Felton Pilate

Tell everyone who you are and what you do?.

My name is Felton Pilate and I’m one of the original members of the group ConFunkShun.

Let’s talk about your journey and how you got to where you are today?.

My mother was a music major, and I was introduced to music at an early age. I took private piano, trumpet and voice lessons for several years. A friend of mine, Alan Gurlin, gave me an electric guitar for Christmas one year and I began to teach myself how to play. At 16, I was asked to play guitar in a band that my neighbor was forming. After auditioning to sing one of the songs we were learning, I was told to “stick to playing guitar because I would never make it as a singer”, I quit immediately and decided to start my own band. Someone telling me that I couldn’t do something it wound up being my biggest motivation.

We began playing army bases, school events, parties, and occasionally participated in local Battle of the Bands (we never won). One of the competing bands in town that I admired was a group called “Project Soul” headed by Michael Cooper.

In 1969, “The Soul Children”, a popular group on the STAX label, was coming to the Bay Area to do a concert. Project Soul was chosen to back them up and Michael recruited me to supplement the horn section and play additional keyboards. Norman West, the leader of “The Soul Children” and one of the lead vocalists, was very happy with the performance and promised to keep in touch.

When my group disbanded in 1970, Michael Cooper asked me to join Project Soul officially. We continued as a top 40 band until “The Soul Children” chose us to be their permanent backup band in August of 1972 and we moved to Memphis, Tn.

We quit the Soul Children in “74 and decided to stay in Memphis to pursue our career there. We got signed to Freetone Records, released two singles, then got signed to Mercury records. Our second album went gold, propelled by the single “Ffun”. By the time I left in 1986, we had recorded 10 albums for Mercury (Polygram) and were blessed with 4 gold albums and one platinum. Michael Cooper also left the group in late “86 and ConFunkShun officially disbanded in 1987.

When I left the group, I opened a commercial recording studio and went into engineering and producing full time. At that time, I hired a very talented young man, James Earley, to be a second engineer at the studio. He and I both got signed to Volt records as recording artists. Through a friend, Fred Pittman, we wound up meeting and recording a rapper who called himself “The Holy Ghost Boy” who then later changed his name to MC Hammer. When the album “Feel My Power” went gold, Hammer hired us to work for him exclusively and record his next album out on the road. We installed a studio inside the back room on a tour bus and recorded and mixed “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt “Em” which featured the song “You Can’t Touch This” for which we got a Grammy nomination for producing “Album of the Year.”

James left, but I stayed on to produce “2 Legit 2 Quit” before Hammer and I parted ways and a lengthy legal battle in an attempt to collect unpaid royalties resulted in my filing for bankruptcy. I continued producing and writing for other people (including jazz legend Stanley Clarke).

In 1993, Cooper and I put ConFunkShun back together with two of the other original members and began touring again and it’s been going strong ever since.

Tell us one of the most memorable moments you’ve had in your career?

Wow… there have been several, but I’ll just do three…

The first one happened 3 weeks after we left to go on the road with the Soul Children. We played at the LA coliseum filled with 104,000 people, backing up not only the Soul Children, but also Rufus Thomas, at the WattStax festival. We filmed a movie and recorded a live album at the same time!! That was huge!

The second was just getting mentioned in the same sentence with one of my idols, Quincy Jones, when I got the Grammy nomination. I lost to him, but hey… if you got to lose to somebody, it’s even an honor to lose to him!

Number three was watching Silk Sonic perform “Loves Train” at their show in Las Vegas. Over the years, I’ve heard many bands play ConFunkShun stuff in clubs and such, but this was different. The experience of being in the audience and watching the audience respond so positively to a major artist performing something I wrote is really difficult to describe… very emotional, indeed. It was different with MC Hammer because I was so involved with the creation in the studio and being the music director on stage that it made me kind of…. numb is the best word I can think of.

Cooper and I had a chance to meet Bruno Mars and Andersen Paak before the show and to thank them personally for doing their cover of the song. We were greeted very warmly and were surprised to find that they were just as excited to meet *us* as were we to meet them.

What has been the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

This was the most significant… I was feeling very discouraged about the first contract that I felt that I was being “forced” to sign. I don’t specifically remember who said it, but their words were” … it’s called the music ‘business’ for a reason… respect that…”. That has been my mantra ever since.

Out of all the places you’ve performed, which one has been your most memorable place?

That WattStax festival we played for in 1972 in front of 104,000 people was our transition day… we had gotten hired just 3 weeks before, but that was the *official* day we graduated from just being a cover band to something more. We didn’t know what yet … we just knew that something magical was in our future!

How do you feel about the Silk Sonic version of your song and how did that come about?

It came as a complete surprise! On Valentine’s Day, Mike and other friends had sent me a text asking me had I heard it. I followed the link I was sent and was blown away! I had to listen 3-4 times before I could separate myself from my emotions and listen objectively. I think they did a spectacular job of respecting the original vibe while adding their own creative spin.

What is one message you would like to leave with your fans?

Simply, “thank you” I told an audience recently, “…over the last 4 days we’ve traveled about 6000 miles, been in 6 different airports, 4 different hotels, done 5 shows, had about 20 hours of sleep and we couldn’t be happier to be here!”. It’s true for me. All the hours spent writing, recording, touring, and performing is an expression of love, from us to you! It has been such a huge blessing to be able to be a part of your lives, thoughts and emotions.

Are you working on any new projects or upcoming events?

My single, “Here’s What I’d Do For You” has been out awhile now and seems to be doing well internationally. I’m currently mixing a new single and planning the video for the next one. While finishing my new solo album project, I’m also putting the finishing touches on the Christmas album ConFunkShun started last year that has 4 original songs. Mike and I are putting material together for a new ConFunkShun album for early next year and I also just signed a contract to compose music for both a children’s series and a dramatic series. It’s going to be a VERY busy year!

Where can the readers follow you?

I am so easy to find!! Since I’m the only Felton Pilate in the US, simply type in my name on Facebook. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and you got me!