This is the only official MySpace page about the ORIGINAL MEMBERS of CON FUNK SHUN, who recorded over 13 albums, 11 with Mercury Records, between 1973 and 1986. We also have been blessed to have numerous compilations and re-issues since 1993.

Our success includes numerous hits singles like "Ffun", "Shake and Dance With Me", "Straight From The Heart", "Love's Train", "Let Me Put Love On Your Mind", "I'm Leaving, Baby", and "Baby, I'm Hooked". The band, then called Project Soul, was formed in Vallejo, California by LOUIS A. McCALL and MICHAEL V. COOPER in 1969, and included KARL FULLER, CEDRIC MARTIN, DANNY THOMAS, PAUL HARRELL, and FELTON PILATE. We disbanded in 1986, but our music continues to be available to the public with compilations and re-issues being released from 1993 to the present. In addition, Cooper, Pilate and Fuller, still perform Con Funk Shun's hits throughout the world.Although our songs continue to make money, it is not our purpose here to either sell or promote records - our music will do that on its own. However, we noticed that there was a void in information - accurate - information about our group. Prior to February 16, 2008 there was no "Official Con Funk Shun MySpace Page", sanctioned by the band members. On that date, we created this page to give our fans, both old and new, the correct history behind our music. Subsequent MySpace pages have been launched purporting to be "The Real Con Funk Shun". We beg to differ....word games aside, WE are the Real, Authentic, Genuine, Classic, Quintessential, Legitimate, One and Only, Original, Initial, Alpha and Omega, Confirmed, Conclusive, Proven, Unequaled, Unique, Unparalleled, Unrivaled, Absolute, Validated, Actual, Categorical, Clear-cut, Complete, Decisive, Definite, Determining, Downright, Express, Final, First and Last, Precise, Specific, Ultimate, Unambiguous, Correct, Exact, Factual, Flawless, Infallible, Irrefutable, Official, True, Undeniable, Undisputed, Unimpeachable, Unquestionable, Unrefuted, Valid, Veracious, Accurate, Attested, Underived, Circumstantiated, Recognized, Righteous, Documented, Verified, Absolute, Certain, Emphatic, Positive, Specific, Ultimate, Unconditional, Unequivocal, Unmitigated, Unqualified, Archetypal, Autochthonous, Beginning, Commencing, Embryonic, Inceptive, Introductory , The Masters, Pioneers, Primary, Prime, Primeval, Primordial, Prototypal, Rudimental, Consummate, Distinguished, Esthetic, Famous, Ideal, Paradigmatic, Paramount, Prime, Superior, Top-Notch, Well-Known - seven musicians who gave you the music of our hearts. In other words, we are.....
THE DEFINITIVE CON FUNK SHUN.
You will forever hear the voices and instruments of the original seven members when you listen to our music. No one new can purport to have created the hits which bear our name. To paraphrase the language of the streets: "Con Funk Shun IN, Con Funk Shun OUT" - the only way to get rid of one of us is through death. And even then, the memory of our fallen brother Louis McCall, who died in 1997, is still an integral part of the band he co-founded.
While we were very successful during at the height of our career in the seventies and eighties and while we held our own against some of the most prolific and talented bands of the day (Earth Wind & Fire, Commodores, Bar-Kays, Zapp, L.T.D., Cameo, Lakeside, Dazz Band, etc.), none of us can give ourselves the individual title of "legendary". The band's music may have become legendary but Con Funk Shun spawned no major pop solo artists at the level of a Lionel Richie, Maurice White, Jeffrey Osborne or, even Charlie Wilson. We were a band, a group, which consisted of 7 very talented and dedicated musicians.
Since our break-up in 1986, no one bearing the name of Con Funk Shun has signed a record deal, released product, or performed without the inclusion of our original music. We were not like the Commodores who have had quite a few major hits without Lionel Richie. Their advertising shows only the three original members, not a plethora a sidemen purporting to be the founding members. Their MySpace bio makes reference to the death of Milan Williams, who appears in the group's Top Friends list, right at the top. Con Funk Shun has always admired both the Commodores and Earth Wind & Fire. Before we got a record deal and released our own music, our shows included covers of the hits of these two iconic groups. When we got our first major tour, we engaged their designer, Bill Whitten, to make our stage costumes and our gold albums were produced by EWF's producer, Skip Scarborough. Therefore, we are now humbled by the dignified way that these bands handled a situation which is common among groups who break up - they did not forget the guys who starved with them and went to the top of the charts with them.
Accordingly, we are here to preserve the integrity of our legacy, for our children, their children, and their children - forever and ever. Twenty-six years ago, we released our milestone album, the seventh with Mercury, produced by Con Funk Shun. Called "7", it contained a creed from us to our fans in the liner notes. Today it still holds what this band is - or should be - about..........
"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 UnityWe wish Michael and Felton the very best in their solo careers and we've got nothing but respect for the young guys who are performing with Mike, Felton, and Karl as the "Confunkshun Revue". With Mike and Felton's signature Con Funk Shun sound on vocals, the show is still a sensation with our original horn arrangements and even most of our old dance routines. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Keep up the good work, Brothers!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!
Click on title for VIDEO CLIP
courtesy of MSN.com
"I'M LEAVING, BABY" (Written by Michael Cooper & Wayne Wallace)
© 1985 MPCA Playfull Music (BMI) BIOGRAPHY 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 R&B Single. Other hits singles included "Sure Feels Good To Me", "Let Me Put Love On Your Mind", "Baby, I'm Hooked", "Shake and Dance With Me", "Love's Train", "California 1", "Straight From The Heart", and "I'm Leaving, Baby". 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.

The band 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 soon included Karl "Deacon" Fuller (trumpet/vocals), Paul "Maceo" Harrell (saxophone/flute/vocals) Cedric Martin (bass guitar/vocals), Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas (keyboards/vocals), 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 and Japan. They had numerous Top 40 hits including "Chase Me", "Love's Train", "Straight From The Heart", "Bad Lady", "Shake & Dance With Me", and "I'm Leaving, Baby". The band was equally adept at writing, producing and arranging both uptempo funky dance songs and smooth, jazz-influenced ballads, with Cooper and Pilate alternating on lead vocals. Their milestone album, " 7", released in 1981, was the seventh album for the seven band members. Showcasing the band's growth as musicians and producers, the album includes ballads "Straight From The Heart" and "Promise You Love", along with their signature dance sound on "Body Lovers" and the ''Billboard'' Top 20 R&B Single, "Bad Lady". Michael delivers a memorable rock guitar solo on Felton's masterfully arranged "California 1", with words and music by Louis and his wife who were influenced by Christopher Cross' Grammy award-winning hit song, "Sailing".
''Burning Love", released in 1986, was Con Funk Shun's last album with Mercury Records. It was recorded without lead singer/songwriter, Felton Pilate, who left the group in 1985. With the group"s 10 year relationship with Mercury ending, other labels expressed interest in signing the band. In spite of declining records sales at the time, Con Funk Shun remained in high demand for live performances around the world. But the 7 young men who had idealistically thrown their hats into the ring together almost two decades prior were now 7 grown men with different visions. In spite of offers from several record labels, Michael Cooper, the band's dynamic lead singer and songwriter, wanted to try a solo career. Drummer Louis McCall began to suffer from major cognitive problems, resulting from a serious auto accident at age 16, which almost took the lives of him and keyboardist Danny Thomas. For over a decade he'd performed in front of eardrum splitting sound monitors with blinding, migraine-type headaches. By the mid-80s, the lack of proper medical intervention and rest due to non-stop touring and recording was causing him to become forgetful and confused, a fact that he refused to reveal to anyone, including his band mates. However, his disability had become evident by 1985 with his performing skills severely impacted. With Pilate gone and Cooper leaving for a long-awaited solo career, the band finally disbanded in 1986.
Cooper then signed with Warner Bros. Records. His smooth vocal style produced several hit songs like "Shoop Shoop" and "Dinner For Two". After leaving that label in 1993, he has released a few more albums on smaller imprints. However, he never came close to his former glory days with Con Funk Shun. One of the first musicians ever to have a home studio, Felton Pilate became 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. McCall got proper medical intervention, getting his debilitating headaches under control and went on to become a successful artist manager, consultant and event producer with clients such as M.C. Hammer, Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte. He also managed to acclimate into the hip-hop genre, marketing such contemporary artists as Eminem, P. Diddy, Mya, Three-6 Mafia, T.L.C., Notorious B.I.G., and the Black-Eyed Peas.
In the 1990s, Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate, without consulting original band members McCall, Martin, Harrell, Fuller, or Thomas, began performing as the "Confunkshun Revue" in 1994, with unknown sidemen in place of their former band mates (and the band's name continuously misspelled!) Fuller and Harrell were eventually tapped to join but Harrell left after several years of being treated (and paid) like one of the sidemen. Although very talented, the reconstituted band lacks the legendary tightness of the original 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.
Co-founder/drummer Louis A. McCall moved his family from Los Angeles to metro Atlanta in 1995, in search of a safer place to raise his children. Tragically, he was murdered on June 25, 1997 in Stone Mountain, Georgia in a home invasion robbery. The case was closed three times without an arrest. His wife, Linda Lou, fought for almost a decade to bring the case to trial. A Dekalb County grand jury indicted 28 year-old Marquis Clair, on January 18, 2007. The trial is scheduled to finally begin on July 21, 2008 in Decatur, GA. (Source: TheLooseBook.com)
Con Funk Shun's original music continues to garner radio play, especially Michael Cooper's sultry ballads "Love's Train" and "I'm Leaving, Baby". "Chase Me" and "Ffun" were featured in ''Gone In 60 Seconds'', and ''Next Friday'' and ''American Pimp", respectively. Most recently, "Honey Wild", (written by Louis McCall, Linda Lou McCall, and Danny Thomas), from their 1980 "Spirit of Love" album was sampled by rapper Lil Wayne for his best-selling and long-awaited CD "Tha Carter III - Deluxe Edition". This 2-CD set includes the 5 tracks leaked to the public in June 2007 and later released as "The Leak", originally a digital download-only EP.

DISCOGRAPHY

Albums
* The Memphis Sessions (1973)
* Organized Con Funk Shun (1973)
* Con Funk Shun (1976)
* Secrets (1977) - 6 Top R&B Albums, 51 Pop
* Loveshine (1978) - 10 Top R&B Albums, 32 Pop
* Candy (1979) - 7 Top R&B Albums, 46 Pop
* Spirit of Love (1980) - 7 Top R&B Albums, 30 Pop
* Touch (1980) - 7 Top R&B Albums, 51 Pop
* 7 (1981) - 17 Top R&B Albums, 82 Pop
* To The Max (1982) - 9 Top R&B Albums, 116 Pop
* Fever (1983) - 12 Top R&B Albums, 105 Pop
* Electric Lady (1985) - 9 Top R&B Albums, 62 Pop
* Burning Love (1986) - 25 Top R&B Albums, 121 Pop
* The Best of Con Funk Shun (1993) - 43 Top R&B Albums
* Ffun (1994)
* Live for Ya Ass (1996) - 74 Top R&B Albums
* 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)
Singles (with "B" Sides)
* Sho Feels Good To Me - 66 Top R&B Singles (b/w Foley Park) - 1977
* Ffun - 1 Top R&B Singles, 23 Pop (b/w Indian Summer Love) - 1977
* Confunkshunizeya - Top 31 R&B Singles, 103 Pop (b/w Who Has The Time) - 1978
* Shake And Dance With Me - 5 Top R&B Singles, 60 Pop (b/w I'll Set You Out OK) - 1978
* So Easy - 28 Top R&B Singles (b/w Tears In My Eyes) - 1978
* Chase Me - 4 Top R&B Singles (b/w I Think I Found The Answer) - 1979
* (Let Me Put) Love On Your Mind - 24 Top R&B Singles (b/w Fire When Ready) - 1979
* Da Lady - 60 Top R&B Singles (b/w Images) - 1980
* Got To Be Enough - 8 Top R&B Singles, 101 Pop, 20 Club Play (b/w Early Morning Sunshine) - 1980
* By Your Side - 27 Top R&B Singles (b/w Spirit of Love) - 1980
* Happy Face - 87 Top R&B Singles (b/w Honey Wild) - 1980
* Too Tight - 8 Top R&B Singles, 40 Pop, 25 Club Play (b/w PlayWidit) - 1980
* Lady's Wild - 42 Top R&B Singles (b/w Pride and Glory) - 1981
* Bad Lady - 19 Top R&B Singles (b/w California 1) - 1981
* Straight From The Heart - 79 Top R&B Singles (b/w California 1) - 1982
* Ain't Nobody, Baby - 31 Top R&B Singles (b/w Ever Love) - 1982
* Ms. Got-The-Body - 15 Top R&B Singles (b/w Hide and Freak) - 1983
* You Are The One - 47 Top R&B Singles (b/w Let's Ride & Slide) - 1983
* Baby, I'm Hooked (Right Into Your Love) - 5 Top R&B Singles, 76 Pop (b/w Thinking About You, Baby) - 1983
* Don't Let Your Love Grow Cold - 33 Top R&B Singles, 103 Pop (b/w Lovin' Fever) - 1984
* Electric Lady - 4 Top R&B Singles, 102 Pop, 32 Dance (b/w Pretty Lady) - 1985
* I'm Leaving, Baby - 12 Top R&B Singles (b/w Love's Train) - 1985
* Tell Me What (I'm Gonna Do) - 47 Top R&B Singles (remix) - 1985
* Burnin' Love - 8 Top R&B Singles (b/w Candy) - 1986
* She's A Star - 80 Top R&B Singles (b/w Rock It All Night) - 1986
* Throw It Up, Throw It Up - 84 Top R&B Singles (remix) - 1996
(Chart positions courtesy of Billboard Magazine. These works also charted on former major record industry trade magazines Cashbox and Record World.)