Soul Train is a long-running music-related syndicated television program. Soul Train has primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although jazz musicians and gospel singers have also appeared. The program was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and continues to serve as its executive producer.
History
Soul Train premiered on WCIU-TV in Chicago in August 1970 as a daily program. Its success attracted the attention of the Chicago-based Johnson Products Company (manufacturers of the Afro Sheen line of hair-care products), who agreed to sponsor the program's expansion into syndication. Soul Train began airing in selected cities across the United States, on a weekly basis, on October 2, 1971. When it moved into syndication, the program's home base was also shifted to Los Angeles, where it remains to the present day.
Don Cornelius ended his run as host in 1993, and guest hosts were used from that time until 1997, when comedian Mystro Clark began a two-year stint as host. Clark was replaced by actor Shemar Moore in 1999. In 2003, Moore was succeeded by the current host, actor Dorian Gregory.
The show is known for its animated opening title featuring the popular cartoon train.
As a nod to Soul Train's longevity, the show's opening contains a claim that it is the "longest-running, first-run, nationally-syndicated program in television history." There have been over 1,100 episodes produced since the show's debut, though the show has been airing "Best of Soul Train" reruns in lieu of new episodes during the 2006-07 season.[1]
Influence
During the heyday of Soul Train in the 1970s and 1980s, the program was widely influential among younger black Americans, many of whom turned to it not only to hear the latest songs by well-known black artists but also for clues about the latest fashions and dance trends. Moreover, for many white Americans in that era who were not living in areas that were racially diverse, Soul Train provided a unique window into black culture. Some commentators have called Soul Train a "black American Bandstand", another long-running program with which Soul Train shares some similarities.
Program elements
Within the structure of the program, there have been two enduring elements. The first is the "Soul Train Scramble Board", where two dancers are given sixty seconds to unscramble a set of letters which form the name of that show's performer or a famous person in African American history. In describing the person's notoriety, the host concludes with the phrase "whose name you should know".
Near the program's conclusion, there is also the popular "Soul Train Line", in which all the dancers form a two lines with space in the middle for individual dancers to strut down and dance in consecutively. Sometimes, new dance styles or moves are featured or introduced by particular dancers.
In addition, there is an in-studio group of dancers who dance along to the music as it is being performed. Rosie Perez, Carmen Electra, Nick Cannon, singers Jermaine Stewart, and Pebbles, rapper MC Hammer, and NFL players Walter Payton and Fred Williamson were among those who got noticed dancing on the program over the years. Two former dancers, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, enjoyed several years of success as members of the disco group Shalamar after they were tabbed by Soul Train talent booker/record promoter Dick Griffey to replace the group's original session singers in 1977.
Performers who appear on Soul Train generally lip-sync their songs to its recorded version, though several have chosen to sing their songs live. Each guest usually performs twice on each program; after their first number, they are joined by the program host on-stage for a brief interview.
The show is known for two popular catchphrases: Referring to itself as the "hippest trip in America" at the beginning of the show; and for closing the program with, "...We wish you love, peace... and SOUL!"
Non-black performers on Soul Train
Vorlage:See also The program features African American singers and performers almost exclusively, although non-black artists have also appeared on Soul Train through the years, including:
- Paula Abdul
- a-ha
- Christina Aguilera
- The Average White Band
- The Backstreet Boys
- Barrio Boyzz
- The Beastie Boys
- Michael Bolton
- David Bowie
- Captain and Tennille
- Cheech and Chong
- Culture Club
- Sheena Easton
- Gary's Gang
- The Jets
- Elton John
- Joanna "JoJo" Levesque
- The Manhattan Transfer
- Teena Marie
- Michael McDonald
- New Kids on the Block
- Pet Shop Boys
- The Romantics
- Sting
- Robin Thicke
- Frankie Valli
- Gino Vannelli
- Wild Orchid
Spin-offs
In 1987, Soul Train launched the Soul Train Music Awards, which honors the top performances in R&B, hip-hop, and gospel music (and, in its earlier years, jazz music) from the previous year.
Since then, Soul Train has created two additional annual specials: The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, first broadcast in 1995, celebrates top achievements by female performers; and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest, which began in 1998, is a program featuring holiday music performed by a variety of R&B and gospel artists.
Theme music
Vorlage:Details Besides hosting and producing Soul Train, Don Cornelius also commissioned the show's theme song, "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", recorded by Philadelphia soul studio group MFSB, with vocals by the Three Degrees. Released as a single, this song became a pop and R&B radio hit in 1973. Soul Train used "TSOP" until around 1975, then used other theme songs before switching to "Up on Soul Train" by the Whispers [2], in 1980.
For several seasons beginning in 1983, the program switched to another theme created by R&B artist O'Bryan. This lesser-known theme to the program, "Soul Train's a Comin'" [3], had a funkier beat and a stronger bass line. In 1987, George Duke composed the first remake of "TSOP", known as "TSOP '87", and Duke also remixed the theme into a newer version ("TSOP '89") in 1989. "Soul Train '93" (You Know You Want to Dance)" performed by the rap group Naughty by Nature with a saxophone solo by Everette Harp, was introduced in 1993. More recently, another updated version of "TSOP", "TSOP 2000", has been used.
References in pop culture
- The sketch comedy show In Living Color parodied Soul Train in 1990 with a sketch called Old Train. Keenen Ivory Wayans portrayed Don Cornelius as the host of a show that featured dancing elderly people. Participants in the "dance line" included a nurse pushing an old person in a wheelchair, and a casket being carried by pallbearers.
- The improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? once featured a game in which one of the actors pretended he was the host of Soul Train, repeatedly morphing into a "goofy white guy" and back again.
- The video game Streets of SimCity has a parody called Soul Transit featured briefly in the intro.
- The Simpsons featured a parody of the show entitled Soul Mass Transit System.
- A sequence in the movie Charlie's Angels featured actress Cameron Diaz dancing on Soul Train.
- Don Cornelius played himself in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where the main characters appear on Soul Train. Cornelius also made a cameo appearance in the 1998 comedy Jane Austen's Mafia!. He appears during the funeral of Vincenzo Cortino, portrayed by Lloyd Bridges.
- IGT created a slot machine based on the show.
- Johnnie Taylor's No. 1 hit "Disco Lady", from 1976, contains the line "Girl, you oughta be on TV... on Soul Train!"
- In 1974 Junior Walker recorded a song called Dancin' Like they do on Soul Train
- Marvin Gaye's "After the Dance", includes the line, "You were looking good on Soul Train."