Louis A. McCall
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| LOUIS ANTHONY McCALL | ||
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 Drummer/Co-Founder of Con Funk Shun
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| Background information | ||
| Born | December 28, 1951 | |
| Origin | Alameda, California | |
| Died | June 25, 1997 | |
| Genre(s) | R&B, Funk | |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer, Vocalist Marketing | |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, Percussion | |
| Years active | 1973—1997 | |
| Label(s) | Freetone Mercury |
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| Former members | ||
| Michael V. Cooper, Karl Fuller, Paul Harrell, Cedric Martin, Felton Pilate, Danny Thomas | ||
Louis Anthony McCall, (born December 28, 1951 in Alameda, California), was the drummer and c-founder of Mercury Records recording group, Con Funk Shun, a popular funk band in the 1970s and 1980s. He recorded 11 albums, five of them RIAA-certified gold albums, which spawned numerous Top 40 singles. He was murdered on June 25, 1997 during a home invasion robbery in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His wife of over 20 years and the mother of his two children is music industry consultant and songwriter Linda Lou McCall.
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[edit] Early years
LOUIS ANTHONY McCALL was born in Alameda, California on December 28, 1951. Louis, known as "Tony" to his friends and family, moved with his family to Vallejo, California. It was there, as a teenager, that Louis joined forces with another young musician, Michael V. Cooper, to form what would become one of the most popular funk bands of the 1970’s and 1980’s, Con Funk Shun.
[edit] Early career
Con Funk Shun left Vallejo in 1973 to become a studio band at the legendary Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. On weekends, the group honed its talent by performing in clubs and at colleges all over the mid-south. Their summers were spent performing in clubs in Tokyo, Japan.
In 1975, they came to the attention of Mercury Records A&R director, Jud Phillips who signed them to a major recording contract. In January 1976, Louis married Linda Lou Bolden (Linda Lou McCall), whom he had met when she was a publicist at Stax. Later that year, his first album, "Con Funk Shun", was released later that year. It was followed by "Secrets", the first of the group's 5 RIAA-certified gold albums. The group returned home to Vallejo in February 1978.
As the drummer and leader of the band, Louis recorded a total of 11 albums with the group which spawned numerous Top 40 and Top Soul Singles, including the "#1 With A Bullet” Billboard Soul charts hit "Ffun". The group’s other singles included "Love’s Train", "Straight From the Heart", "Chase Me", "I'm Leaving, Baby" and "Shake & Dance With Me". In addition to adding background vocals, Louis co-wrote several songs with his wife, Linda Lou McCall, including the very popular "California 1", "Welcome Back To Love", "Honey Wild", and the Billboard Top 20 R&B Single "Bad Lady". Con Funk Shun performed on many successful national tours, headlining and opening for such acts as the O'Jays, Commodores, Teddy Pendergrast, Rolls Royce, LTD, The Bar-Kays, Cameo, Parliament-Funkadelic, and Rick James. The act also appeared on "Soul Train", "Solid Gold", and Don Kirshner's "Midnight Special".
[edit] Career Change
Louis left the group in 1986 to explore other ventures in the music industry. He and Linda Lou formed McCall & Associates Artist Development while living in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The company specialized in artist management and development. In 1990, Louis and Linda Lou relocated their family back to Oakland when she became an executive with MC Hammer’s record company, Bust It Records. While living in Fremont, California, Louis was responsible for putting together the team which designed the sound system in Hammer’s multi-million Fremont home. He also produced a 1992 benefit show at San Francisco’s prestigious Fairmont Hotel for actors Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte, which raised funds for Mr. Glover’s then-wife’s San Francisco art studio. He had such renowned artists as Dionne Warwick and Sinbad performing, and the guest list included actors Kevin Costner, Howard Hessman, and Gary Busey.
In 1994, he and Linda Lou relocated to the Atlanta, Georgia area. There, Louis became the head of the Rhyme Scene Unit, which specialized in street promotion for urban and rap artists in the Atlanta area. The company is a division of The Entertainment Qartel, formed by Linda Lou in 1992 after the demise of Hammer's music empire. Her streets team were instrumental in the success of the debut albums of R&B songstress Mya, the Black-Eyed Peas, and superstar rapper Eminem. Other clients included Puff Daddy, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, DMX, Ruff Ryders, Faith Evans, Eve, TLC, Usher and Mase.
[edit] Death
Louis and Linda Lou had moved to the South from Los Angeles in search of a safer place to raise their two children. Tragically and ironically, however, Louis was murdered in the early morning hours of June 25, 1997 at the Stone Mountain apartment of an acquaintance during a home invasion robbery, just 13 days after his daughter graduated from high school. As of today, the case still remains unsolved. However, as she has done every two years since Louis' death, Linda Lou convinced the Dekalb County Police Department to again reopen the case, in October 2006.
Louis is survived by Linda Lou McCall and two children, Lindsay Chérie and Louis Anthony II, along with his mother, three sisters and a brother, who all reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. His father, a former Contra Costa County, CA Deputy Sheriff, died in 2002.
[edit] His Legacy
The songs of CON FUNK SHUN and those written by Louis are still being played today. In addition to recent "Greatest Hits" releases, Louis' songs are being sampled by many contemporary artists. Several CON FUNK SHUN standards have been featured in such full-length movies as "Gone In 60 Seconds" (2000), "Next Friday", and "American Pimp" (1999) which, ironically, featured his childhood best friend John "Rosebudd" Dickson.
[edit] DISCOGRAPHY(albums)
ORGANIZED CON FUNK SHUN (1973)
CON FUNK SHUN (1976)
SECRETS (1977)
LOVESHINE (1978)
CANDY (1979)
SPIRIT OF LOVE (1980)
TOUCH (1980)
7 (1981)
TO THE MAX (1983)
FEVER (1984)
ELECTRIC LADY (1985)
BURNING LOVE (1988)
THE BEST OF CON FUNK SHUN (1993)
FFUN (1994)
THE BEST OF CON FUNK SHUN, Vol. 2 - (1996)
CON FUNK SHUN - Greatest Hits (1998)
CON FUNK SHUN - The Ballads Collection (1998)
THE BEST OF CON FUNK SHUN-The Millenneum Collection (2002)
CON FUNK SHUN - The Collection (2002)
