Elgie Rousseau Stover (September 12, 1938 – July 11, 2011) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 rhythm and blues 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 th ...

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

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Stover and his brother

Kenneth Kenneth is an English given name and surname. 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 byn ...

later moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 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 (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

and

Iris Gordy Iris Gordy is an American songwriter, producer, and music executive. She is a former vice president at Motown, where she helped launch the careers of DeBarge, Teena Marie, and Rick James, Mandre, Bobby Nunn and Tata Vega. Her credits include ...

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 to Keep You Satisfied" is a song by Soul music, soul singer Marvin Gaye. The song was the b-side to Marvin's modest 1974 hit, "You Sure Love to Ball" and was the eighth and final song issued on the singer's 1973 album, ''Let's Get It On''. ...

". 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 t ...

", 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 who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

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

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is n ...

.
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 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)