Rockwell always thought someone was watcing him, but was it us watching him?

Kennedy Gordy, was born in Detroit in 1964, the son of Motown founder and producer Berry Gordy (b.1929), so you could say it was inevitable that he would follow in the industry. Aged 19, Gordy went behind his dad’s back and signed a record deal with his own family label, but using the name ‘Rockwell’. It just so happened that his friends included Michael and Jermaine Jackson, who he roped in for his debut single, “Somebody’s Watching Me” in late 1983. The single saw release at the beginning of 1984 and went top ten around the world, peaking at No.2 Stateside and No.6 in the UK. His album of the same name was not so big although it gained a Gold certification in his home country, he never scaled the heights of his first single ever again.

The follow up, “Obscene Phone Caller”, made it to No.35 in America but did nothing elsewhere and with two further single failing to chart, Rockwell turned his attention to something new. He retunred in 1985 with the album “Captured”, but it and the lead single, “He’s A Cobra”, did nothing to tempt anyone in, perhaps that killer Jackson vocaled debut was all that anyone wanted back then. Rockwell turned in “The Genie” in 1986, but called it a day after sales had gone down to almost nothing at all. Gordy has lead a quiet life largely out of the public eye, mostly focusing on charity work, but in 2018 he made the headlines for beating someone up in Hollywood! Perhaps it was the cameras this time that were watching him?!

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