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The show’s “overall sense of blackness at this particular time was groundbreaking,” Todd Boyd, a USC professor of critical studies, told The Times on Wednesday. It was an important portal for a lot of white kids who were very interested in black culture.” You could be living in Des Moines or in Montana and you could connect with what was happening in urban areas. Santelli added that “it also was an entry into black pop music for white kids. Few people came close to what he accomplished in those years.” For many years, it impacted black culture, black pop culture and black pop music. “He and his program almost single-handedly made sure that soul music had a presence on TV. Robert Santelli, executive producer of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, told The Times on Wednesday that “‘Soul Train’ was to soul music what ‘American Bandstand’ was to early rock ‘n’ roll, and Don Cornelius was like a black Dick Clark. “I wanted to bring more of our African American entertainment to not only the black viewers but to the crossover viewers as well,” he said.

“It was a period when television was a very white medium, and that didn’t make sense to me,” he told Billboard magazine in 2005, the year he received the Trustees Award from the Recording Academy for lasting contributions to culture as the creator of “Soul Train.” That there was a need for such a show was obvious to Cornelius, who had launched his career in radio only a few years before the show’s debut. In his 1996 book “Funk: The Music, the People and the Rhythm of the One,” Rickey Vincent called “Soul Train” the “most undiluted showcase of black sexuality in the country” and “a cultural mecca for the entire decade of the ‘70s.”

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“‘Soul Train’ taught the world how to dance! Don’s contribution to us all is immeasurable.”īeyond the music and the artists featured on “Soul Train,” much of its popularity was attributed to the young dancers on the show.Ĭornelius’ teen dance party featured the talents of some of the best young dancers in the area, and one of the show’s most popular features was the “Soul Train” line, with dancers going down the line and showing off their best moves.Īmong those who went on to later fame are actress Rosie Perez, singer Jody Watley, rapper MC Hammer and Jeffrey Daniel, who taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk. “Every Saturday morning I looked forward to watching ‘Soul Train,’ as did millions of other people,” Johnson, chairman of Soul Train Holdings, said in a statement.

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With its catchy introduction featuring an animated, psychedelic smoke-spewing locomotive, “Soul Train” became destination TV for teenagers across America in the ‘70s. “Soul Train,” which moved to Los Angeles and entered national syndication in 1971, featured other legendary artists, including James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5 and Barry White. “He transcended barriers among young adults.

“With the inception of ‘Soul Train,’ a young, progressive brother set the pace and worldwide standard for young aspiring African American men and entrepreneurs in TV - out of Chicago,” Franklin, who appeared on the show, said in a statement.

Aretha Franklin said Cornelius “united the young adult community single-handedly and globally.”

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