Somebody's Watching Me

For the album, see Somebody's Watching Me (album). Not to be confused with the film Someone's Watching Me!.

"Somebody's Watching Me"
Side-A label of the US 12-inch vinyl single
Single by Rockwell
from the album Somebody's Watching Me
B-side"Somebody's Watching Me (Instrumental)"
ReleasedDecember 27, 1983[1]
Recorded1983[2]
StudioMars Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)[3]
Genre
Length
  • 4:59 (album/12-inch single version)
  • 3:57 (single version)
  • 3:36 (video version)
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Kennedy "Rockwell" Gordy
Producer(s)
  • Curtis Anthony Nolen
  • Rockwell
Rockwell singles chronology
"Somebody's Watching Me"
(1983) 		"Obscene Phone Caller"
(1984)
Music video
"Somebody's Watching Me" on YouTube

"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded and written by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features guest vocals by Michael Jackson (in the chorus) and Jermaine Jackson and Norman Dozier (additional backing vocals).[8] The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.[9][10] In the UK, it reached No. 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart.[11] Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song."[12]

  1. ^ "RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ Newman, Jason. "How 'Somebody's Watching Me' Singer Rockwell Created a Paranoid Pop Classic". Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ Allard, François; Lecocq, Richard (2018). "Rockwell: Somebody's Watching Me". Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus Books. ISBN 9781788401234.
  4. ^ Huey, Steve. "Rockwell – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. ^ Reed, Ryan (March 27, 2020). "The 100 Best Beatles Covers". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (December 8, 2020). "Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri: July 6, 1984". Can’t Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year. Hachette Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-306-90337-3.
  7. ^ a b Rolling Stone Staff (September 17, 2014). "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2023. ...but the single was a great midpoint between Eighties R&B and Eighties New Wave regardless...
  8. ^ Somebody's Watching Me (Media notes). Rockwell. Hollywood, California: Motown Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. March 24, 1984. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. March 31, 1984. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference UK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/how-somebodys-watching-me-singer-rockwell-created-a-paranoid-pop-classic-125907/