LOUIS ANTHONY McCALL was the drummer and co-founder of Mercury Records recording group, Con Funk Shun, a popular R&B and funk band in the 1970s and 1980s. The band recorded 11 albums with Mercury, five of them RIAA-certified gold albums. Louis provided the "back beat" on numerous Top 40 singles like "Ffun", "Straight From The Heart", "Bad Lady", "I'm Leaving, Baby", and "Chase Me". He also co-wrote "California 1", "Honey Wild", "Bad Lady", and "Sure Feels Good To Me". Known as "a drummer's drummer", his "pocket"* style of playing made him a favorite of not only other funk drummers of the day, but also many rock and pop drummers. In addition, Louis was also an astute businessman responsible for handling the band's day-to-day business. His personality and professional work ethic made it possible for him to interact with music business executives, concert promoters, booking agents, attorneys and accountants. He negotiated some of the most lucrative tours and gigs of their career. Con Funk Shun showed their belief in him by making him group leader for most of their two decades together. After he stopped performing professionally in 1986, his superb business skills make it possible for him to move right into becoming successful event planner, entertainment marketing consultant, and artist manager with clients like actor/activist Danny Glover, MC Hammer, Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, P. Diddy, Tupac, Faith Evans, and the Notorious B.I.G., to name a few. Louis never lost his "chops", since he often performed informally around the country in jam sessions with some of the top jazz, R&B and neo-soul bands in the business. This enabled him to expand his own unique and perfected playing style by competing with some of the most experienced drummers and percussionists in the world.Tragically, shortly after moving to Atlanta, he was murdered on June 25, 1997 during a home invasion robbery in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His wife of over 20 years and the mother of his two children is music industry consultant and songwriter Linda Lou McCall. His daughter, Lindsay, is in law enforcement and his namesake, Louis II, is a successful real estate agent. His family sanctioned this page to honor his memory and to bring awareness to the increasing amount of gun violence by young people. The suspect in Louis' murder was only 18 years at the time of the crime, the same age as his young daughter.
Louis was born in Alameda, California on December 28, 1951 to Mary Thelma McCall (née Whitlock) and Emanual K. McCall. Louis, known as "Tony" to his friends and family, was the second of five children born to the couple. His grandmother, Florise Rochon Whitlock was born in New Iberia, LA where the family, well-to-do Créole farmers, still own a large sugar plantation. His mother's cousin, the late Allen Broussard and the son of Florise's sister, Eugénie Rochon Broussard, became the first African-American California Supreme Court Justice.
While still a young child, Louis moved with his family to Vallejo, California. His father, a former merchant marine, went into law enforcement and became the first African-American Deputy Sheriff with the Contra Costa (CA) Sheriff's Department. As a young teenager, Louis started playing drums. He then joined forces with classmate, Michael V. Cooper, to form what would become one of the most popular R&B and funk bands of the 1970s and 1980s, Con Funk Shun.
Con Funk Shun left Vallejo in 1973 to become a studio band at the legendary Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. On weekends, the group honed its talent by performing in clubs and at colleges all over the mid-south. Their summers were spent performing in clubs in Tokyo, Japan or at home in the Bay Area. Louis, playing on a set of mismatched drums pulled together over the years, became one of the best "pocket" drummers in the business. * (Pocket drumming is when a drummer sit's a groove so deep and never let's the tempo waver creating a comfortable pocket for the rest of the band to play in. It is falsely labeled as an easy thing to do, however very few drummers can pull it off, and it takes a talented band to create a deep pocket.) When he was able to purchase a complete set of drums for their band's first major tour in 1977, he stuck with what he knew. Rather than go with a complete set manufactured by one company, he ordered a custom set of drums which included components of the numerous brands he'd been using for years, including Pearl, Tama, Ludwig, and Gretsch, with Zildjian cymbals, Remo heads, and his beloved Pro Mark sticks. The set was on display at the store until the Anvil cases for touring could be made. The unique kit came to attentioin of numerous drummers who ordered similar sets (including the two drummers for Earth Wind and Fire and several top rock bands). After adding a high-end set of "SynDrums" a few years later, Louis kit was three times the size of his original set, yet he continued to play his laid-back pocket style. With the added instruments at his disposal, he created a unique style of drumming emulated by several other bands. It also made him an excellent session drummer.
In 1975, they came to the attention of Mercury Records A&R director, Jud Phillips who signed them to a major recording contract. In January 1976, Louis married Linda Lou Bolden (Linda Lou McCall), whom he had met when she was a publicist at Stax. Later that year, his first album, "Con Funk Shun", was released to critical acclaim and solid sales. It was followed by "Secrets", produced by super producer, the late Clarence "Skip" Scarborough. The group returned home to Vallejo in February 1978. Louis and his wife booked the band's first major tour, opening for Rose Royce and L.T.D. They performed 40 shows from November 1977 until February 1978 where they made their first major performance at the Oakland Coliseum to a sold-out crowd of 18,000 people. It was a great homecoming for the band. The tour was also responsible for increased sales for "Secrets", which became the first of the band's 5 gold albums.
Louis recorded a total of 11 albums with the Con Funk Shun which spawned numerous Top 40 and Top Soul Singles, including the "1 With A Bullet” Billboard Soul charts hit "Ffun". The group’s other singles included "Love’s Train", "Straight From the Heart", "Chase Me", "I'm Leaving, Baby" and "Shake & Dance With Me". In addition to adding background vocals, Louis co-wrote several songs with his wife, Linda Lou McCall, including the very popular "California 1", "Welcome Back To Love", "Honey Wild", and the Billboard Top 20 R&B Single "Bad Lady". In addition to their long-term and very successful collaboration with Skip Scarborough, the band also worked with producers Maurice Starr ("Electric Lady") and Eumir Deodato ("Fever"). Con Funk Shun continued touring extensively throughout the U.S. well into the 1980s, supporting and headlining with such acts as the O'Jays, Commodores, Teddy Pendergrass, The Bar-Kays, Cameo, The Gap Band, Parliament-Funkadelic, Rick James, Bootsy Collins, Zapp, and the Dazz Band. The act also appeared on "Soul Train", "Solid Gold", and Don Kirshner's "Midnight Special". Sheila Escovedo, of the world-renowned Latin percussion family, toured with the band and played on several of their albums. Louis and Sheila made quite a team, playing off each other, and even trading sticks in mid-air without missing a beat. When she left to pursue her own career, she was replaced by her brother, Peter Michael Escovedo. As the band's leader and spokesperson, Louis honed his business skills by negotiating the band's most lucrative performances, including standing-room only performances at the old Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, CA, which netted the band twice the original fee offered by the venue.
The band's contract with Mercury ended in 1986. The band ostensibly started shopping for a new record company. During that same period, Louis began to experience serious problems due to a near-fatal car accident he'd been in with Danny Thomas when he was 16. For more than a decade prior, he had been suffering from severe migraine-like headaches which often hit while he was on-stage, surrounded by huge speakers blasting music at deafening sound levels. At the end of the shows, he often had to be carried from the stage by his roadies.Even without a record company, Con Funk Shun was still in demand throughout the world for live performances. Louis continued to seek out and negotiated enough gigs to keep the band and their families afloat. However, during their final year together, Louis missed one gig in 20 years due to increasing cognitive problems from the car accident and, according the other band members, Michael Cooper used this as an excuse to convinced them to vote him out of his own group. Although the "vote" was not valid in what was a legal partnership, Louis decided to take the opportunity to get some much-needed medical intervention, something he had refused to do before due to his dedication to his band. After about a year of medical treatment and a restful recuperative period, he was able to return to the music business. However, he never recovered from Cooper's back-handed betrayal.
Always the businessman, Louis and Linda Lou formed McCall & Associates Entertainment in 1987 while living in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a suberb of Washington, DC. The company specialized in artist management and development. Popular Washington, D.C. area artists flocked to the company for consulting and to work in the McCall's pre-production studio. One artist in particular, vocalist and songwriter Keith Martin, signed with the company for management. In 1990, Louis and Linda Lou relocated their family back to the Oakland, CA area when she became an executive with MC Hammer's record company, Bust It Records. Louis continued specializing in artist management and music consulting. He was responsible for putting together the team which designed the sound system in Hammer’s multi-million Fremont home. He also produced a successful 1992 benefit show for actor/activist Danny Glover and his friend, the legendary Harry Belafonte at San Francisco's prestigious Fairmont Hotel. Comedian Sinbad and singers Dionne Warwick and En Vogue's Cindy Herron performed. The guest list included Kevin Costner, Howard Hessman, Gary Busey, and music producer Narada Michael Walden. The proceeds went to the San Francisco Bayview Opera House. Louis also brought one of his most talented management clients, Keith Martin, from DC out to California in 1991 and put him on MC Hammer's highly successful world tours. Under Louis' guidance, Keith signed a major deal as a recording artist, releasing several hit albums. Keith is now a successful in-house producer for EMI Music in the Philippines and is still a client of Louis' wife and her new business partner, Ruben Harper.
In 1994, Louis and Linda Lou relocated to the Atlanta, Georgia area where he became the head of the "Rhyme Scene Unit Street Marketing Task Force", which specialized in street promotion for urban and rap artists in the Atlanta area. The company is a division of The Entertainment Qartel, Inc. (EQartel) formed by Linda Lou in 1992 after the demise of Hammer's music empire. Originally part of Interscope Records first national street team, the Rhyme Scene Unit was instrumental in the success of the debut albums of R&B songstress Mya, the Black-Eyed Peas, superstar rapper Eminem, and the platinum selling soundtrack for the feature film "Bulworth". Other clients included Puff Daddy, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, DMX, Ruff Ryders, Faith Evans, Eve, TLC, Usher, 112, Destiny's Child, Three-6 Mafia, and Mase. But even with this new chapter in his career, Louis was devastated in 1993 when, after 7 lackluster years with Warner Bros. Records, Cooper began performing using the name Con Funk Shun, without consulting either co-founder Louis or the other band members. It was a betrayal from which he never recovered. He had always put Con Funk Shun first in his life and now it was summarily snatched from him. Although he had no desire to perform, he felt that he and the others should have been at least gotten a phone call from Cooper. But, as the future would exhibit, the breakdown would only get worse.
Louis and Linda Lou had moved to the South from Los Angeles in search of a safer place to raise their two children. However, in a tragic and ironic twist of fate, Linda Lou got a call shortly before midnight on June 25, 1997 from Louis' sister Maria, saying that her brother may have been shot during robbery at the Stone Mountain apartment of an acquaintance. Linda Lou contacted a friend, a DeKalb County Senior Crime Scene Investigator. A few hours later, he confirmed the worse. Louis was dead at age 46, shot twice in the head, execution-style. It was just 13 days after his daughter had graduated from high school.
Louis' murder remained unsolved for almost 10 years. During that time, Linda Lou has been diligent in her efforts to get the case to trial. She had the case reopened three times, one time after she contacted the Georgia Governor's office complaining about the need for a cold case unit in the states second largest county. DeKalb County has had several major law enforcement agency management upheavals in the years since Louis' death, due in part to still ongoing allegations of corruption which came to national attention following the murder of a newly elected sheriff Derwin Brown orchestrated by his predecessor, Sidney Dorsey in December 2000. For nearly a decade, Linda Lou complained that the only communication she had from DeKalb County in her husband's death was a sympathy card from Dorsey, now serving a life sentence plus 23 years for murder, racketeering and violation of oath of office. However, a new District Attorney, Gwen Keyes Fleming, sworn into office in 2004, believed that the case could be solved based on the dedicated investigation of DeKalb County police detective Lt. Brian Harris, who has worked on the case since 1999.
Finally, on January 18, 2007, a Dekalb County grand jury indicted 28 year-old Marques Clair in the murder. He had been a suspect every since McCall's murder. Unfortunately days after the indictment, Clair held in New Jersey on other charges, escaped from custody. The DeKalb County DA's office claims that it was assured by Essex County, NJ that the suspected killer would be held there until he was extradited back to Georgia. However, DeKalb County never served Clair with the murder arrest warrant so he apparently was released by Essex County on electronic monitoring. He promptly cut off the device and fled. DeKalb County did not know that Clair was on the run for almost 3 weeks. He remained at large for three months until the FBI recaptured him in Virginia in late April. Clair was finally put in the Dekalb County Jail on or about May 2, 2007.
The songs of Con Funk Shun and those written by Louis are still being played today. In addition to recent "Greatest Hits" and "Best of Con Funk Shun" releases, Louis' songs are being sampled by many contemporary artists. Several Con Funk Shun standards have been featured in such full-length movies as "Gone In 60 Seconds" (2000), "Next Friday", and "American Pimp" (1999) which, ironically, featured his childhood best friend John "Rosebudd" Dickson. "Love's Train", "Baby, I'm Hooked", "Let Me Put Love On Your Mind", Early Morning Sunshine", and "California 1" remain as favorites among true Con Funk Shun fans. Cooper, Felton Pilate and Karl Fuller still perform the band's hits in their "Confunkshun Revue", playing several gigs a year around the world. More recently, rapper Lil Wayne used "Honey Wild" as the track for one of the singles on his digital-only EP "The Leak". "Honey Wild" was written by Louis, his wife, and Danny Thomas. The new work, "Kush", is on its way to being a hit - bringing Con Funk Shun music to the forefront again after more than 25 years.
However, Louis' most lasting legacy are his two children. Only in their teens when their father was taken so violently from them, they are now grown. In spite of their parents' professions, neither chose to go into the entertainment field. Both his son and his daughter are very successful, articulate, and well-adjusted young people. Lindsay C. McCall followed Louis' father into law enforcement, becoming a detective in the Gwinnett County PD's elite undercover unit after only 4 years and has just been sworn in a new officer at the Paradise Valley PD in metro Phoenix. Louis Anthony McCall II, a licensed real estate agent, specializing in custom luxury homes in the Atlanta area. Their mother continues to do consulting and entertainment marketing, although she has been slowed down by the effects of systemic lupus, an autoimmune disease. The family looks forward to the resolution of Louis' murder at the trial scheduled for July 21, 2008..

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
* "Kush" recorded by Lil Wayne (2007) using a sample of "Honey Wild written by Louis A, McCall, Linda Lou McCall and Danny A. Thomas
Songs in RED co-written by Louis A. McCall or published by Exxtra Foxx Music (BMI), owned by the McCall family.
(Chart positions courtesy of Billboard Magazine. These works also charted on former major record industry trade magazines Cashbox and Record World.)