Sibling rivalry makes for great drama. And while there’s nothing Ewing-like about their relationship, two sons of Motown founder Berry Gordy, LMFAO’s Redfoo (a.k.a. Stefan Gordy) and Rockwell (a.k.a Kennedy Gordy), are having a chart battle on the Billboard Hot 100 — albeit one spanning more than 27 years — and the victor could be decided as early as this week.
Round one of this family “feud” began way back in 1984, when Kennedy Gordy, the fifth of Gordy’s eight children, charted on the Billboard Hot 100 as Rockwell with an ode to paranoia, “Somebody’s Watching Me.” That Motown single (which also featured the voices of brothers Michael and Jermaine Jackson) peaked at No. 2 the week of March 24, 1984.
Round two of this match is taking place now, some 27 years later. Sitting at No. 3 on the latest edition of the Hot 100 is “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock. LMFAO is a duo made up of Redfoo and SkyBlu. Redfoo is Berry Gordy’s youngest son, Stefan Kendal Gordy, who is now just one rung away from tying his older brother’s peak position on the Hot 100. If “Party Rock Anthem” moves up one notch, the brothers will be equal in chart ranking; if “Anthem” manages to knock off Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and prevent Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” from moving into the penthouse, Stefan will have trumped his brother by one chart placing. If it turns out that “Party Rock Anthem” is not going to rise any higher than No. 3, Rockwell remains the Gordy son with the highest peak position.
There’s more to this family affair: SkyBlu is Skyler Husten Gordy, Berry’s grandson and Stefan’s nephew. That makes for three generations of Gordys who have charted on the Hot 100 (with Berry charting as a writer and producer). That’s not a first, but it is a rarity. The Gordy trifecta was preceded by the Wilsons – father Murry, sons Brian, Carl and Dennis of the Beach Boys and grandchildren Carnie and Wendy of Wilson Phillips. Murry was also a writer/producer, with Hot 100 credit for writing the Beach Boys’ 1969 single “Break Away” with son Brian.
There have been a handful of three-generation musical families on other charts. The most obvious one is the trio of Hank Williams, Hank Williams, Jr. and Hank Williams III on the country charts, where they are in the same category as Mother Maybelle Carter, her daughters Anita Carter and June Carter and granddaughter Carlene Carter.
Across multiple charts, the Winans are a three-generation musical family, starting with David and Delores Winans, who charted on Top Gospel Albums in 1990 as “Mom and Pop Winans.” They have 10 children, including charted artists Marvin, Carvin, Michael, Ronald, BeBe, Cece, Angie and Debbie. Grandchildren Michael Jr., Marvin Jr., Carvin Jr. and Juan have charted as Winans Phase2. (Mario Winans has also charted; he is the son of Vickie Winans, who was married to Marvin Winans).
Another triple generation chart family is the Nelsons, starting with father Ozzie Nelson, who appeared on one of the first Billboard charts in 1940. Son Ricky (a.k.a. Rick) had a string of hit pop singles from 1957 to 1973, and his twin sons, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, topped the Hot 100 as Nelson in 1990 with “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love And Affection.”