Music
Rockwell
born 1964 · singer, songwriter
Son of Motown founder Berry Gordy, born and raised in Detroit, who scored a 1984 hit with "Somebody's Watching Me" featuring Michael Jackson.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 62- Birth name
- Kennedy William Gordy
- Detroit years
- 1964–1972
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Kennedy William Gordy was born in Detroit, the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy and Margaret Norton, and grew up in the city while the label was at its peak, surrounded by music and show business from an early age. Wary of accusations of nepotism, he set up his own audition and signed a recording contract with Motown without his father's prior knowledge, taking the stage name Rockwell. His 1984 debut single "Somebody's Watching Me," a paranoid synth-funk song with an uncredited chorus sung by Michael Jackson and backing vocals by Jermaine Jackson, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become a Halloween-season favorite. The follow-up "Obscene Phone Caller" was a smaller hit, and after two more albums he stepped back from recording. His half-siblings include Redfoo of LMFAO and Rhonda Ross Kendrick.
Highlights
- "Somebody's Watching Me" (1984) reached No. 2 on the Hot 100
- Chorus sung, uncredited, by Michael Jackson
- Signed to Motown without his father's prior knowledge
- Albums Somebody's Watching Me (1984), Captured (1985) and The Genie (1986)