Elgie Rousseau Stover (September 12, 1938 – July 11, 2011) was an American songwriter, composer, producer and background singer, most famous for his associations with cousin

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua ( ; July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of the k ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, co-writing two of Gaye's songs from the singer's 1971 album, '' What's Going On''. Growing up in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Stover and his brother

Kenneth Kenneth is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

later moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, where the brothers worked closely with Harvey Fuqua on his Tri-Phi Records label. In the late-1960s, after befriending staff from Motown, the brothers signed with the label as staff songwriters and producers. Stover's most famous works came as the result of working so closely with Gaye, with whom he and Kenneth had befriended shortly after they signed with Motown. Stover co-wrote with Marvin, wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

and Iris Gordy on The Originals' 1970 classic, " The Bells". A year later, Stover's greatest contribution came when he took part in co-writing "Flying High in the Friendly Sky" and "God is Love" on Marvin's ''What's Going On''. He is credited as the voice that helps open the hit " What's Going On" with "hey man, what's happening?" and "everything is everything". Stover later co-wrote Gaye's 1973 ballad, "

Just to Keep You Satisfied Just or JUST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Just" (song), 1995, by Radiohead * ''Just!'', Australian author Andy Griffiths' children's story collections * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just", a 2005 song on ''Lost and Found ...

". Stover is vocally heard shouting and screaming on a demo version of Gaye's later hit, "

Distant Lover "Distant Lover" is the sixth song issued on singer Marvin Gaye's 1973 album, '' Let's Get It On'' and the B-side of the second single from that album, " Come Get to This". A live recording was issued as a single in 1974. The live version of ...

", from a November 1970 session as Gaye struggled with Motown over releasing the " What's Going On" single. In later years, he served as caterer for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and his Secret Service men. Stover died on 11 July 2011, at Hilton Head Hospital in

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), a ...

.
He was survived by a wife, Emma Jones, sons David, Monroe and LaDell, daughters Terri and Tonya and sister Alma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stover, Elgie 1938 births 2011 deaths Singer-songwriters from Ohio African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul musicians Musicians from Athens, Georgia Musicians from Cleveland Marvin Gaye Songwriters from Athens, Georgia Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)