Con Funk Shun was one of the most popular funk bands of the 1970s and 1980s, with several 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 numerous "Best Of" and "Greatest Hits" albums still being released. Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African Americans, e. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ...

The early years

Con Funk Shun was formed in Vallejo, California 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). Vallejo is a city in Solano County, California, United States. ... Louis A. McCall, (born December 28, 1951 in Alameda, California), was the drummer and leader of Mercury Records recording group, Con Funk Shun, a popular funk band in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

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. Stax Records was a Memphis, Tennessee based record label that existed from 1959 to 1976. ... The Soul Children was an American soul music group. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The River City, The Bluff City, M-Town Location Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Tennessee Shelby County Mayor W. W. Herenton (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 294. ... Estelle Axton was the co-founder (with her brother Jim Stewart) of Stax Records. ...

The Mercury Records years

By 1976, Con Funk Shun, was one of the most popular groups in the South but 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. Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ... Linda Lou McCall (born Linda Lou Bolden on February 19, 1950 in Washington, D.C.) is a music industry consultant and songwriter who has worked with veteran funk band Con Funk Shun and rap-superstar MC Hammer, to name a few. ...

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", "Bad Lady", "Straight From The Heart", and "Shake & Dance With Me". It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with RIAA certification. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

The later years

Burning Love, Con Funk Shun's last album with Mercury, was recorded without lead singer/songwriter, Felton Pilate, who left the group in 1986 to become a successful producer and musical director for rap phenom, MC Hammer. He was later nominated for a Grammy for co-producing Hammer's hit record "U Can't Touch This". Melvin Carter, a frequent collaborator of Con Funk Shun, replaced Felton. The same year Michael Cooper left for a solo career. Louis McCall also left to become a consultant and event producer with clients such as MC 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. Con Funk Shun disbanded after their last album with Mercury in late 1986. However, in the 1990s, lead singers Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate began performing under the group's name with sidemen in place of their former bandmates. Although missing the tightness of its legendary rhythm section, the reconstituted group still performs at "old school' concerts and festivals throughout the country. The original band's music can still be heard in such recent films as Gone In 60 Seconds, Next Friday, and An American Pimp. Please Hammer Dont Hurt em (1990) MC Hammer (later Hammer) (born Stanley Kirk Burrell in Oakland, California, on March 30, 1962) is an American rapper who was popular during the 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark parachute... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... A claw hammer A hammer is a tool meant to deliver blows to a target, causing it to move or deform. ... U Cant Touch This was far and away M.C. Hammers most successful single. ... Please Hammer Dont Hurt em (1990) MC Hammer (later Hammer) (born Stanley Kirk Burrell in Oakland, California, on March 30, 1962) is an American rapper who was popular during the 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark parachute... Danny Glover at World Social Forum 2003. ... Belafonte (center) on the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C with Sidney Poitier and Charlton Heston Harold George Belafonte, Jr. ... Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972) is an American rapper and occasional actor, best known as Eminem, his stage name. ... Diddy on the red carpet of the event for Time magazines 100 Most Influential People event, 8 May 2006. ... Mýa Marie Harrison (born October 10, 1979) is an American R&B singer, dancer, and actress. ... The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip hop crew from Los Angeles, who have lately enjoyed massive international pop success. ... Gone in Sixty Seconds, or Gone in 60 Seconds, is the name of two films, one a remake of the other: Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... DVD cover (platinum) Next Friday, the sequel to the low-budget movie which brutally depicts the neighborhood of South Central, Los Angeles, in a comedic sense. ...

Tragically, co-founder/drummer Louis A. McCall was murdered on June 25, 1997 in Stone Mountain, Georgia in a home invasion robbery. The case is still unsolved. With the exception of Felton, all of the other members of Con Funk Shun still reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. Louis A. McCall, (born December 28, 1951 in Alameda, California), was the drummer and leader of Mercury Records recording group, Con Funk Shun, a popular funk band in the 1970s and 1980s. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... Stone Mountain is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ...

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 (1988)

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)