Somebody's Watching Me
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| “Somebody's Watching Me” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Rockwell from the album Somebody's Watching Me |
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| B-side | Somebody's Watching Me (Instrumental) | |||||||||||||
| Released | January 1984 | |||||||||||||
| Format | 7" single Cassette tape |
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| Recorded | 1983 | |||||||||||||
| Genre | R&B | |||||||||||||
| Length | 3:59 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Motown M 1702 |
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| Writer(s) | Kennedy Gordy Curtis Anthony Nolen |
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| Producer | Curtis Anthony Nolen | |||||||||||||
| Rockwell singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984 (see 1984 in music). The single features guest vocals from Michael and Jermaine Jackson, and the song's lyrics express (and mock) a fear of being followed and watched. Its musical arrangement resembles that of the theme from The Twilight Zone.
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[edit] History
[edit] Original recording
Rockwell is the son of Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr. The singer had himself signed to Motown without his father's knowledge. The elder Gordy did not find out that Rockwell was his son Kennedy until after the single and the accompanying Somebody's Watching Me album were released.
Produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen, "Somebody's Watching Me" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and reached the top of the Billboard R&B singles chart, as well as reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart. Some of the song's success was derived from the presence of Michael Jackson's recognizable voice on the chorus. The Jacksons were one of the last elements added to the recording. Producer Curtis Anthony Nolen with Rockwell in the passenger seat drove his Mercedes 380 SL to pick Michael up at his parent’s compound in Encino California. Michael brought no security and rode in the back seat doing his best to stay out of view of passing cars. Michael was a complete professional and completed his vocals in a little under an hour. "Out of all the artists I've worked with over the years, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder:(who Nolen asked to sing back round vocals on Rockwell’s song “Cobra”) are the most prolific. “ They'd tell the engineer to stop the tape and ask for another take if they made a mistake." Michael was very kind and gracious, he stayed until the end of the recording process and along with Randy and Jermaine posed for pictures with Curtis Nolen’s wife and Rockwell’s girlfriend at the time. [1] It was the only major hit for Rockwell. His follow-up single, "Obscene Phone Caller", was Rockwell's only other Top 40 single, reaching #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was also featured in the pilot episode of the 1980s police drama Miami Vice.
[edit] Music video
The single's music video underscores the song's paranoia theme with a haunted house-inspired theme, including imagery of floating heads, ravens, graveyards, and shower scenes referencing the film Psycho. The mailman who appears in the music video for "Somebody's Watching Me" also stars in the video for "Obscene Phone Caller" as a paparazzi reporter.
[edit] Cover versions
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This article or section may contain an excessive amount of information with limited interest or intricate details. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. (June 2008) |
Christian rapper Toby Mac released a version on November 1, 2001 on his first solo album, Momentum. In this case, the 'Somebody Watching' referred to God, who Toby believed was constantly looking out for him. Joanna Valencia sang backup vocals.
Warmen released a cover of the song on September 5, 2005, as the first single from their third LP Accept the Fact. The vocals on the Warmen cover are by Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho, who uses a cleaner style on the recording than he usually employs on his own band's recordings. The single, produced by Janne Wirman, was recorded in Wirman's Beyond Abilities Studio. The non-album b-side to the Warmen cover is "Faithful Eyes", featuring Marko Vaara on vocals and Ralph Santolla on lead guitar, with lyrics by Vaara.
Royal Gigolos released a cover on August 8, 2005, and another cover was released by Beatfreakz on May 1, 2006, which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, three places higher than the Rockwell original, and #12 in the Dutch Top 40. Also, DJ Bobo covered the song in his 1990s release "Somebody Dance With Me".
Danish metalcore band Raunchy released a cover version on their 2008 album release Wasteland Discotheque.
Jeffree Star samples the song in his song of the same name, which will be released in the Summer of 2008 on his upcoming album Beauty Killer. Backup vocals are sung by members of the band Metro Station.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Somebody's Watching Me" song review. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:1i62mpnf9f3o~T001 on November 6, 2006.
