The Soooooouuuuuuuul Train….

“You can bet your last money, it’s gonna be a stone gas, honey.”

~ Don Cornelius

Most people know by now that Don Cornelius, creator and host of “Soul Train,” one of the coolest shows ever, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday in a Los Angeles suburb at the age of 75.

Most people don’t leave the kind of mark on the world that this native of the Windy City did.

Born in late September back in ’36, Mr. Cornelius created what became the longest-running, first-run, nationally syndicated show in television history at the relatively young age of 34. He brought African-American music and style to the world for more than three decades, beginning on Chicago’s UHF station WCIU in 1970 (CBS carried “Soul Train” from 1971 until the late 1990s), and he hosted the show for 22 years with his affable personality and smooth, notable baritone voice.

Mr. Cornelius – who wasn’t a fan of rap or hip hop – stopped hosting in 1993, and “Soul Train” stopped production in 2006.

I loved that show. I ignored the Afro-Sheen commercials and didn’t always go nuts about every musical act. But I loved trying to figure out the Scramble Board before the dancers did – two dancers were given a minute to unscramble a bunch of letters and spell the name of that episode’s musical guest or a big name in African-American history – and never missed the Soul Train Line, when all the dancers would make two long lines facing each other and two of ‘em would strut their stuff down the middle, one hot, groovy pair at a time. (See clip below.)

I didn’t realize how many famous people started out dancing on “Soul Train” – people like Pebbles, Nick Cannon, Carmen Electra, MC Hammer, Jermaine Stewart, Fred “Rerun” Berry, Rosie Perez and Jody Watley. And the number of big acts that performed on the show is truly impressive – everyone from David Bowie, who appeared in November of 1974, and Elton John, who performed “Philadelphia Freedom” back in May of 1975, to Luther Vandross, Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Minnie Riperton, Martha and the Vandellas, Lou Rawls, Ashford & Simpson, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aaliyah, Al Jarreau, Marvin Gaye, George Benson, Al Green, Hall & Oates, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, D’Angelo, Billy Paul, José Feliciano, Anita Baker, Etta James, Teena Marie, the O’Jays, The Temptations and Bill Withers.

“Soul Train” fans were also treated to appearances by Little Richard, Jennifer Holliday, The Four Tops, Boys II Men, Sheila E, Babyface, The 5th Dimension, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, The Spinners, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Brown, Christina Aguilera, Cheech & Chong, Mary J. Blige, Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu, Isaac Hayes, the Beastie Boys, Donny Hathaway, Ike & Tina Turner, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jeffrey Osborne, the Pointer Sisters, TLC, Junior Walker and the All Stars and Barry White. And the amazing list of talented artists and musicians goes on and on.

Mr. Cornelius did more than create a popular television show; he helped reshape American culture. In the 1970s and 1980s, “Soul Train” was a leading source of information about the latest fashions and dances as well as a showcase for popular music. It’s a testament to the show’s reach that it’s been referenced in everything from “In Living Color” and “Saturday Night Live” to “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Cosby Show,” “The Simpsons” and even “Saved by the Bell” and “The Golden Girls,” two of the whitest shows on television. I never thought of it as a “show for black people” – I thought it was hipper, funkier and more fun than Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” (which some say inspired Mr. Cornelius to give birth to his cooler creation).

“It’s just so sad, stunning and downright shocking...a huge and momentous loss to the African-American community and the world at large," said 18-time Grammy winner and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who appeared on “Soul Train” more than once. "Don Cornelius single-handedly brought about a melding and unity of brother and sisterhood among young adults worldwide."

It’s more than sad when someone is in too much pain to go on, when they see no other path. Surely Mr. Cornelius – who had recently gone through a divorce – had access to help, money, friends and other options. Maybe he had simply done enough and had enough. He apparently left no note so his loved ones might never know why he did what he did.

I wish he hadn’t, though, because there’s the risk that the manner of his death might be the first thing people think of when they hear his name, rather than the amazing mark he left on American culture, the contributions he made not only to music and people of color but to everyone who had access to a television and loved to watch people have a good time and get down with their bad selves. He brought people together. “Soul Train” was so much more than a TV show and Don Cornelius was so much more than its host.

"...and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace...and SOUL, Mr. Cornelius!"

Top photo courtesy Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press (2006).
Photo on right courtesy MadVision Entertainment.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, People.