SoulTracks Looks Back: ConFunkShun was "Too Tight" on dance gem

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    Photo courtesy of ConFunkShun

    One of the premiere funk bands of the 70s and 80s, ConFunkShun developed a huge following with a string of memorable funky cuts and slow jams that are still receiving airplay twenty-plus years after they were originally released.

    Formed in the early 70s by a number of Vallejo California high school friends, the group, consisting of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Felton Pilate, singer Michael Cooper, drummer Louis McCall, saxman Paul Harrell, bassist Cedric Martin, keyboardist Danny Thomas and trumpeter Karl Fuller, followed the burgeoning self-contained funk band movement that was being led by the Isley Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire and the Commodores. Originally called Project Soul, the group received its first break backing Stax Records act Soul Children. This led to a move to Memphis and regular jobs working with that town's biggest acts.

    One of the premiere funk bands of the 70s and 80s, ConFunkShun developed a huge following with a string of memorable funky cuts and slow jams that are still receiving airplay twenty-plus years after they were originally released.

    Formed in the early 70s by a number of Vallejo California high school friends, the group, consisting of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Felton Pilate, singer Michael Cooper, drummer Louis McCall, saxman Paul Harrell, bassist Cedric Martin, keyboardist Danny Thomas and trumpeter Karl Fuller, followed the burgeoning self-contained funk band movement that was being led by the Isley Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire and the Commodores. Originally called Project Soul, the group received its first break backing Stax Records act Soul Children. This led to a move to Memphis and regular jobs working with that town's biggest acts.

    After a few years, Project Soul became "ConFunkShun," named after the title of the old Harvey Fuqua and the Nite Liters song. The band's work with Soul Children as well as some minor releases on a small label resulted in being signed by Mercury Records and the release of ConFunkShun's 1976 eponymous major label debut. It provided a moderate hit single with "Sho Feels Good To Me," but major acclaim arrived a year later with the first single from the next album. "Ffun" became an out of the box dance smash, hitting #1 on the Soul charts and leading the album Secrets to gold status.

    The group followed that hit with an irresistible cut that skirted the edges of the Top 40 pop, and became a bigger R&B hit. "Too Tight" gave more than a nod to the Earth Wind & Fire sound that was dominating radio, and the guys from ConFunkShun really delivered it. Check out "Too Tight" below and tell us if you remember this one.