Louis A. McCall (December 28, 1951 – June 25, 1997) – Welcome Back To Love (1980)

This beautiful love song was co-written by the Con Funk Shun co-founder and his wife for their Touch LP, the first album the group produced themselves.

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Louis A. McCall was a drummer, songwriter, producer, and the co-founder of the 1970s superstar funk group Con Funk Shun.

Born in Alameda, California, Louis Anthony McCall and guitarist Michael Cooper formed the group that became Con Funk Shun while still in high school in the Bay Area city of Vallejo. They were originally called Project Soul, and by 1971 had expanded to include keyboardist Danny “Sweet Man” Thomas, bassist Cedric Martin, Karl Fuller on trumpet and Paul “Maceo” Harrell on woodwinds. Lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Felton Pilate joined soon after.

After relocating to Memphis in 1973, they were hired as the backing band for Stax recording artists the Soul Children. Producer Ted Sturges gave the group their new name, after a slamming instrumental by the Niteliters, and produced their debut album Organized Con Funk Shun (1973). It was released on Fretone Records, another label owned by Stax co-founder Estelle Axton.

In 1976 the group signed to Mercury Records and co-produced a self-titled LP that same year. Along with Cooper, Martin, and Pilate, McCall co-wrote its funky closing cut “Sho Feels Good To Me,” which was released as a single.

See our earlier post on legendary producer Skip Scarborough (who produced or co-produced the group’s next several albums) for more on their collaborations.

For their 1978 studio album Loveshine, which went to #10 on the R&B album charts, McCall, his wife Linda Lou McCall and the group’s keyboardist Danny Thomas co-wrote the laid back jam “I Think I Found The Answer,” which was co-arranged by Scarborough. Other highlights included the superb opening cut “So Easy,” written by Cooper, and the LP’s stellar title track, which Pilate wrote.

In 1980, the McCalls and songwriter P.M. Allen co-wrote the beautiful love song “Welcome Back To Love” for their Touch LP, which was the first album the group produced entirely themselves.

The group went through internal tensions during the eighties and eventually lead singer Pilate left after a physical altercation with McCall. Con Funk Shun broke up in 1986, and Louis and Linda Lou started their own artist management company in Washington, D.C, the Entertainment Qartel, Inc. In 1995 they moved to Atlanta, GA, and became part of the marketing team for artists including Tupac, Eminem, the Black-Eyed Peas, Puff Daddy, and Three-6 Mafia. Tragically, in 1997 McCall was murdered outside a friend’s home in Stone Mountain, GA during a home invasion robbery.

Rest in Power, Louis A. McCall.

#soul #funk #ConFunkShun #LouisMcCall