Rockwell ~ Somebody’s Watching Me 1984 Funky Purrfection

Being the son of Berry Gordy did not make it easier for Kennedy Gordy, who chose the moniker Rockwell to record a song he demoed. It was brought to the Motown round table who agreed to refuse the request to listen to it. One of them was a staff writer for Motown, Curtis Anthony Nolen, who heard the hit potential in what Rockwell was doing since “it was 1984, the year of Big Brother, a song about paranoia could be a hit.“ They redid the demo which got them into the studio to get it professionally done. Nolen came up with the idea to bring in another voice, which Michael Jackson consented to doing, but he was a no show! Turns out he forgot and accepted an invitation from Donny Osmond to go to an amusement park. He rescheduled for the following weekend, then went in and completed his vocals in a little over an hour. They took the tune to Berry Gordy’s mansion where he was hosting a party for actor Chuck Connors. He took the tape into the party and played it for his guests who loved it. Berry told Rockwell to not expect much R&B play, but he was oh so wrong! The tune was #1 R&B for five weeks and Rockwell went back to Gordy to rub it in. It did well on the disco chart for a #3 spot and did even better on the pop charts by peaking at #2 for three weeks. Why this one? Hell, its Sunday night before Labour Day party on!