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Mercury recording artutg
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togetner a year later and today
the members of Con Punk Shun
remain the same, Michael
Cooper-guitar and vocals;
KarleE. Foliar, trumpet; Louis
McCall, drums and vocals;
Felton Pilate II, trombone, ■
rhythm guitar, and vocals; and
Danny Thomas, keyboards and
vocals. As Project Soul the
group soon became one of the
premiere bands in the San
Francisco area.
When the opportunity arose for'
the band to become the back-up
band for Soul Children, Con
Funk Shun moved its operation
to Memphis. According to co
founder, Michael Cooper, there
were sound reasons for this
decision.
“That’s where it was hap
pening-Stax Records, Issaac
Hayes, A1 Green, Willie Mit
chell, the Staple Singers. Rufus
Thomas, and the Bar Kays -
they were all from Memphis.”
After backing The Soul
Children in the film “Wattstax,”
Con Funk Shun struck out on its
own, sweeping the college circuit
and attracting the attention of
potential record companies. One
company that was to be drawn to
the band was Mercury Records
At the time Con Funk Shun was
opening for some very presti
gious groups like Stevie Wonder,
the Commodores, and Earth,
Wine & Fire, they even had a
couple of regional hits out. Con
Funk Shun signed with Mercury
PolyGram in 1976.
While Con Funk Shun has
spent years developing a sharp
funk sound, they have not ne
glected to expand in the areas of
pop and rock as well. Realiz
ing that the key to a long period
of success is versatility, Con
Funk Shun seems to have adopt
ed a musical policy of close no
doors and investigate all doors.
LaBelle, Cosby
To Host NBC
Special
• New York, NY - Patti LaBelle,
whose show-stopping perfor
mance brought down the house
in NBC-TV’s “Motown Returns
to the Apollo” special May 19,
will star in her own special, “The
Latti LaBelle Show,” Thursday,
November 21 (10-11 p.m. NYT),
it was announced recently by
Rick Ludwin, vice president,
Specials and Variety Programs,
NBC Entertainment.
“The Patti LaBelle Show” will
reunite the dynamic songstress
with superstar fellow Philadel
phian Bill Cosby, who hosted the
Motown special. Other guest
stars will be Cyndi Lauper,
Luther Vandross, Amy Grant
and the Krofft Puppets.
While currently enjoying great
success as a solo artist, LaBelle
first broke into the star ranks in
the 1960s with her group, Patti
LaBelle and The Bluebells. She
has since become known as the
“Queen of Rock ’n’ Soul.” She
has had a banner year, with
another hit song, “New Atti
tude,” from “The Beverly Hills
Cop” soundtrack.