Don't let the extraterrestrial name fool you -- Leo's Sunshipp played funky soul music and would have been around much longer if tragedy hadn't struck. The band revolved around singers Kenny Stover, Johnny Simone, and Alvin Few; all were born under the astrological sign of Leo, thus the name. Stover is the brother of Elgie Stover, who contributed to some Marvin Gaye songs and "The Bells" by the Originals; the Stovers are cousins of Harvey Fuqua (Moonglows and later Motown's A&R director). Kenny is from Cleveland, OH, and grew up in the Hough area on 66th and Belvedere. ...show more

Don't let the extraterrestrial name fool you -- Leo's Sunshipp played funky soul music and would have been around much longer if tragedy hadn't struck. The band revolved around singers Kenny Stover, Johnny Simone, and Alvin Few; all were born under the astrological sign of Leo, thus the name. Stover is the brother of Elgie Stover, who contributed to some Marvin Gaye songs and "The Bells" by the Originals; the Stovers are cousins of Harvey Fuqua (Moonglows and later Motown's A&R director). Kenny is from Cleveland, OH, and grew up in the Hough area on 66th and Belvedere.

He moved to Detroit with big brother Elgie and both did odd jobs for Harvey and Motown. When the company moved to Los Angeles, the Stovers followed and Kenny landed a staff songwriting job, as did Elgie. He met Johnny Simone and the two, along with Barbara Thompson and Doria Glass, toured as backing singers for Marvin Gaye; that's Simone and Stover you hear on Gaye's Here, My Dear album. Simone migrated from Atlanta, GA, to L.A.

to tour with Stevie Wonder. He was an original member of the Wallace Brothers, who -- as high-school teens -- made some crude but charming records for Sims Records and other labels. After the Wallace Brothers disbanded, Simone toiled with the Naturals, who cut singles on Quadran, Calla, and Shout Records. After the Naturals, he relocated to Los Angeles, befriended Stover, and landed a gig backing Marvin Gaye on tour. ...show less