SOUL TRAIN Creator and Executive Producer Don Cornelius has been at the cutting edge of Soul music (including Rhythm and Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel and Jazz) for over 30 years.

His achievements and influence have been recognized by Hollywood and the broadcasting community alike, with a STAR on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and as an inductee into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.

The Soul Train weekly dance show series originally emerged in 1970, locally in Chicago, Illinois. It premiered in first-run syndication during October of 1971, and has inspired at least two generations of music aficionados, with its hip dancing and exciting performances by top R&B, Hip Hop, Gospel and Jazz recording artists.

Now the longest running TV program of any genre in the entire history of first-run, nationally syndicated TV programming, Soul Train celebrated its 30th consecutive season on the air with a nationally syndicated, June/2001 TV special, entitled Divas and Kings, 2000 and Beyond/The Soul Train 30th Anniversary.

In addition to the Soul Train weekly series, Don Cornelius Productions produces three annual, nationally syndicated, prime time TV specials -- the Soul Train Music Awards (16th year), the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards (7th year), and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest (4th year).

The Annual Soul Train TV specials are among the music/television industry’s most prestigious events. They consistently attract such major superstars as Michael Jackson, Prince (“The Artist”), Elton John, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Barry White, Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Bill Cosby, Vanessa Williams, Christina Aguilera, Patti LaBelle, David Bowie, Natalie Cole, Public Enemy, Backstreet Boys, Queen Latifah, R. Kelly, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, LL Cool J, and many others.

The Soul Train legacy almost didn't happen, however. In the spring of 1966, Don Cornelius took what he considered to be a gamble, at best, and enrolled in a broadcasting school in Chicago. He had been advised, during indoctrination, that he and the majority of those enrolled in the course might never get jobs in broadcasting. Despite the odds against success, Cornelius decided to give the course a try, since being a radio announcer had always been a dream of his. Cornelius attended classes in the morning, while maintaining a regular job during the rest of the day and in three months had completed the course.

In 1967, Cornelius was offered a part-time position as a news announcer on Chicago radio station WVON, one of Chicago's most popular Black-oriented stations. Later, he would set his sights on TV and TV production, which led to his idea for a Black-oriented dance show. Cornelius pitched the idea to WCIU-TV in Chicago and agreed to produce the pilot at his own expense, while the station agreed to provide a small studio.

Cornelius completed the pilot and proceeded to hold screenings, in search of advertiser/sponsors. Initially, there were no takers, as advertiser representatives who would screen the pilot did not seem overwhelmed by Cornelius' new idea for a Black-targeted TV dance show, which he called Soul Train.
With a personal promise from Cornelius that, “Full sponsorship was right around the corner,” WCIU-TV began airing the original version of Soul Train in five-day-per-week, one-hour, afternoon episodes, on August 17, 1970.

Soul Train became an instantaneous local, Chicago hit and almost immediately, attracted the attention of Johnson Products Company (Ultra Sheen/ Afro Sheen, etc. hair care products) founder and president George Johnson, who would propose an advertising partnership that would involve taking Soul Train in a direction toward national syndication.

In the summer of 1971, Cornelius began commuting to Hollywood, California, in hopes of locating better production facilities than could be found at the time in Chicago. After several trips to California, still with guidance and support from Johnson Products Company, the goals of securing a good facility and an experienced production crew were achieved.

The syndicated version went on the air October 2, 1971. As expected, it was an immediate success in the markets that carried the show. Unfortunately, the syndicating agency was able to premiere the show in only seven of the 25 target cities. The seven included Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Many other station program directors conceded that the show was well produced and very entertaining, but said that they had no open time periods, regardless of the barter considerations being offered by the syndicator. In a number of cases, the syndicator was turned down by all of five or six stations in the same city. However and as Soul Train's reputation and popularity grew in the cities that had accepted the show, the syndicator gradually began to pick up more stations.

Soul Train currently reaches 85% of U.S. Television households, through station clearances in 105 cities, including all major markets, continues to perform well in all ratings research categories and is now, firmly, established, according to Cornelius, “As the surviving Patriarch of music TV in America, as we know it today.”

In 1985, Tribune Entertainment Company became the exclusive distributor/syndicator of Soul Train, thus providing the program with its most effective support system to date.

Two years later, Tribune would “green light” the successful, 1987 launch of the Soul Train Music Awards, a live, two-hour television special, which continues to be presented, annually, in prime time, first-run, national syndication, consistently reaching U.S. TV household coverage in excess of 85%.

The Tribune Entertainment Company/Don Cornelius Productions programming partnership further added to the overall Soul Train programming portfolio by launching the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards annual TV special, to honor the accomplishments of women in the music industry, in 1995. The Soul Train Christmas Starfest, annual, holiday TV special, debuted in 1998 and remains, according to Cornelius, “One of our proudest examples of the partnership’s consistent pursuit of our common goal of creating extraordinary exposure opportunities, for Soul music recording artists, on national television.”

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