Go inside Rockwell's “Somebody’s Watching Me,” an enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song.
and his brother Jermaine for background vocals and turn the song, now titled “Somebody’s Watching Me,” into an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song.
Rockwell had written tracks before, but they were, as he put it, “mediocre at best.” He was frustrated. Angry. He dropped to his knees and decided, on a whim, to pray. “I asked God to give me it,” he says. “The prayer was, ‘God grant me the creativity to write a song that’ll go to the top of the charts and tickle the taste buds of the music connoisseur.’ Everything came to me so easily after that prayer.
“I performed it about eight or nine times,” he recalls. “Michael says, ‘Hey Rebbie! Hey Janet! You gotta hear this song Kennedy did.’ Every time we stopped the song, Michael called three more people down. Afterwards, Michael pulled me to the side and says, ‘Kennedy, I gotta talk to you for a second. Who are you going to get to sing background vocals?’ I said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’ It worked just like that.” Jermaine Jackson would also end up contributing to the final track.
A batshit-crazy, haunted house-themed video helped make the song ubiquitous. The Francis Delia–directed clip raises more questions than answers: What’s with the baby pig on a serving tray? Is it legal to keep a graveyard in your backyard? Why does Rockwell shower with shorts on?
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