Songoftheday 9/11/13 - I came home knocked out after work that's when my telephone goes berserk, how can I unwind or get some rest receiving sick phone calls from a lonely pest...

Rockwell - "Obscene Phone Caller"
from the album Somebody's Watching Me (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 2

Today's Song of the Day is by the man born Kennedy William Gordy, who recording under the moniker Rockwell had a huge first-time-out hit in 1984 with the title track from his album Somebody's Watching Me. That record benefited not just a little by having buddy Michael Jackson sing on the chorus. To follow that hit up, Rockwell went all alone but just as paranoid as he dealt with an "Obscene Phone Caller", written by the singer and produced by Curtis Anthony Nolen...


"Obscene Phone Caller" became Rockwell's second and last top-40 hit in June of 1984. It also was a minor hit in Britain, topping out at #79. He would have one more hit in the UK from the album, a remake of the Beatles' "Taxman" (#88), which went nowhere in the states.

Rockwell's sophomore album, Captured, only managed a minor R&B hit in the States, "He's A Cobra" (#65), and his third had a single that just missed the R&B top-40 in "Carme'" (#46). That would be the last we'd hear so far from the singer, but hey, all that Gordy money makes a nice pillow.

And who would think a sexy woman would be making obscene calls (which is such an antiquated thing these days, eh?)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


..and here's the singer promoting the track on TV...

Up tomorrow: the King of Pop bids adieu to the season.