Over the past decade, the Soul Train Awards have seen an increase in viewership, and artists have found time their schedules to make appearances. WebSelf - Host 558 episodes 19711993 Diana Puskas 1973-1980 Queen Turner Self - Dancer 112 episodes 19721978 Carole Creekmore Self 109 episodes 19721976 I dont know how many living artists can say that, besides Smokey Robison. You can follow us on Twitter at @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org. Don Cornelius poses for a portrait in 1973. On Feb. 1, 2012, the 75-year-old Don Cornelius passed away in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, reported by the Hollywood Reporter. The first theme song was the 1962 recording of "Hot Potatoes", performed by King Curtis; the song used for the bumpers was "Familiar Footsteps" by Gene Chandler. DJ Cassidy isnt devoting all his work to TV now. They were just the only dressy clothes this college student owned. Before his reluctant acceptance of hip-hop, Cornelius was slow to embrace disco towards the end of the 1970s, though he eventually did. By the end of the 1970s, a new music genre was fermenting in New York City's Black communities. All the girls just going out to a nightclub, and we're all dressed like we were dressed on Soul Train. She had really long hair that went, like, down to her ankles. Hanif Abdurraqib (author, A Little Devil in America): [Don Cornelius] was someone who kind of had an eye towards the streets, and so therefore he had a distinct understanding of the needs of Black folks. According to the Hollywood Reporter, MadVision attempted to revitalize the brand through DVD distribution for classic episodes. [citation needed] Cornelius also frowned upon the unauthorized distribution of Soul Train episodes through the sale of third-party VHS or DVD compilations. He defines living legend. But this dustup with Don wouldn't be the end of Perez's relationship with Soul Train. The new show would highlight African-American musicians and be an overall celebration of Black culture and people. Abdurraqib: There's that episode of Marvin Gaye just, like, sitting on the stage in conversation with audience members you know, eye to eye. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first and longest-serving host and executive producer.[1]. This content is imported from youTube. He said, Will you come, will you show up on Saturday? By the end of the first couple of years, it was airing in more than 25 markets, and it continued growing. I have a picture of all of us going to a club with my friends from Soul Train. This season introduced a new theme song, "Soul Train '93 (Know You Like to Dance)", performed by the rap group Naughty by Nature, Chant Moore, Wallace "Scotty" and Walter Scott of The Whispers, and saxophonist Everette Harp. As the New York Daily News said, "Don Cornelius' 'Soul Train' was a window into African-American culture." The first years of the show were hosted by popular musicians such as Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross, and Patti LaBelle, and unlike the Grammys, the Soul Train Soul Train institutes a new theme: "Up on Soul Train" by R&B group The Whispers. When you see Rosie in Soul Train footage on YouTube, she is coming down the Soul Train line like an unleashed tiger. Fifty-six editions of the show, randomly selected and ranging in a time frame from 1973 through 1988, were re-aired during the 200607 and 200708 seasons. Perez: I think that the girls were jealous because of that. TVG. A MARTINEZ, HOST: NPR is It started from Soul Train.". The 13th episode of this season and the 938th episode of the show marked the first new episode to air in the 21st century, with a major change: Shemar Moore takes over as host, replacing Mystro Clark. The Soul Train logo was featured, with a song or instrumental playing throughout. In the midst of his eight-year run as the Young & the Restless' Malcolm Winters, Moore also spent five years moonlighting as the host of Soul Train. Based in Chicago, there was no scarcity of talent. That's how her Soul Train story comes full circle. I did not view it that way. The dancers themselves became celebrities as people watched to see the outfits and new dances they had developed. The duo had a lovely meal except for one thing Perez still wouldn't sign the contract. [1] The following fall, Soul Train began using celebrity hosts until comedian Mystro Clark took over as the host in 1997. Nor did the fact that when he handed her a contract, she was told not to contact an attorney. The future of Soul Train was uncertain with the announced closing of Tribune Entertainment in December 2007, which left Don Cornelius Productions to seek a new distributor for the program. According to BET, it was on Soul Train where the popular dance move, "The Robot," was first performed to a wide audience by (who else) Michael Jackson in 1973 when performing The Jackson 5's single, "Dancing Machine." I was like, 'Oh, we're outta here.' I saw the guy from our dinner at that moment. Because of this, some of the biggest moments in popular culture happened right on the Soul Train stage. He was 75. The first was the "Soul Train Scramble Board", where two dancers are given 60 seconds to unscramble a set of letters that form the name of that show's performer or a notable person in African American history. In December 1975, the Average White Band was on the show, but their appearance was quickly overshadowed by David Bowies, on the first show of 1976. I think this era in particular speaks to the legacy of Soul Train in a unique way because the era was so transformative. [But] none of those people are Don Cornelius. [23], Soul Train later created two additional annual specials: The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, first airing in 1995, celebrated top achievements by female performers; and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest, which premiered in 1998, featured holiday music performed by a variety of R&B and gospel artists. As the program was taped and aired weekly, she remembers working from morning to midnight in the studio. The show was the embodiment of the Black working class who worked hard all week and forgot their troubles Friday night dancing at a club. In May 2008, Cornelius sold the rights to the Soul Train library to MadVision Entertainment, whose principal partners came from the entertainment and publishing fields. What are you doing right there?' The nineteen-year-old had initially come west to help a struggling cousin with her two young children. The show is also moved to Paramount Studios, where the show would be filmed right up to the final season. The show was immediately met with a harsh reaction from the Black community, as it appeared to be white intrusion into Black culture in order to make a quick profit. However, while on the show, she tried to hide her identity. On the show, which debuted in April 1990, the four dancers under Rosie's guidance became the new cutting edge of urban dance. His deep voice distinguished him, as well as his ambition and desire to spread Black culture worldwide. think about how global that is, that people form a line at nightclubs, parties, celebrations around the world, and many people dont even know its origin. TV Over Mind reported that a variety of issues led to the cancellation of the 2008 Soul Train Awards, though it would return the following year. Perez's good fortune, not having to wait on line and getting a riser spot on her first day, made the New Yorker a target for some old heads on the set. A few years later, after her acting in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and working on In Living Color, the two ran into each other in the tunnel underneath an LA concert venue. Three months later the company entered into a licensing agreement with Time Life to distribute Soul Train DVD sets. If I could go back in time to live through another era, this would be the time that Id put on my DeLoreans flux capacitor.. Beginning as a low-budget affair, in black and white, the first episode of the program featured Jerry Butler, the Chi-Lites, and the Emotions as guests. [10][11] MadVision then came to terms with Paramount Global-owned BET to relaunch the Soul Train Music Awards for BET's spin-off channel, Centric, in November 2009. After only a year, Soul Train started securing sponsorships, moved to Los Angeles and expanded into national syndication on October 2, 1971. Following the purchase by MadVision, the Soul Train archives were exposed to new forms of distribution. Unlike her first time, when Don made her go back, his tone was harsh. Soul Train/Soul Train via Getty Images As rap continued to move further toward hardcore hip hop, Cornelius admitted to being frightened by the antics of groups such as Public Enemy. Cornelius maintained his role as the show's host until 1993, after which Soul Train featured a series of rotating guest hosts. Comedian Mystro Clark landed the job as Soul Train's permanent host in 1997, however, he exited two years later. Then Moore came on board and served as the host from 1999 to 2003. Sinqua Walls starred as Cornelius, and the program was met with critical success. The genre combines two popular music genres that were commonplace on Soul Train funk and disco. Starting with episode 76, the show's theme was changed to "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", written by Gamble and Huff and performed by MFSB and the Three Degrees. Despite a small budget to find musicians and dancers for the program, Soul Train was greenlit and premiered in 1970. A long-running music-and-dance series spotlighting R&B, soul and rap performers. When asked why sell it, Cornelius replied, "thirty-five years is a long time." Sep 25, 2021 11:30 A.M. Heather Hunter was a popular name in the adult film industry, but her lifelong ambition had been to be a dancer on the popular TV show "Soul Train." [1], Don Cornelius, a newsreader and backup disc jockey at Chicago radio station WVON, was hired by WCIU in 1967 as a news and sports reporter. After five seasons and solid ratings with Moore, in October of 2003, actor Dorian Gregory took over hosting duties for the final three seasons of the show. To be able to see others that looked like us was truly a beautiful experience. After only a year, Soul Train started securing sponsorships, moved to Los Angeles and expanded into national syndication on October 2, 1971. And so on that episode, it's like you're in a church, the way that he sings and the way that you're moved by whatever he says. I would have to say that I thought I was hot stuff, too, but when I saw Rosie, I was like, Oh, my goodness. Although Pass the Mics are intended as nostalgia trips, some are closer to the present day than others, as the last show, the (post-) BET Awards show, was basically the hip-hop and R&B of the 2000s, with Nelly, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Sean Paul and others. But Soul Train was not a sitcom and host/producer Don Cornelius was not Archie Bunker or Fred Sanford. 'SWAT' The end of the 1960s saw the conclusions of television shows such as The Andy Griffith Show, Petticoat Junction, and other conservative and white sitcoms that did not express the tectonic cultural shift of the decade. Chicago, according to a documentary about Cornelius, was known as "The Dance Capital of the World," and Cornelius took dancers off-street and paid them through the promotion of their own dances. For the awards program, see, In episode 338 of the series, which aired in October 1980, guest performer, "There Was Nothing Like 'Soul Train' On TV. The show influenced more than three decades of music, style and culture, leaving a lasting impact on its loving fanbase. As of 2016, the rights to the Soul Train brand, library, and associated events, such as its cruises and annual awards show, the Soul Train Music Awards, are now under the ownership of Paramount Global, through BET Networks. During the interview on the stage, Cornelius told Blow he did not really understand the style and why it was popular, according to CL Tampa. He said, 'Bobby Brown [of New Edition] is going solo. ", "Here's ?uestlove's 'Soul Train' Book, With a Preface by Nick Cannon", "Don Cornelius dies at 75; creator of 'Soul Train', "She took the Soul Train to stardom: Once a voice in the background, Jody Watley has burst onto the pop charts in her own right", "Lauryn Hill, TLC Top Lady Of Soul Awards", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soul_Train&oldid=1149969966, First-run syndicated television programs in the United States, Television series by Tribune Entertainment, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Group or Duo, Aretha Franklin Award for Entertainer of the Year and. A turning point in her relationship with Soul Train came when Don tried to recruit Perez into a female vocal trio along with Cheryl Song and a white dancer-singer. The elder, deep-voiced man who was once a radical at the dawn of the 1970s was now a fossil a decade later, as younger emcees and veejays with their own style and flare took his place. "Face dance means you don't know what the hell the rest of your body was doing but your face is fierce. So sometimes I'd watch two episodes on a Saturday if I wanted to see the previous week's episode again. Cornelius acknowledged Bandstand as a model for his program; as the years advanced and Soul Train evolved into a tradition in its own right, he tended to bristle at the Bandstand comparisons. Soul Train/Soul Train via Getty Images In describing the person's renown, the host concluded their description with the phrase "whose name you should know". The dancers saw the singers they loved, and the performers relished the chance to perform in front of African Americans on a TV show. The LA Times reported that like with the early days in Chicago, Cornelius and producers would stop by local parks and high schools to find the best dancers in the area to put on the show, paying them in exposure instead of a check. Soul Train introduces a new theme song: "TSOP '87" by George Duke (vocalized by Howard Hewett). To be so young and being a teenager, being asked to go on Soul Train, it was just it was mind-blowing. It seemed like Don Cornelius understood that there's a simplicity to access saying, well, outside of this room, this person is one of the biggest musicians on the planet, but inside of this room they're just a community member. Cornelius hosted "Soul Train" from 1971 until 1993 and produced it until he sold it to MadVision Entertainment in 2008. In an interview, Cornelius stated, "I could be like 'yowassup!' Even though Pass the Mic is filmed at his home and those of the participating stars, Cassidy is particularly happy that his special will follow the first Soul Train Awards to be broadcast from the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Abdurraqib: The real joy and miracle of Soul Train, I think, is that it was something people could gather and watch every week and feel good about watching every week. The first years of the show were hosted by popular musicians such as Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross, and Patti LaBelle, and unlike the Grammys, the Soul Train Awards embraced hip hop, to a degree, according to Vibe. Rosie was aggressive and sexy and a little street, like a machine gun. It was really crazy." We hugged and smiled. And Stephanie Mills won amateur night at the Apollo at age 11 six times in a row, before becoming the Grammy-winning international R&B icon that she is., Of the Gap Band singer, Cassidy says, Since I started filming Pass the Mic a year and a half ago, I have always dreamed of having Charlie Wilson on the show. And Id like that to continue to grow., Coming after a Soul Train special has particular meaning to him, as he grew up a Soul Train junkie. The dancers didn't need prior experience producers often just plucked them from the crowd. In 2003, Dorian Gregory took over as the host, and stayed until the end of the show's run in 2006. Skeptical New Yorker to her core, Rosie replied, "Yeah, right." According to the New York Times, the golden age of Soul Train came to an end in the early 1980s when two competing channels were established that took a cut out of the program's main audience. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Jesse Jackson toAretha Franklin to Snoop Doggoffered their own tributes to the longtime conductor, the BBC reported. According to his biography on Humor Mill, Clark had spent the late 1980s and 90s working as a comedian in Los Angeles. Rosie Perez, Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux Open Up, The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture and Style, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Just do her move strong. Soul Train has a new theme this season, starting with episode 267: "Soul Train Theme '79" by The Hollywood Disco Jazz Band and The Waters. Abdurraqib: As it was approaching syndication, for it to be on this precipice of something, you know, maybe not beyond [Cornelius'] wildest dreams, but certainly probably beyond what his initial imagination was, the temptation is, "Well, I gotta make this as big as possible." Sheila Zeigler-Arnold, a dancer on the show from 1976-1978, recalled in an interview with WTOP what it was like to be on the show. Cassidy calculates that since he began the series on the web as a reaction to quarantine in May 2020, hes passed the mic to 190 of his R&B and hip-hop favorites. [17], Questlove, drummer for hip-hop band The Roots and a fan of the program, authored a book chronicling Soul Train. We break down the lasting influence of Soul Train on the culture with Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, as well as scholars, fans and even a few featured dancers, and ask why there's never been a show like it since. That didn't exactly charm Perez. Among non-news programs, Wheel of Fortune surpassed that mark in 2018. He goes, 'I'll pay you sixteen hundred dollars.' In hindsight I understood why they were jealous. "What broke the ice was that when we sat down, I didn't know which fork to use," Perez recalled with a laugh. Lehman: The dancers and performers had a symbiotic relationship. It's Been 5 Decades Since 'Soul Train' Was First Nationally Syndicated NPR celebrates its 50th anniversary by looking back on moments of 1971. When Don Cornelius created Soul Train 50 years ago, it soon became a cultural institution showcasing Black music and culture. She remembers standing on the floor at Florentine Gardens "screaming my head off. Unlike a lot of other Soul Train performers, Elton sang both Bennie and the Jets and Philadelphia Freedom live over a recorded backing track, and in a different costume for each one. Perez, who had come from a New York City street dance aesthetic where unisex sportswear was the norm, arrived at the studio in jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt, and staffers told her it wasn't proper Soul Train attire. By Joel Keller Feb 5, 2019. Aside from the six of us, there was nothing even remotely Black about our small New England town. If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). hide caption. Don Cornelius became one of the first Black men to own and produce a nationally syndicated franchise. Hip-hop had moved to the center of the Black music world, and it was no secret that Cornelius was not a huge fan of it. Soul Train premiered on WCIU-TV on August 17, 1970, as a live show airing weekday afternoons. That was the last time she'd dance on the show. When Rosie spoke in that now famous Brooklyn-meets-Puerto Rican accent the host asked her, "Is that how you really talk?" Blount Danois: If you missed it, you didn't have much to talk about in school on Monday. About a year before Rosie was banned from dancing on the show, Louil Silas, a vice president for R&B A&R at MCA Records, was visiting the show with an artist when he spotted Rosie dancing in a corner by herself. I don't know if it was jealous as much as angry, because they were on Soul Train for years and years and years, and these kids, they used to practice for hours, their dance moves, their dance routines, what they were gonna do going down the Soul Train line. It was produced by Anjuli Sastry and Liam McBain. Soul Train wished its viewers "love, peace and soul" for the last time in 2006, ending after its 35th season. Hip-hop music, according to journalist John Heileman on the CNN program, The Seventies, is, "the last new American art form." Rosie had wisely brought a sexier change of clothes. From "face dancing" on a riser to Fly Girl choreographer. Al Green performs on Soul Train in 1974. He continued to oversee production in Chicago, where Clinton Ghent hosted episodes on WCIU-TV until 1976, followed by three years of once-weekly reruns. Copyright files, vintage TV Guides, and actual videos of the episodes themselves. One of the most distinctive parts of the opening was when Soul Train was announced, stretching out the first word into a high-pitched imitation of a train whistle. WebSoul Train. That was another great thing about Soul Train. Which was great at times but sometimes was not so great. According to Black Voice News, Cornelius said that Gregory had been on their radar as a permanent host since guest hosting the show in 1996. I go, 'I'll be there on Monday.' She was doing her thing, and I was doing my thing. It was at that time we would drop whatever we were doing and gather in the family den to watch Soul Train. It was ridiculous, it was so bad. The swingin' 1960s had their fair share of pop music television, such as Shindig!, Ready, Steady, Go!,and Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Don gave professional artists a mainstream platform and unprofessional dancers a place to be themselves with a possibility to develop. According to itswebsite, the cruise has featured classic music stars like Kool & The Gang, Chaka Khan, and Chic featuring Niles Rodgers. They only knew about popping and locking, so they were not keen on hip-hop dancing. Outside of this room, this person is one of the biggest musicians on the planet, but inside of this room they're just a community member. Cornelius hosted both the local Chicago-based and national Los Angelesbased programs simultaneously, but soon focused his attention solely on the national edition. This is a list of episodes for the musical variety show Soul Train. Each musical guest usually performed twice on each program; after their first number, they were joined by the program host onstage for a brief interview. Soul Train made its national television premiere 50 years ago, in October 1971. This disconnect, which was openly mocked in an In Living Color sketch titled Old Train, where Cornelius and the show were lampooned as extremely old and out of touch, eventually led to Cornelius stepping down as host in the early 1990s, and the show losing its influence. In the mid- to late eighties, when hip-hop-bred dance moves from the East Coast began to overturn the West Coast styles popularized on Soul Train in the seventies, Perez became a bridge between the two worlds. By September 22, 2008, the series ceased distribution. I said, 'Huh?' Whenever Rosie was in doubt about her moves, she would "face dance, just face dance. It was the first time I saw him laugh." Despite the production hiatus, Soul Train held that superlative record until 2016, when Entertainment Tonight surpassed it in completing its 35th season. They're catty. Freeze, Samson, and Everette Harp. All Rights Reserved. Also, similar to how music shows in the 1950s and 60s would occasionally feature a Black artist, Soul Train had a number of white artists perform, such as David Bowie, Elton John, and Dennis Coffey, who broke the color barrier in 1972 with his instrumental song, "Scorpio," according to Song Facts.
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