Biography All Music GuideWikipedia
Group Members: Felton Pilate, Michael Cooper
All Music Guide:
Con Funk Shun was formed by high-school classmates Michael Cooper and Louis "Tony" McCall, along with Karl Fuller, Paul "Maceo" Harrell, Dennis Johnson, Cedric Martin, and Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas. All of them had been playing together since their high-school days in Vallejo, CA. Felton Pilate, also from Vallejo, joined the group after his band, a local rival, disbanded.
In the early '70s, the group was a backup band for the Soul Children with the name Project Soul. And when they weren't on the road with the Soul Children, they were creatively working with various Stax staff writers. In the mid-'70s, Project Soul made an effort to become a headliner, but they met dead-ends and little success. However, they found good fortune at Audio Dimensions, a Memphis recording studio owned by producer Ted Sturges. Around this time, he group named itself after the title of one of their instrumentals, "Con Funk Shun." During their three-year stint at Audio Dimensions, Sturges, besides owning the studio, was also Con Funk Shun's producer. Their association resulted in the group's first album, Organized Con Funk Shun.
As their sound developed, Pilate and Cooper emerged as the primary lead vocalists. Around the time their first album for Crankshaft Productions, Inc. was being recorded, the eighth member, MC and technician Dennis Johnson, left the group to attend seminary in California. By 1976, the group signed to Mercury, where they remained for ten years. Their first hit for Mercury was "Ffun," written by Michael Cooper as a tribute to the R&B/funk band Brick. One of the premiere party funk bands of its time, they also began recording ballads and instrumental tracks by the early '80s. Aside from being the primary musicians on all their albums, Con Funk Shun also contributed to each of their albums as writers, arrangers, and/or producers.
Burnin' Love, the septet's last album with Mercury, was recorded without their longtime musical center, Felton Pilate, who left the group in 1986 to become a successful producer. (Pilate eventually became the musical force behind MC Hammer.) Melvin Carter, a frequent collaborator of Con Funk Shun, joined the group upon Pilate's exit, and that same year Michael Cooper left for a solo career. Con Funk Shun disbanded after their last album with Mercury, but reunited in the '90s, and began performing at festivals and concerts around the world.
Wikipedia:
Con Funk Shun is an American R&B and funk band popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Influences include James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone.
History [edit]
The band was formed by a pair of high school students in Vallejo, California, drummer Louis A. McCall Sr. and singer/guitarist Michael Cooper. The two put together a group that 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. The band got their start as a backup group for the Soul Children under the name Project Soul. They began working with Stax Records staff songwriters, and while recording at Audio Dimensions, a Memphis, Tennessee sound studio, producer Ted Sturges both named the group (after an instrumental recording by The Nite-Liters) and produced their first album, Organized Con Funk Shun.
In 1976, Con Funk Shun signed to Mercury Records, releasing eleven albums over a span of ten 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 band broke up in 1986, but some members of the group reunited alongside touring musicians for concerts in the 1990s.
In 1994, Eric "EQ" Young joined Con Funk Shun. Eric “EQ” Young, a bass player, is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a veteran of the stage. EQ’s a former Quincy Jones recording artist and has played for Con-Funk-Shun for the past 16 years. Other alliances include the Dazz Band, and Radiance. EQ has toured the US extensively and worked abroad for over twenty years and recently traveled to Iraq to play for our troops. EQ is not just your average musician, but a true entertainer. You might catch him in Japan or in the Caribbean or maybe at a local jam session. “I was born to do this” that’s what EQ always tell his friends and fans around the world. EQ’s TV credits include HBO, Soul Train, Motown Live & Sinbad. He’s also been featured in Japan’s Bass Magazine along with idols Larry Graham and Stanley Clark.
In May, 2008, ConFunkShun celebrated 35 years together with a special anniversary cruise with many of their biggest fans.
Legacy [edit]
Con Funk Shun continues to receive airplay on US soul radio stations that play music of the 1970s and 1980s. Additionally, their back-beats have been repeatedly sampled by later artists in Hip Hop, R&B, and rap. Most recently, "Honey Wild", (written by Louis McCall; his wife, Linda Lou McCall; and Danny Thomas), from their 1980 Spirit of Love album was sampled by Lil Wayne for his CD Tha Carter III - Deluxe Edition. In 1996, Dru Hill covered the song on their self-titled début album which was produced by Keith Sweat. Jason Mraz has performed "Ffun" on numerous occasions during his live performances as well. The song "That's What Love Can Do" by Boykrazy, heavily samples "Too Tight".
