Con Funk Shun
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CON FUNK SHUN |
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| Origin | Vallejo, CA USA |
| Years active | 1973 – 1986 |
| Genres | R&B Funk Soul |
| Labels | Mercury Records |
| Past members | Michael V. Cooper Karl Fuller Paul Harrell Cedric A. Martin Louis A. McCall Felton Pilate Danny Thomas |
Con Funk Shun was one of the most popular R&B & funk bands of the 1970s and 1980s, with numerous hit records including "Ffun", a Billboard magazine "#1 With A Bullet" Top Soul Single. The act recorded a total of 11 albums with Mercury Records and still enjoys success with the release of numerous compilations and original albums being released as compact discs.
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[edit] Early years
Con Funk Shun was formed in Vallejo, California in 1969 by high-school classmates Louis A. McCall and Michael V. Cooper. With Louis on drums and percussion and Michael providing lead vocals and lead guitar, the group included Karl "Deacon" Fuller (trumpet), Paul "Maceo" Harrell (saxophone/flute) Cedric A. Martin (bass Guitar), Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas (keyboards), and Felton "Slyde Clyde" Pilate (trombone/lead vocals).
Originally named Project Soul, the group became a backup band for the Stax Records artists The Soul Children in the early 1970s Renaming themselves Confunkshun, the group moved to Memphis, Tennessee and became one of the label's most sought-after studio bands. They supported themselves by performing throughout the mid-South and Japan at clubs and colleges. They came to the attention of Estelle Axton and recorded an album and several singles on her Fretone Records label.
[edit] Mercury Records Years
By 1976, Con Funk Shun, was one of the most popular unsigned bands in the South, performing at several clubs, festivals, and college functions at least fours nights of every week. Yet, for a while, it still had not secured a major recording deal. That all changed in July 1976 when Mercury Records A&R man Jud Phillips finally signed the group to a major recording contract. By that time, drummer Louis McCall's wife, publicist/songwriter Linda Lou McCall, had "tweaked" the spelling of the band's name (originally "Confunkshun" which was an instrumental tune by the Nightlighters, later part of New Birth.), and their first album, "Con Funk Shun", was released later that year.
The band's second album Secrets was released in 1977 to critical and commercial success. Their first hit single was "Ffun" rose swiftly up the charts and landed at "#1 With A Bullet" on Billboard magazine's Top Soul Singles chart in July 1977. Over the course of 10 years, Con Funk Shun recorded 11 albums with Mercury, with five of them achieving "gold album" status (selling in excess of 500,000 units). The band performed to sold-out coliseums all over the country. They had numerous Top 40 hits including "Chase Me", "Love's Train", "Straight From The Heart", and "Shake & Dance With Me". They recorded their milestone album, "7" in 1981, the seventh album for seven bandmembers who had been together since their teens. It included "California 1", "Straight From The Heart", "Body Lovers" and the Billboard Top 20 Soul Single, "Bad Lady".
[edit] Later years
In the early 1980s, the advent of synthesized music and poor support from their record company was beginning to cause tension between the boyhood friends. As the men grew older, there were many artistic and business decision differences. The primary songwriters were not open to having the other members' compositions produced. These were the same issues that many bands of the time experienced. The tension between the band members was palatable by the mid-1980s and a break was inevitable.
"Burning Love", Con Funk Shun's last album with Mercury Records, was recorded without lead singer/songwriter, Felton Pilate, who left the group in 1986. Melvin Carter, a frequent collaborator of Con Funk Shun, replaced Felton for their final album, "Burning Love". The same year, the original group was essentially forced to disband after Cooper decided to leave for a solo career. Louis A. McCall become a consultant and event producer with clients such as M.C. Hammer, Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte, and to join his wife in marketing such contemporary artists as Eminem, Puff Daddy (now "Diddy"), Mya, and the Black-Eyed Peas. Cooper released a few solo albums with Warner Bros. with only a few hits like "Prove My Love" and "Shoop Shoop". Pilate went on to become a highly successful producer and musical director for rap phenom, M.C. Hammer. He was nominated in 1991 for a Grammy for co-producing Hammer's hit record "U Can't Touch This" and an Oscar in 1992 for "Addams Groove" on the ""Addams Family"" soundtrack.
In the 1990s Cooper, without consulting the original band members, began performing as "Con Funk Shun", with unknown sidemen in place of their former bandmates. Original horn players Fuller and Harrell often appeared with the reconstituted band, yet they were treated like a sideman. Both eventually left due to professional differences.
The new band currently performs at "old school" concerts and small clubs around the country. Many a ticket buyer has expressed disappointment, believing that they were going to see the original band, only to discover a set of virtually unknowns. The reconstituted band lacks the legendary tightness of its rhythm section, the "hot brass" sound of their horns and the amazing personal charisma of seven good-looking young men who developed a unique and iconic sound. Fortunately, the "sound" of the original lead singers remains, with Cooper and Pilate continuing to share Con Funk Shun's legacy with a new generation of music-lovers.
1951-1997
Founder/drummer Louis A. McCall was murdered on June 25, 1997 in Stone Mountain, Georgia in a home invasion robbery. According to Atlanta television station Fox-5, who has covered the case for years, the murder remained unsolved for years. McCall's wife of 20 years, Linda Lou McCall had the case reopened three times. Finally a Dekalb County, Georgia grand jury indicted a suspect for felony murder on January 18, 2007. On February 15, 2007, Fox reporter Doug Evans stated that the alleged killer who had been in custody in another jurisiction when the indictment was announced escaped a few days after. He remains at large and is being hunted by the U.S. Marshalls and the F.B.I.. McCall's widow, Linda Lou McCall and their grown children are understandably distraught over the recent development but they feel confident that the federal officials will affect a capture soon.
Con Funk Shun's original music can still be heard in such recent films as "Gone In 60 Seconds", "Next Friday", and "American Pimp", which was featured at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Ironically, one of the memorable characters in "American Pimp" was John "Rosebudd" Dickson, a childhood friend of drummer, Louis A. McCall. They played in the Vallejo High School band together and remained friends for life.
[edit] "The Con Funk Shun Creed"
When the band recorded their seventh album for Mercury Records, it was monumental and significant time in the history of this seven members. Accordingly, Linda Lou McCall, wrote a special statement to show the band's continued solidarity and spirit of brotherhood. The album was simply entitled "7". The design was a large stone monolith number symbol with the band's named emblazoned above it in the stylized font that Linda Lou had designed for its fifth album "Spirit of Love". The creed is as follows:
"Renaissance comes by the name Seven-the rebirth of life, love, liberty, and the legacy of hope. We rejoice as Seven, bringing you the music of our hearts Seven times. But it is as One that we give you our love."
After the death of Louis McCall in 1997, four of the original band members, Cedric Martin, Rev. Karl Fuller, Danny Thomas, and Paul Harrell, exhibited that spirit of unity by their show of support for Louis' wife and two children. In late 2006, they created "Team Con Funk Shun" to assist the family in bringing Louis' killer to justice. Outraged by the cold-blooded murder of their bandmate, the men have vowed to attend the upcoming court proceedings with the family. After the trial, they are starting a scholarship fund to help a deserving college-bound student from Louis' alma mater, Vallejo High School, who plans to major in criminal justice or law.
[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 (1982)*
- Fever (1983)*
- Electric Lady (1985)*
- Burning Love (1986)*
- The Best of Con Funk Shun (1993)
- Ffun (1994)
- Live for Ya Ass (1996)
- 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 Millennium Collection (2002)
- Con Funk Shun - The Collection' (2002)
- Con Funk Shun - The Definitive CD (2006)
(* recorded for Mercury Records)
