"Somebody's Watching You" is a song by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...

. It was a single for Little Sister in 1970. It became a hit for the group and registered in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' and ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' charts.

Background

This single was a follow up to Little Sister's previous single, " You're the One". Composed by

Sylvester Stewart Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

, it was previously recorded by

and appeared on the group's 1969 ''

Stand! ''Stand!'' is the fourth album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released on May 3, 1969. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, ''Stand!'' is considered an artistic high-point of the band's career. R ...

'' album The recording by Little Sister was reviewed in the November 7, 1970 issue of ''Record World'' where it was a four star pick with the reviewer calling it ''"perfect"''. It was also at no. 26 in the magazine's Singles Coming Up chart that week. The song made number 16 on the ''Cash Box'' Top Hits of the Year list. "Stanga" charted as well and made it to no. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Soul chart.

Airplay

The November 14 issue of ''Record World'' reported that the record was getting played on KATZ in St. Louis. On the week of January 23, 1971, ''Record World'' reported the song at #13 on WAYS; #14 on WQXI; #8 on WBBQ ; #10 on KXOK ; #14 on WSAI; #24 on WRKO; and #11 on WHBQ. It was also on CKLW, WLS, KRLA, KHJ.

Charts

''Record world''

For the week of October 31, 1970, the single debuted at no. 34 on the ''Record World'' Singles Coming Up chart. On November 14, the single was at no. 7 on the ''Record World'' One Stop Top Ten chart, Nor Cal section. It also peaked at no. 7 on the ''Record World'' R&B chart on January 23, 1971.

''Cash Box''

On the week of November 28, the single made its debut in the ''Cash Box'' Looking Ahead chart at no. 28. It also debuted that week at no. 54 in the ''Cash Box'' Top 60 in R and B Locations chart. On the week of December 5, and at is second week in the Looking Ahead chart, it got to no. 21. On the week of December 12, it made its debut at no. 78 in the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. On the week of January 23, 1971, it peaked at no. 19 in the Top 60 in R and B Locations chart. On the week of February 13, 1971 it peaked at no. 22 in the ''Cash Box'' Top 100.

''Billboard''

On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it reached no. 32 and peaked at no. 8 on the ''Billboard'' soul singles chart.

Other versions

A version was recorded by U.F.O. and released on the Semp label.

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

recorded a version which appeared on a release in 1976.

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful pe ...

recorded a version that was released in 1984. Eternity's Children recorded a version that was released in 2003. Clarence Burke recorded a live version that was released in 2011, and Marcus Shelby had a version that was released in 2014. The song also appeared on a 2014 compilation by

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

. SFJazz Collective had a live version that appeared on a release in 2020.Second Hand Songs
SONG, Somebody's Watching You VERSIONS
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References

{{reflist 1970 singles Little Sister (band) songs Song recordings produced by Sly Stone Songs written by Sly Stone Stone Flower singles