Louis A. McCall

Soul - funk drummer - songwriter - producer Born in December 28, 1951 in Alameda, California, Louis A. McCall was the co-founder and drummer of the R&B/funk group Con Funk Shun. The band was formed in 1968 in Vallejo, CA and eventually relocated to Memphis, TN to become studio musicians at Stax Records. In 1976, they were signed to Mercury Records. They released 11 albums which spawned numerous hit records including the Billboard #1 R&B single "Ffun". They received 4 RIAA gold albums for "Secrets" (1977), "Loveshine" (1978), "Candy" (1979"), and "Spirit of Love" (1980). The group disbanded in 1986 after their last album with Mercury, "Burning Love" (1986). Beginning in the early 1990s, Mercury Records, its affiliated labels, and overseas imprints began releasing Con Funk Shun material like "The Best of Con Funk Shun", "The Best of Con Funk Shun, Vol. 2 (1996), "Greatest Hits" (1998), "The Ballads Collection (1998), "The Millennium Collection (2002), "The Collection (2002)", and "The Definitive CD (2006). Songs which Louis performed on have been on the soundtracks of feature films like "Gone In 60 Seconds" and "Next Friday". After Con Funk Shun, McCall went on to become an event producer, putting together a 1992 star-studded benefit for actor/activist Danny Glover at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel. In 1995, he moved to Atlanta, GA with his wife, music business consultant and songwriter Linda Lou McCall. Their company, The Entertainment Qartel, Inc., was instrumental as part of the marketing team for such artists as Eminem, Mya, Black-Eyed Peas, Tupac, Puff Daddy, and Three-6 Mafia, to name a very few. One of Con Funk Shun's ballads, "Honey Wild", written by Louis, Linda Lou and Danny A. Thomas, was sampled by rap superstar Lil Wayne for "Kush" on his hit selling CD "Tha Carter 3" released in June 2008. Louis was murdered on June 25 1997 in Stone Mountain, Georgia, during a home invasion robbery in Stone Mountain, GA. His wife, Linda Lou, fought for a decade to keep the case opened, even going so far as having the governor reopen the case in 2003. Finally, on January 18, 2007, a suspect was indicted and arrested in April 2007. The case finally went to trial in July 2008 in Dekalb County, Georgia. However, when the case went to the jury for deliberation, Judge Gregory Adams declared a mistrial. After consulting with Linda Lou, the prosecutor decided to retry the case until more evidence was uncovered. The case was ultimately dismissed without prejudice.