Rockwell (musician)
| Rockwell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kennedy William Gordy |
| Also known as | Kenneth Gordy |
| Born | March 15, 1964 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, Synthpop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1983–1991 |
| Labels | Motown |
Rockwell (born Kennedy William Gordy on March 15, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan) is an R&B performer who was signed to the Motown label.
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Biography [edit]
Rockwell is the son of Motown founder and CEO Berry Gordy and Margaret Norton. His father named him Kennedy William Gordy after John F. Kennedy and William "Smokey" Robinson.[1] To avoid seeming nepotistic, he secured his record deal without his father's knowledge.[2] 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 friend 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 his half-brother Redfoo (Stefan Kendal Gordy, son of Berry Gordy and Nancy Leiviska) and his nephew SkyBlu (son of half-brother Berry Gordy IV and his wife Valerie Robeson).
Discography [edit]
Studio albums [edit]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] |
US R&B [3] |
CAN [4] |
UK [5] |
||||||
| 1984 | Somebody's Watching Me
|
15 | 5 | 34 | 52 | ||||
| 1985 | Captured
|
120 | 52 | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | The Genie
|
— | 59 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles [edit]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
US R&B [7] |
US Dan [7] |
AUT [8] |
CAN [9] |
NZ [10] |
SWI [11] |
UK [5] |
|||||||
| 1983 | "Somebody's Watching Me" | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 | Somebody's Watching Me | ||||
| 1984 | "Obscene Phone Caller" | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 79 | |||||
| "Knife" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Taxman" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 88 | ||||||
| 1985 | "He's a Cobra" | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Captured | ||||
| "Peeping Tom" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Tokyo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1986 | "Carmé" | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Genie | ||||
| "Grow Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1991 | "Girlfriend" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
References [edit]
- ^ Gordy, Berry (1994). "Survival of the Fittest: 1960-1964". To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown (First ed.). New York: Headline Book Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 0-7472-1417-4
- ^ Rockwell st Allmusic
- ^ a b "allmusic ((( Rockwell > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada: Top Albums/CDs". [[{RPM (magazine)]]. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ a b "Chart Stats - Rockwell". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - July 25, 2010: Rockwell certified albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Rockwell > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "austriancharts.at - Austria Top 40". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada: Top Singles". RPM (magazine). Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - July 25, 2010: Rockwell certified singles". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
External links [edit]
- Rockwell at the Internet Movie Database
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