"Somebody's Watching Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Side-A label of the US 12-inch vinyl single | ||||
Single by Rockwell feat. Michael Jackson | ||||
from the album Somebody's Watching Me | ||||
B-side | "Somebody's Watching Me (Instrumental)" | |||
Released | December 27, 1983 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1983 [2] | |||
Studio | Mars Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) [3] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Motown | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kennedy "Rockwell" Gordy | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Rockwell singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Somebody's Watching Me" on YouTube |
"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded and written by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features guest vocals by Michael Jackson (in the chorus) and Jermaine Jackson (additional backing vocals). [8] The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. [9] [10] In the UK, it reached No. 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart. [11] Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song." [2]
Rockwell is a son of Motown CEO Berry Gordy. At the time of the recording, Rockwell was estranged from his father and living with Ray Singleton, his father's ex-wife and the mother of his older half-brother, Kerry Gordy. Singleton served as executive producer on the project and would occasionally play demo tracks to Berry Gordy, who was less than enthusiastic about Rockwell's music until he heard the single with Michael Jackson's familiar voice featuring prominently on background vocals. [8] [12]
Musicnotes.com published this song in the key of C-sharp minor, showing 4
4 time, with vocals spanning from C♯4 to C♯5. [13]
Produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen, the song featured backing vocals by Michael and Jermaine Jackson, with Alan Murray on percussion. [8] [14]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [47] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [49] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [49] Digital | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
In 2024, Of Love and Lust (OLAL) released a modern take on Rockwell’s classic available on Spotify [50] and other streaming services, spotlighting real-world surveillance by Sheriff spy planes in Pima County, Arizona. [51] OLAL's video [52] for its rendition of Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” reveals unnerving aerial surveillance — conducted without a warrant — of one of OLAL's own songwriters, underscoring growing concerns over privacy and governmental overreach. In OLAL’s take, Rockwell’s haunting lyrics find new resonance amid today’s culture of pervasive monitoring. OLAL’s release came at a time of heightened scrutiny around law enforcement surveillance tactics worldwide.
DJ BoBo based his 1992 single "Somebody Dance with Me" on "Somebody's Watching Me" with new lyrics and rap. The DJ BoBo single reached No. 1 in Sweden and Switzerland, and the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. In 2012, a remix of the hit was made by Remady titled "Somebody Dance With Me (Remady 2013 Mix)" by DJ BoBo featuring Manu-L. Released early in 2013, it charted on the Swiss Hitparade, reaching No. 4. The mix was made on the 20th anniversary of the initial hit by DJ BoBo in November 1992.
"Somebody's Watching Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Beatfreakz | ||||
Released | May 1, 2006 | |||
Genre | House | |||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Kennedy "Rockwell" Gordy | |||
Producer(s) | Beatfreakz | |||
Beatfreakz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Somebody's Watching Me" on YouTube |
In 2006, Dutch dance group Beatfreakz recorded a pseudo-cover of the song that samples the chorus but omitted the verses. This version was a top-10 hit in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Dutch CD single [53]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [81] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | May 1, 2006 | CD | Data | [82] |
Australia | June 26, 2006 | CD | Ministry of Sound | [83] |
Velma Jean Terrell is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in 1970.
"Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, Street Songs (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "Freak" is a slang term for the sexually adventurous, as described in the song's lyrics, "She's a very kinky girl / The kind you don't take home to mother". Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, number 481 in 2010, and number 153 in an updated list in 2021. The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys. The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990, Jay-Z in 2006, and Nicki Minaj in 2022.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single up to that time.
"Someday We'll Be Together" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua. It was the last of twelve American number-one pop singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. Although it was released as the final Supremes song featuring Diana Ross, who left the group for a solo career in January 1970, it was recorded as Ross' first solo single and Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong do not sing on the recording. Both appear on the B-side, "He's My Sunny Boy".
"I Hear a Symphony" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label.
American girl group The Supremes has released 29 studio albums, four live albums, two soundtrack albums, 32 compilation albums, four box sets, 66 singles and three promotional singles. The Supremes are the most successful American group of all time, and the 26th greatest artist of all time on the US Billboard charts; with 12 number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and three number-one albums on the Billboard 200. The Supremes were the first artist to accumulate five consecutive number-one singles on the US Hot 100 and the first female group to top the Billboard 200 albums chart with The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966). In 2017, Billboard ranked The Supremes as the number-one girl group of all time, publishing, 'although there have been many girl group smashes in the decades since the Supremes ruled the Billboard charts, no collective has yet to challenge their, for lack of a better word, supremacy.' In 2019, the UK Official Charts Company placed 7 Supremes songs—"You Can't Hurry Love" (16), "Baby Love" (23), "Stop! In the Name of Love" (56), "Where Did Our Love Go?" (59), "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (78), "Come See About Me" (94) and "Stoned Love" (99)—on The Official Top 100 Motown songs of the Millennium chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all-time UK downloads and streams.
Kennedy William Gordy, known professionally as Rockwell, is an American singer. He is best known for his hit 1984 single "Somebody's Watching Me", which features Michael Jackson on chorus vocals. Gordy is the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Other relatives include half-siblings Redfoo, Rhonda Ross Kendrick and half-nephew Sky Blu.
"Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, including the Beatles in 1963 and the Flying Lizards in 1979.
"I'll Be There" is the first single released from Third Album by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch.
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
"Somebody to Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer and pianist Freddie Mercury. It debuted on the band's 1976 album A Day at the Races and also appears on their 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits.
Beatfreakz were a Dutch house group consisting of members Dennis Christopher, Dimitrie Siliakus and Mark Simmons. For a period of time, Errol Lafleur was also part of the group.
"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988.
"Self Control" is a song by Italian singer Raf, released in 1984. It was written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Steve Piccolo and Raf, and arranged by Celso Valli. The track topped the charts in Italy and Switzerland, and started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.
"Automatic" is a song recorded by American vocal group the Pointer Sisters for their tenth studio album Break Out (1983). The song was released by the Planet label on January 13, 1984, as the second single from the album. It was written by Brock Walsh and Mark Goldenberg.
Somebody's Watching Me is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Rockwell Featuring Michael Jackson released in 1984 on Motown. It features the title track as well as the US top 40 hit "Obscene Phone Caller". However the next two singles, the power ballad "Knife" and a cover of the Beatles' "Taxman" failed to reach the top 40.
"Somebody Dance with Me" is a song by Swiss artist DJ BoBo featuring Emel Aykanat. It was released in November 1992 as the second single from his debut album, Dance with Me (1993). The song is on some parts based on sampling taken from "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell. It was the first major hit of DJ BoBo in 1992-1993, reaching the top of Swiss Hitparade, the official Swiss Singles Chart. It was also a number-one hit in Portugal and Sweden.
"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by American music group the Supremes for the Motown label.
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye, featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song samples Luiz Bonfá's 1967 instrumental song "Seville", with additional instrumentations of beats and a xylophone playing a melody based on "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep". The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through Eleven Music on 5 July 2011 as the second single from Gotye's third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011). It was later released by Universal Music in December 2011 in the United Kingdom, and 20 January 2012 in Ireland and the United States. "Somebody That I Used to Know" was written and recorded by Gotye at his parents' house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, and is lyrically related to the experiences he has had with romantic relationships.
"I'll Be Satisfied" is a popular song. Recorded and released by Jackie Wilson in 1959, the single peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a Top 10 R&B hit, peaking at # 6. It was written, like many of Wilson's early hits, by future Motown founder Berry Gordy along with Gordy's sister Gwendolyn and Roquel "Billy" Davis, writing under his songwriting alias of Tyran Carlo. This up-tempo rocker could best be described as "proto Motown", featuring many of the musical and lyrical features that Gordy would employ on his later recordings for his Motown Records label.
...but the single was a great midpoint between Eighties R&B and Eighties New Wave regardless...
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)As they finished mixing down the record, I could barely wait to rush it over and play it for Berry.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)