Con Funk Shun is an American group formed in 1969 under the name Project Soul and originally composed of Louis McCall, Michael Cooper, Cédric Martin, Danny Thomas, Karl Fuller, Paul Harrell and Felton Pilate.
It was in 1971 that they took the name of Con-Funk-Shun, a name which would in fact be a reference to the title of the group The Nite-Liters, a title dating from 1970.
It was in 1973 that things finally picked up speed when the Stax Records label hired them to be the support group for the Soul Children. And it is in this context that another label, namely Fretone Records, spotted them and signed them in their own name.
Label which allows them to release a first album "Organized Con Funk Shun", an album which unfortunately will go somewhat unnoticed...
The group officially took the name of Con Funk Shun the following year in 1974 but without releasing a new album that year.
They will have to wait for the year 1976 and the signing with the Mercury Records label to finally see their efforts rewarded with a first classified title thanks to the release of the Single "Sho feels good to me". Single present on their self-titled album which was also released the same year.
First success on the album side in 1977 with the release of the album "Secrets", album which will produce what will remain as the biggest success of all their discography on the Singles side, namely "Ffun".
The group will release no less than 10 albums thereafter as well as a good number of Singles. 10 albums which will all be classified but which will not manage to produce major hits paradoxically.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
Clique 1974
Sho feels good to me 1976
Confunkshunizeya 1977
Ffun 1977
Shake and dance with me 1978
So easy 1978
(Let me put) Love on your mind 1979
Chase me 1979
80s Decade :
By your side 1980
Got to be enough 1980
Bad lady 1981
Lady’s wild 1981
Too tight 1981
Ain’t nobody 1982
Straight from the Heart 1982
Baby I’m hooked (Right in your love) 1983
Ms. Got-the-Body 1983
Love’s train 1983
Don’t let your love grow cold 1984
Electric lady 1985
I’m leaving baby 1985
Tell me what you’re gonna do 1985
Burnin’ love 1986
She’s a star 1986
90s Decade :
Throw it up 1996
2010s Decade :
Your night 2014
I miss you 2015
Tracks :
1974...a first title to break in and show above all that we exist. Afterwards, it is still extremely rare to break the shack from the first title...
1976... they will have to wait 2 more years to obtain a first classified title. But now that it's done, it at least proves that they are capable of it !
1977... the rise in power is slow but real. We therefore suspect that at some point the group will move up a gear, that's for sure...
1977... what will be done on this title. The group will win here the biggest success of all its discography and show de facto that he has its place in the big leagues. HU-GE !
1978 ... on the other hand, who says biggest success, necessarily says inevitable fall behind in the Charts. We will not speak of unscrewing but of success a notch below necessarily...
1978...the group will now have to settle for lesser successes, of course. Most of their songs will only be on the R&B Charts now...
1979...even if the group will never remain as the most gifted of its generation, what he offers largely holds up. Proof once again...
1979... the group closes its 70s decade in Dance version and especially in festive mode, it's the least we can say. Given the level of success they will have managed to achieve in a few years, they can afford it, that's clear...
1980 ... conversely the start of the 80s will be very smooth. The group alternates with a more than certain mastery of fast tempo and much softer tempo. To our greatest delight...
1980...here they are back in Dance mode and the least we can say is that they can compete without worry with the big names of the moment in this field. They will also obtain with this title their biggest success on the Dancefloor side...
1981...a Dance register that they are particularly fond of and which will remain their trademark until the end, that's for sure...
1981...the only problem is that the competition is so plethoric in the Dance register that to exist at the highest level requires having an inspiration that is also of a very high level. Not always easy as they say...
1981... they will all the same obtain with this title a semblance of consecration. A career culmination that shows that they really didn't need much to be part of the Elite. Really a shame because they had the potential to...
1982... it is clear that now that they have reached the top of the mountain, it is the descent that inevitably awaits them behind...
1982...the only successes they will get from now on will be limited to the R&B Charts. But it's already better than nothing as they say...
1983...the last major hit and this time with high-calibre Intimist. They will have been really good, even very good, in all areas !
1983...the adventure continues at all costs and regardless of the level of success now achieved. For them, the main thing is to participate !
1983...and given what they continue to offer, especially on the Intimist side, we can only encourage them to continue to participate, that's for sure !
1984...nothing exceptional but good work once again. The group unrolls quietly without asking too many questions and for the moment they are doing quite well...
1985... after, we imagine that the adventure will not last for years and years like that. Because the competition is getting more and more ahead and there is bound to be a time when the group will have to pay the price...
1985...in any case, for the moment, nothing to worry about the sequence of events. At least for the year 1985...
1985... the group manages to stay at the back of the leading pack and therefore preserves the essentials. But let him take advantage of it because it could be that the result is much less favorable to them...
1986...surprisingly, it was only in 1986 that they recorded their first success across the Channel, the one and only...
1986...the last Single of the decade. And yes, we felt it coming but the stall, the real one, here it is. It's not quite the end of the adventure but we're getting closer...
1996... here they are back 10 years later. They are attempting a comeback that is unlikely to say the least, a comeback that will prove to be successful, to say the least, since the title will even manage to be ranked...
2014... it's not 10 years that will pass but 18 ! We thought the case was definitely closed concerning them but it was very bad to know them. The proof !
2015...and they're doing it again a year later. Who could have imagined when they debuted in 1974 that they would still be around 40 years later. Not many people, that's for sure...
Wiki :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :