The R&B Charts And Also Was RIAA Certified As Gold. Only Then Did He Reveal His True Identity. This However Was His Peak Of Success His Follow-Up Single Fizzled As Did His Next Album. He Continued To Base His Songs On Themes Of Paranoia And Spying Singing Tracks Such As "Obscene Phone Caller" And "Peeping Tom". Though Receiving Some Airplay Rockwell Mostly Faded From The Public View And Concentrated On Working With His Father. A Cover Of "Somebody's Watching Me" By The Dance Act Beatfreakz Was Released In The U.K. In March 2006 Peaking At Number Three On The U.K. Singles Chart. Yet Another Cover Version Of The Song Came Out By The Heavy Metal Band Warmen In 2005. The Swiss 90is Artist DJ Bobo's First Hit Was Also A Cover Version Of "Somebody's Watching Me". He Turned It To "Somebody Dance With Me". 2 Thomas Green– Aka ROCKWELL– Has Without Question Been One Of The Most Exhilarating Talents To Come Out Of The Drum And Bass Scene In Recent Times. His Distinctive Sound Has Seen Him Release On The Likes Of Digital Soundboy Renegade Hardware Critical And Darkestral Before Signing Exclusively To Friction’s Shogun Audio Imprint. Tracks Such As ‘Underpass’ ‘Reverse Engineering’ And ‘4U’ Have Highlighted ROCKWELL As One Of The Most Original And Talented Producers In Bass Music Today. His Productions Are Painstakingly Constructed Beautifully Arranged And Thoughtfully Mastered. Each Track Offers Unique Textures Seldom Heard In Electronic Music- Let Alone Drum And Bass- And His Unmistakable Signature Sound Is One Of The Few That Works Just As Well In The Living Room As In The Club. 2012 Has Seen ROCKWELL Start The Build-Up To His Debut Album Due In Early 2013. Tune Of The Year So Far ‘Tripwire’ And ‘Constantcomplexrhythmicsound’ Are Bona Fide Dancefloor Destroyers Whilst Forthcoming Remixes Of Jubei And Netsky Hint At A Future Away From The Constraints Of 170bpm. As A DJ ROCKWELL Is Starting To Build A Reputation For His Eclectic Sets Exemplified By His MoS And Rinse Shows And By His Increasing Tendency To Drop Rustie Tracks In His Sets. Behind The Decks As In The Studio You’re Always Kept Guessing As To What He’s Going To Pull Out Of The Bag Next. 3 A German Rock Band 4 An Early Power Electronics Group That Had Releases On Broken Flag.
http //www.Rockwell-Dezibel.De/band.Htm 5 Early Works Of A Dutch Amsterdam Collective Of Electronic/ Hip-Hop Musicians Including Designer Piet Parra Are Recorded Under The Name Rockwell. Limited Availability. 6 A Hungarian Rock Band Formed In 1979 Featuring Many Members Of Later Well-Known Hungarian Rock And Heavy Metal Bands Such As Bass Guitarist Imre Molnár Irigy Hónaljmirigy Drummer László Tarca Pokolgép Vocalist György Pazdera Pokolgép As Bass Guitarist Or Bass Guitarist/vocalist Endre Paksi Earlier Pokolgép Later Ossian As Vocalist Only . read less
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http //www.Rockwell-Dezibel.De/band.Htm 5 Early Works Of A Dutch Amsterdam Collective Of Electronic/ Hip-Hop Musicians Including Designer Piet Parra Are Recorded Under The Name Rockwell. Limited Availability. 6 A Hungarian Rock Band Formed In 1979 Featuring Many Members Of Later Well-Known Hungarian Rock And Heavy Metal Bands Such As Bass Guitarist Imre Molnár Irigy Hónaljmirigy Drummer László Tarca Pokolgép Vocalist György Pazdera Pokolgép As Bass Guitarist Or Bass Guitarist/vocalist Endre Paksi Earlier Pokolgép Later Ossian As Vocalist Only . read less
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“Somebody’s Watching Me” is Rockwell’s biggest hit. Released on January 14, 1984, it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, and was certified gold in the US. It also reached the top 10 in eight countries overseas including the UK. The song is written about paranoia and has a famously spooky Halloween vibe.
Kennedy Gordy (son of Berry Gordy, CEO of Motown at the time) had been writing songs as a child he later called ‘mediocre at best’. In his frustration, he prayed ‘to write a song that’ll go to the top of the charts’. Over the next two days, he wrote “Somebody’s Watching Me”.
He played a demo of the song for his father, but he was not impressed. So Kennedy then sang the song for long-time childhood friend Michael Jackson, who liked it so much he asked Kennedy to perform it multiple times, each time adding more of his own family members to the audience. When Jackson then asked who Kennedy planned to have sing backups, he asked Jackson to do it.
Kennedy, wanting to not use his father’s name, secretly submitted the song to Motown under the name Rockwell. When Motown signed Rockwell without his father’s knowledge, Berry Gordy was initially flabbergasted – but later very proud of his son, even referring to him as Rockwell in public.
Rockwell told Rolling Stone how the song came to him:
"I asked God to give me it. The prayer was, ‘God grant me the creativity to write a song that’ll go to the top of the charts and tickle the taste buds of the music connoisseur.’ Everything came to me so easily after that prayer."
Kennedy Gordy (aka Rockwell) was a childhood friend of Jackson. He played the music of the song while singing it for Jackson one day:
"I performed it about eight or nine times. Michael says, ‘Hey Rebbie! Hey Janet! You gotta hear this song Kennedy did.’ Every time we stopped the song, Michael called three more people down. Afterwards, Michael pulled me to the side and says, ‘Kennedy, I gotta talk to you for a second. Who are you going to get to sing background vocals?’ I said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’ It worked just like that." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.