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.
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 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.
By 1976, Con Funk Shun, was one of the most sought-after groups 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"), 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", written by Michael Cooper 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".
==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. In addition, lead singer/songwriters Michael V. Cooper and Felton Pilate began to try to assert more control over the band. Co-founders McCall and Cooper were often at odds with each other. Cooper, an excellent musician and writer, had always resented McCall's business acumen and negotiating skills (McCall and his wife, Linda Lou McCall, were responsible for booking the band's first major tour in 1977, which resulted in the group's national success and the first of their numerous gold albums). While McCall usually deferred to Cooper on artistic issues, he did not get the same support from Cooper on business decisions. McCall had frequently been voted group leader by the other members, each time causing the chasm between Cooper and the other members to grow wider. Pilate, the band's other primary songwriter and lead vocalist, often sided with Cooper. Since the band had always operated on the quorum principle of "participatory democracy", their suggestions were often out-voted by the other members as not being in the best interest of the band. The tension between the band members was palatable by the mid-1980s, with Cooper trying his best to be the "Lionel Richie" of the group, but his music had not matured over the years and he didn't have the crossover skills that Richie showed while still with the Commodores. Rather than accepting the fact that it was the musical cohesiveness and the overall charisma of all seven members which made Con Funk Shun popular - that no one member outshone the rest.
''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". Since the band's 10 year contract with Mercury was over, other major labels began talking to them about signing a new contract. However, Cooper wanted to go on his own and left. Rather than try to replace him, the others decided to also pursue other careers, both in and out of entertainment. Louis McCall went on to 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, Sean Combs (now "Diddy"), Mya, Three-6 Mafia, T.L.C., Notorious B.I.G., and the Black-Eyed Peas. Cooper released a few solo albums with Warner Bros. but none of them came close to his former glory days with Con Funk Shun. One of the first musicians ever to have a home studio, Felton Pilate become a successful producer and musical director for rap phenom, M.C. Hammer. He was later 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. He, too, made several attempts at solo projects with little commercial or critical success. Currently, he often works as a producer and consultant.
In the 1990s, Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate, with sagging record sales and limited consumer support, finally realized that they were not as strong as solo artists as they had hoped. They were forced to rely on the legacy of the very band that they had abandoned in 1986. Without consulting original band members McCall, Martin, or Thomas, they began performing as "Con Funk Shun", with unknown sidemen in place of their former bandmates. Original trumpet player Karl Fuller often appears with Cooper and Pilate, yet they treat him like a sideman. 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. The new band performs at "old school" concerts and small clubs around the country. Many a ticket buyer has been disappointed thinking that they were going to see the original band, only to discover a set of virtually unknowns with overweight and balding front men.
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.
Co-founder/drummer Louis A. McCall was murdered on June 25, 1997 in Stone Mountain, Georgia in a home invasion robbery. His wife fought for almost a decade to bring the case to trial. A Dekalb County grand jury indicted a suspect on January 18, 2007. However, due to a bureaucratic mix-up, the alleged killer was "accidentally" released on house arrest. The same day that the felony murder indictment was announced, he cut of the electronic monitoring bracelet and fled. He remained on the run for three months until the FBI recaptured him in late April. He currently sits in the Dekalb County jail awaiting trial.
=="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."
Peace and Unity, CON FUNK SHUN
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==DISCOGRAPHY (Albums)==
- The Memphis Sessions (1973)
- 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)
