Soul train
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Soul train |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1971-2006 |
| Production company |
Don Cornelius Productions |
| length | 45-48 minutes |
| Episodes | 1117 |
| genre | music show |
| idea | Don Cornelius |
| script | Sid McCoy |
| production | Don Cornelius |
| Moderation |
Don Cornelius (1971–1993) Guest presenter (1993–1997) Mystro Clark (1997–1999) Shemar Moore (1999–2003) Dorian Gregory (2003–2006) |
| First broadcast | 1971 (USA) |
Soul Train is an American television show that was presented in 1970 by producer and presenter Don Cornelius on WCIU-TV, a local Chicago television station, and was broadcast nationally weekly in the late afternoon from 1971 onwards via syndication . Soul Train was the first American show to primarily target a black audience.
In its 35-year history, the show has mainly featured rhythm and blues , soul and hip-hop artists, but also funk , jazz , disco and gospel artists, as well as white artists such as David Bowie and Elton John . The most important element of the show were the line dancers who added to the show's identity and popularity.
Production ceased in 2006, but the series continued for two more years with a repeat series, The Best of Soul Train . The show was one of the most successful television series in the United States for over three decades. Because of its social significance and charisma, the show has become a TV legend.
history
origin
Soul Train's origins can be traced back to 1965 when WCIU-TV, a newly established television station in Chicago , began broadcasting two dance programs for teenagers: Kiddie-a-Go-Go and Red Hot and Blues . These programs, especially the latter, which brought a group of mostly black dancers into the studio, set the standard for the station's programming for years to come. Don Cornelius, then a newscaster and temporary disc jockey at Chicago radio station WVON, joined WCIU in 1967 as a news and sports reporter. Cornelius also hosted a concert tour of Chicago high schools with local talent, naming his traveling caravan "The Soul Train". WCIU-TV became aware of his external activities and in 1970 gave him the opportunity to put his road show on television.
After signing a sponsorship deal with the Chicago trading company Sears , Roebuck & Co., Soul Train went on air on August 17, 1970 on WCIU-TV as an afternoon live show. On the first show, Jerry Butler , the Chi-Lites , and the Emotions appeared as guests. Even after the show moved to Hollywood, it continued to run locally in Chicago until 1979. Cornelius was assisted in this by Clinton Ghent, a local professional dancer, who appeared on early broadcasts before working in the background as a producer and substitute presenter.
Transition to Syndication
The show's immediate success drew the attention of another Chicago company, Johnson Products Company, the maker of Afro Sheen hair care products specifically for African Americans. Cornelius founded his own production company and decided, together with the Johnson company, to expand the program for national syndication . Cornelius and the collecting society planned to broadcast on 24 channels outside of Chicago, but initially only seven television stations in Atlanta , Cleveland , Detroit , Houston , Los Angeles , Philadelphia and San Francisco bought the show, which aired weekly from October 2, 1971. After the end of the first season, Soul Train also ran in the other 17 stations. At the same time, production moved from Chicago to Hollywood to the Metromedia Square Studios, where it stayed until the end. Until 1976, however, the local version continued to be broadcast by the Chicago broadcaster WCIU-TV, which was presented by the choreographer Clinton Gent, an employee of Cornelius'.
From 1985 the Chicago Tribune Entertainment took over the syndication contract and continued it until the end of the regular broadcast.
Later years
Don Cornelius finished his work as show master at the end of the 22nd season in 1993, but acted as a creative force behind the scenes. From the following autumn, various guest presenters took over the show on a weekly basis until the comedian Mystro Clark presented the show for two years from 1997. Clark was replaced in 1999 by Shemar Moore , who in turn was replaced in 2003 by Dorian Gregory , who hosted the show until production ended in 2006.
Cornelius stopped producing new episodes at the end of the 2005/06 season, the 35th year. From the following season old episodes from 1974 to 1987 were broadcast for two years under the name The Best of Soul Train . At that time, the show's popularity was already declining, so that some stations postponed the show from the popular broadcasting slot on Sunday afternoon to a nighttime broadcast. With the closure of Tribune Entertainment - the previous marketer - in 2007, the future of the show became uncertain and Cornelius concluded a marketing contract with Trifecta Entertainment & Media.
revival
When the production company of Cornelius still owned the rights, care was taken to ensure that appearances and interviews did not appear on video sites such as YouTube . Cornelius also paid attention to the unauthorized sale of VHS or DVD recordings of the programs.
In May 2008, Cornelius sold the rights to the Soul Train archive to MadVision Entertainment, whose main partners came from the entertainment and publishing sectors. The price and terms of the deal have not been published. At the start of the 2008/2009 season, the program was discontinued by the stations belonging to the Tribune Broadcasting, and many others followed. A notice appeared on Soul Train's official website that the program would be discontinued on September 22, 2008.
After the purchase by MadVision, the archives were evaluated using new forms of distribution: In April 2009, MadVision launched a Soul Train Channel on YouTube. Three months later, the company signed a license agreement with Time Life to distribute a Soul Train DVD set. MadVision agreed with Black Entertainment Television in November 2009 to re-host the Soul Train Music Awards for BET's new spin-off channel Centric in the hopes of reviving Soul Train .
MadVision sold the rights to Soul Train in 2011 to a consortium led by basketball player Magic Johnson . The group has plans for a potential film project that Johnson mentioned prior to the sale, as well as stage shows and cruises. As part of the campaign, Johnson's Aspire TV channel also ran reruns of the series.
influence
Some commentators have dubbed Soul Train a "black American bandstand, " another legendary show that Soul Train shares some similarities with. Cornelius, however, resisted this comparison.
American Bandstand host and producer Dick Clark started Soul Unlimited in 1973 , which was controversial because of its outspoken ingratiation to blacks, in order to compete directly with Soul Train . With the support of Jesse Jackson , Cornelius Clark publicly accused of undermining the only black-owned television show. ABC therefore stopped the show after a few broadcasts. Clark later agreed to work with Cornelius on a number of station-owned features about rhythm and blues and soul artists.
Cornelius had a relatively conservative taste in music and was not recognized as a fan of the emerging hip-hop and felt that this style of music would not have a positive impact on African American culture (one of his stated goals for the show). Although Cornelius frequently performed rappers during the 1980s , he publicly admitted (this is what he said to artists like Kurtis Blow in the face) that rap was a genre he did not understand. As rap evolved into hardcore rap , Cornelius explained that the antics of groups like Public Enemy terrified him. Rosie Perez confirmed in the 2010 documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America that Cornelius also didn't like sexually suggestive "east-cost" dance moves by the dancers on his show. Cornelius only had rappers on the show because the genre was becoming increasingly popular with Afro-American audiences, but it alienated the affluent middle-aged Afro-American audience like him. That split eventually led to Cornelius' resignation as host in 1993, which made the show lose its clout.
aims
Don Cornelius was one of the first African Americans to produce their own television show. The production company was wholly owned and operated entirely by blacks. She thereby fulfilled the goals of the African American civil rights movement .
In the 1960s, African Americans were very rarely present in the media. Cornelius therefore tried to promote their creativity through a large public program. He invited famous African Americans like Jesse Jackson , the filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, the actress Cicely Tyson and the comedian Richard Pryor . The producer's goal was to counter the music programs of that time with something of equal value and thus to appeal to the black audience and hoped to help colored artists who were not invited to other TV shows to gain popularity.
Program elements
There were two consistent components in the program itself. The first was the Soul Train Scramble Board , which gave two dancers 60 seconds to disentangle the letters on a magnetic board so that they could name a star or a famous figure in African American history . After describing the merits of the wanted person, the showmaster ended the description “… whose name you should know” ('whose name you should know'). After the series ended, Cornelius publicly admitted that the game was made for anyone to win in order to avoid embarrassment for the show or African Americans in general.
In 1971 the production company performed a casting for dancers. The group formed on this basis called itself the Soul Train Gang , into which one was only accepted through the personal recommendation of another member. During the 1980s they were called the Soul Train Dancers and they appeared regularly in video clips. Several members of the gang later had careers as professional dancers or choreographers and were employed in film and television. Two former dancers, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel , enjoyed years of success as members of the R&B group Shalamar after being selected in 1978 by Soul Train talent booker / record promoters Dick Griffey and Cornelius to replace the original session singers.
There was also the legendary Soul Train Line , in which all dancers lined up in two rows so that the dancers could perform one after the other in between. Originally this was a couple, with a man on one side and a woman on the other. Later men and women had their own individual line-up. Sometimes new dance styles or movements were performed by special dancers. There was also a special studio group of dancers who danced to the music performed. Rosie Perez , Damita Jo Freeman, Darnell Williams , Carmen Electra , Nick Cannon , MC Hammer , Jermaine Stewart , Heather Hunter , Fred "Rerun" Berry , Laurieann Gibson , Pebbles , and NFL legend Walter Payton were among those making notable appearances have been in the program over the years.
Each guest usually appeared twice on each show. After the first appearance there was a short interview with the host on stage. The show was also known for two popular catchphrases , it called itself the "hippest trip in America" at the beginning of the show and ended the program with "... and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace ... and SOUL!" ., and as always goodbye, we wish you love, peace ... and SOUL!)
Spin-offs
The Soul Train Music Awards since 1987 have honored the best achievements in rhythm and blues , hip-hop and gospel specifically for African American music and entertainment. In earlier years prizes were also given for jazz . Soul Train also produced the short-lived Soul Train Comedy Awards in 1993 , which were canceled that same year.
Soul Train later produced two annual events: The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards , broadcast for the first time in 1995, celebrated the best performances of female artists, and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest , from 1998, which featured Christmas music of various rhythm and blues and gospel Artist went.
The Lady of Soul Awards and Christmas Starfest were last broadcast in 2005. In April 2008, Don Cornelius announced that this year's Soul Train Music Awards celebration would be canceled. Cornelius cited the writers' strike in Hollywood as one of the reasons, but arguably the real reason was the uncertain future of Soul Train . Cornelius also announced that a film about Soul Train was in development. However, the following owners of the franchise had different plans for the program, including a new edition of the Soul Train Music Awards from 2009.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Soul Train - The Hippest Trip in America. (English)
- Soul Train Local The show that put black music on TVs across America got its start in Chicago — and even after it moved to LA, Chicago kept its own version running daily for nearly a decade.
- Show me your soul arte.
- Soul Train in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jake Austen: Soul Train Local. The show that put black music on TVs across America got its start in Chicago - and even after it moved to LA, Chicago kept its own version running daily for nearly a decade. chicagoreader.com, October 2, 2008, accessed August 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Soul Train - Don Cornelius Productions (English)
- ^ Brian Stelter: After 38 Years, 'Soul Train' Gets New Owner. In: The New York Times . June 17, 2008, accessed April 9, 2010 .
- ↑ Gail Mitchell, 'Soul Train' vaults opened for DVD deal. In: Reuters. July 10, 2009, accessed August 7, 2017 .
- ↑ "Soul Train - Heads Up: The Hippest Trip In America Comes to DVD Soon!" TV Shows on DVD (English).
- ↑ In the 338 episode of the series, broadcast in October 1980, the guest Rick James began to romp with the audience, so that Cornelius interrupted him with the words "This ain't Bandstand !" ("We're not here at Bandstand ").
- ↑ Jake Austen: TV-a-go-go: rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol . Chicago Review Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-55652-572-9 , pp. 100 (English, google.com [accessed November 17, 2013]).
- ↑ See the 2010 documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America .
- ↑ Stu Black: 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. In: Los Angeles Times . December 13, 1987, accessed April 9, 2010 .
- ^ Dean Goodman: "Soul Train" movie rolling into theaters. Reuters , April 18, 2008, accessed April 20, 2008 .