Con Funk Shun
| Con Funk Shun | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Vallejo, California, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, Funk |
| Years active | 1969-1986 |
| Labels | Mercury Fretone |
| Members | Michael V. Cooper Felton C. Pilate Cedric A. Martin Paul E. Harrell Karl E. Fuller Danny A. Thomas Louis A. McCall Sr. - deceased |
Con Funk Shun formerly known as (Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Influences included Earth Wind & Fire, Commodores, Chaka Khan, and Sly & the Family Stone. Signed to Mercury Records in 1976, Con Funk Shun enjoyed a decade of successful national and overseas tours, 11 chart-topping albums, and numerous hit singles, including a Billboard magazine "#1 With A Bullet" hit single on the Top R&B Singles chart. The group formally disbanded in 1986.
The band began in 1969 as Project Soul, formed by Vallejo, California high school students Louis A. McCall Sr. (drums/percussion/vocals) and Michael Cooper (rhythm guitar/lead vocals). By 1971, the group also included bassist Cedric Martin, keyboardist Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas, trumpeter Karl Fuller, and woodwinds player Paul "Maceo" Harrell. Soon thereafter, this fledgling group's classic lineup became complete when singer/multi-instrumentalist Felton Pilate came on board. In 1971, those seven musicians founded a new band, calling themselves Con-Funk-Shun, after a song by the instrumental ensemble The Nite-Liters. They relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 1973 when they were hired to back up Stax Records artists The Soul Children. There, they came to the attention of Estelle Axton who signed them to her Fretone Records label. Their first album, Organized Con Funk Shun was released in 1973. In 1974, their name was officially changed to Con Funk Shun by McCall's future wife, Linda Lou McCall (née Bolden), when she became the group's publicist and created their logos.
In 1976, Con Funk Shun signed to Mercury Records, releasing 11 albums over a span of 10 years. The group's 1977 LP, Secrets, was certified gold in the US, as were 1978's Loveshine, 1979's Candy, and 1980's Spirit of Love. They scored a string of top ten hits on the US Billboard black singles chart, including 1977's "Ffun" (#1), 1978's "Shake and Dance with Me" (#5), 1979's "Chase Me" (#4), 1980s "Got to Be Enough" (#8), and "Too Tight" (#8). Tensions from within the group built over the 1980s, and the group's last album, Burning Love, was recorded without songwriter and vocalist Felton Pilate. After leaving Mercury, the original band members ceased performing and recording as Con Funk Shun in 1987.
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