Don Cornelius, creator, producer and host of the iconic Soul Train television show, was found dead this morning of a gun-shot wound. No foul play is suspected but the investigation is on-going. A tragic ending to a historic career that put black musical artists on one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history. Cornelius was an elegant and dapper man, who will be respected for his contributions to the American landscape for many years to come.
A one-time disk jockey, Cornelius pioneered Soul Train, which played a critical role in spreading the music of black America to the world, offering wide exposure to musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson in the 1970s and 1980s, but also lesser known artists finally had a national stage upon which to launch their careers. Many outlets report that a movie about the show was in the works, which will hopefully go to production, in spite of this loss. What Soul Train also did was offer an alternative to the great American Bandstand, which had a similar format but featured more of the top 40 artists. Soul Train truly was the first show of its kind specifically made for black people.
In addition to the musical talent, Soul Train featured dancers who would dance as couple through other dancers lined on the sides. This became know as the Soul Train line, and if you have not done this at a wedding receptions, well then you’ve been going to the wrong weddings.
In the words of a wise friend, “when you are on the fence, you can do more by trying than giving up. It’s terribly sad that he didn’t feel loved enough to stay one more day. He must not have known how much we all love him.”
In the sign-off words spoken in the soothing, tenor voice of the man himself, we wish him “love, peace and soooooouuuuullllllll.” Let’s all do a Soul Train Line in the memory of this visionary and pioneer.