Rockwell (musician)
Encyclopedia
Rockwell is an R&B performer who was signed to the Motown label.
Berry Gordy
and Margaret Norton. His father named him Kennedy William Gordy after John F. Kennedy
and William "Smokey" Robinson
. To avoid seeming nepotistic
, he secured his record deal without his father's knowledge. Motown actually came up with the name Rockwell and the young Gordy agreed to the change because he believed he "rocked well."
In 1984, Rockwell released his biggest hit single, "Somebody's Watching Me
", featuring childhood friends Michael Jackson
on guest vocals (notably in the chorus lyrics), and Jermaine Jackson
singing back-up. "Somebody's Watching Me" became a Top 10 pop hit in both the US and UK, and a #1 R&B hit. Follow-up singles underperformed, however, with single "Obscene Phone Caller", being Rockwell's only other Top 40 single. This follow-up single reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rockwell soon ended his musical career with Motown.
Rockwell appeared on Soul Train
on February 2, 1985 (Season 14, Episode 17)
Rockwell was not the first member of the Gordy family
to hit Billboard's Hot 100 as a recording artist. His uncle, Robert Gordy
, reached the longer reaches of the chart in 1958 with "Everyone Was There," recording under the name of Bob Kayli.
Rockwell's paternal half-sister is actress Rhonda Ross Kendrick
, the eldest child of Diana Ross
.Rockwell is also closely related to the group LMFAO
through half-brother Redfoo, son of Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska, and SkyBlu, Rockwell's nephew through half-brother Berry Gordy IV and his wife Valerie Robeson.
Biography
Rockwell is the son of Motown founder and CEOChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
and Margaret Norton. His father named him Kennedy William Gordy after John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and William "Smokey" Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
. To avoid seeming nepotistic
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
, he secured his record deal without his father's knowledge. Motown actually came up with the name Rockwell and the young Gordy agreed to the change because he believed he "rocked well."
In 1984, Rockwell released his biggest hit single, "Somebody's Watching Me
Somebody's Watching Me
"Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984. The song's lyrics relate the narrator's paranoid fear of being followed and watched. It featured former Motown artists Michael Jackson on the chorus and Jermaine Jackson on additional backing...
", featuring childhood friends Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
on guest vocals (notably in the chorus lyrics), and Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
singing back-up. "Somebody's Watching Me" became a Top 10 pop hit in both the US and UK, and a #1 R&B hit. Follow-up singles underperformed, however, with single "Obscene Phone Caller", being Rockwell's only other Top 40 single. This follow-up single reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rockwell soon ended his musical career with Motown.
Rockwell appeared on Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
on February 2, 1985 (Season 14, Episode 17)
Rockwell was not the first member of the Gordy family
Gordy family
The Gordys are an African-American family of businesspeople and music industry executives born to Georgia-reared parents Berry "Pops" Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller Gordy and raised in Detroit, where a majority of the siblings had a pivotal role in the international acceptance of rhythm and blues...
to hit Billboard's Hot 100 as a recording artist. His uncle, Robert Gordy
Robert Gordy
Robert Gordy was the youngest child of Berry Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller, and is best known as the youngest brother of Motown founder, Berry Gordy, Jr....
, reached the longer reaches of the chart in 1958 with "Everyone Was There," recording under the name of Bob Kayli.
Rockwell's paternal half-sister is actress Rhonda Ross Kendrick
Rhonda Ross Kendrick
Rhonda Ross Kendrick is an American actress. Her mother is singer and actress Diana Ross, and her biological father is Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. At the time of her birth, Ross was married to her first husband, Robert Ellis Silberstein...
, the eldest child of Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
.Rockwell is also closely related to the group LMFAO
LMFAO (group)
LMFAO is an American electro pop duo consisting of rappers, producers, dancers, and DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu . The group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Redfoo is SkyBlu's uncle. Redfoo is also the son of music mogul Berry Gordy, SkyBlu a grandson...
through half-brother Redfoo, son of Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska, and SkyBlu, Rockwell's nephew through half-brother Berry Gordy IV and his wife Valerie Robeson.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||||||
| 1984 | Somebody's Watching Me Somebody's Watching Me (album) -Track listing:#"-Track listing:#"-Track listing:#"[[Somebody's Watching Me]" 4:59#"Obscene Phone Caller" 3:29#"[[Taxman]]" 3:59#"Change Your Ways" 4:25...
|
15 | 5 | 34 | 52 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Gold |
|||
| 1985 | Captured Captured (Rockwell album) -Track listing:#"Peeping Tom" #"He's a Cobra" #"T.V. Psychology" #"We Live in a Jungle"... |
120 | 52 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | The Genie
|
— | 59 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US Dan |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
NZ |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||||||
| 1983 | "Somebody's Watching Me Somebody's Watching Me "Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984. The song's lyrics relate the narrator's paranoid fear of being followed and watched. It featured former Motown artists Michael Jackson on the chorus and Jermaine Jackson on additional backing... " |
2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
|
Somebody's Watching Me | |||
| 1984 | "Obscene Phone Caller" | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 79 | |||||
| "Knife" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Taxman Taxman "Taxman" is a song written by George Harrison released as the opening track on The Beatles' 1966 album Revolver. Its lyrics attack the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson.-Composition:... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 88 | ||||||
| 1985 | "He's a Cobra" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Captured | ||||
| "Peeping Tom" | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Tokyo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1986 | "Carmé" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Genie | ||||
| "Grow Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1987 | "Girlfriend" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||