Don Cornelius, "Soul Train," Has Died | Photos | Videos |

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NBC LOS ANGELES News...

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Vigil for "Soul Train" Creator Don Cornelius Set for Thursday Night
Ceremony held at Leimert Park

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A vigil was scheduled for Thursday evening to honor the memory of "Soul Train" creator and record producer, Don Cornelius.

The ceremony begins at 5 p.m. at Leimert Park, located at 3415 W. 43rd Place.

Cornelius died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the hip, according to police. Paramedics responded to the producer's Mulholland Drive home at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday after his son, who had just spoken to Cornelius, called 911.

Police did not find a suicide note.

Cornelius was 75 years old.

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http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/02/opinion/seymour-don-cornelius-soul-train/index.htm...

CNN...

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Why Don Cornelius mattered

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By Gene Seymour, Special to CNN
updated 10:32 AM EST, Thu February 2, 2012
Click above to play video
Remembering Don Cornelius

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Gene Seymour says in 1970s, black culture burst forth in fashion, music, dance
He says Don Cornelius contributed singular dance show with cross-cultural appeal
He says the elite of black pop music performed; Soul Train showed teens how to dance
Seymour: Cornelius was self-made impresario, innovator who built cultural phoneomenon

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Editor's note: Gene Seymour has written about movies, music and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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(CNN) -- The 1970s were the first full decade after civil rights legislation all but obliterated racial segregation in the United States. And it was in large part because of this great sea change that a bright, bold flowering of African-American popular culture affecting music, movies, fashion, television, sports and literature burst forth, its impact resonating with a breadth and force that had never been witnessed before -- or seen since.

Don Cornelius, who was found dead Wednesday, at age 75, in his Los Angeles home, was one of the significant figures of this transformative era.

As the creator and longtime host of the TV music-and-dance show, "Soul Train," Cornelius took an established broadcast genre of dancing teenagers, hit records and live performances by pop stars and infused it with assertively African-American style and attitude so electrifying that its appeal crossed racial, ethnic and even generational lines.

As filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles helped set off the black-movie boom with 1971's "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song"; as Richard Pryor's ribald, so-real-it's-surreal stand-up comedy hit its stride by mid-decade; as Alex Haley's 1976 epic family saga "Roots" became the keystone to a nationwide phenomenon whose culminating TV miniseries is still talked about 35 years later, so did Cornelius establish, through "Soul Train," a crucial gauge for pop music's ebb and flow that no one in the entertainment business could ignore.

The elite of late-20th century black pop musicians, from Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Diana Ross and Gladys Knight, to the Jackson Five, O'Jays, Spinners, Gap Band and Commodores took live turns on the "Train" -- and frequently delivered some of their more potent televised performances. Eventually, white artists such as Elton John, David Bowie, Sting and Robert Palmer played on the "Soul Train" stage.

Though he wisely never made himself more conspicuous than the music or the dancers, Cornelius' buttery smooth baritone, colorful attire -- though relatively understated when compared to the dancers' flashy duds -- and avuncular presence provided an anchor for the show's dazzling grooves and slick moves. He also became something of a star himself, making appearances at live concerts and political gatherings looking to share some of the youthful energy he presided over as host from 1970 to 1993.

Other TV shows may have had live acts. But if you wanted to know how to move your body to funk, disco and soul music, "Soul Train" provided the first and best lesson for much of its long and legendary run. Fred Astaire, in a "60 Minutes" interview, said he was a "Soul Train" fan. One imagines the great man studying and perhaps even attempting many of those moves. If you were a true dance aficionado, you waited every week for the "'Soul Train line" in which improbably limber young couples enacted breathtaking inventories of what would become known as "breaking" and "popping."

Before he became an innovator, the Chicago-born Cornelius sold insurance for Golden State Mutual Life for $250 a week. In 1966, he decided to change his destiny, and reduce his salary by $200, to work as a substitute disc jockey, news reader and interviewer at WVON radio. Within two years, he had acquired enough facility as a broadcaster to secure an on-camera job as sports anchor on Chicago's WCIU-TV show, "A Black's View of the News."

With his own money, Cornelius produced a pilot episode of an all-black version of Dick Clark's venerable "American Bandstand" to be telecast on WCIU. He had trouble interesting sponsors until the locally based Sears Roebuck & Co. expressed interest, believing the show could boost its record sales. The program, dubbed "Soul Train," debuted in 1970, achieving such formidable ratings among the city's black community that it was nationally syndicated the next year.

Cornelius not only served as "Soul Train's" host, but was also responsible for drumming up advertisers and seeking more stations nationwide. Some of these advertisers were black-oriented companies such as Johnson Products Co., the beauty specialists behind Afro-Sheen hair spray. By mid-decade, "Soul Train" had powered its way to more than 100 markets. By the time it ceased production in 2006, after a series of guest hosts, "Soul Train" had become one of the longest running syndicated television programs in history.

One wonders whether it's possible in this digitized age to build a cultural phenomenon from the ground up as Cornelius did. If so, his example of chutzpah and daring will serve as the template for future dreamers and cultural mavens to follow. That, along with the blend he suavely, fervently prescribed to his audiences week after week at the end of each "Train": "Love! Peace! And -- all together now -- Soul!"

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http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/01/don-cornelius-and-the-legacy-of-soul-tr...

Time...

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Remembrance

Don Cornelius and the Legacy of Soul Train

A photographic look at the seminal dance program and its late creator.
A Show For the Ages

By Jared T. Miller | @jaredtmiller | February 1, 2012 |

2001 Tribune Entertainment / Getty Images

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Launched on August 17, 1970 and syndicated in October 1971, Soul Train was an hourlong musical variety show hosted by creator (and former radio DJ and news reporter) Don Cornelius. Featuring shots of the dancers as well as performers (like Aretha Franklin, pictured above with Cornelius) Soul Train helped launch the careers of many R&B and soul artists and offered a prominent platform to music coming out of the African-American community.

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Access Atlanta... | Associated Press...

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'Soul Train' host Don Cornelius dead of suicide

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Music 9:31 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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By LYNN ELBER

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — "Soul Train" host Don Cornelius was the arbiter of cool, a brilliant TV showman who used his purring, baritone voice to seduce mainstream America into embracing black music and artists.

But the "love, peace, and SOUL!" he wished viewers as he closed each show for decades escaped him as his life descended into marital trouble, illness and, finally, a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday.

Police said they went to his Mulholland Drive home around 4 a.m. after receiving a call from one of his sons, who became concerned after being contacted by his father. Cornelius, 75, was found shot and was pronounced dead an hour later at a nearby hospital.

Authorities ruled out foul play, but have not found a suicide note and are talking to relatives about his mental state.

To music-hungry viewers, he was a smooth, sharp-dressed man who got them dancing to the hottest tracks going. The pop world's biggest stars recalled him as much more: A cultural groundbreaker who advanced African-American music and culture; a black entrepreneur who overcame racism by strength of will; a visionary who understood rap's emergence but criticized its rawness.

Aretha Franklin, an early "Soul Train" performer, called him "an American treasure."

"God bless him for the solid, good and wholesome foundation he provided for young adults worldwide," she said, "and the unity and brotherhood he singlehandedly brought about with his most memorable creation of 'Soul Train.'"

Donald Cortez Cornelius was born Sept. 27, 1936, in Chicago. After high school, he served as a Marine in Korea. Cornelius was working as an insurance salesman when he spent $400 on a broadcasting course and landed a part-time job in 1966 as announcer, newsman and DJ on WVON radio. That's where listeners first heard the distinctively measured and rich Cornelius rumble.

Cornelius began moonlighting at WCIU-TV when Roy Wood, his mentor at WVON, moved there, and won a job producing and hosting "A Black's View of the News." When the station wanted to expand its "ethnic" programming, he pitched a black music show, and "Soul Train" was born.

"You want to do what you're capable of doing. If I saw (Dick Clark's) 'American Bandstand' and I saw dancing and I knew black kids can dance better; and I saw white artists and I knew black artists make better music; and if I saw a white host and I knew a black host could project a hipper line of speech, and I did know all these things," then it was reasonable to try, he said.

"Soul Train," which began in 1970, followed some of the "Bandstand" format with its audience and young dancers. But that's where the comparisons stopped. Cornelius, the suave, ultra-cool emcee, made "Soul Train" appointment viewing.

"There was not programming that targeted any particular ethnicity," he said in 2006, then added: "I'm trying to use euphemisms here, trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them."

Debra Lee, who is chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television, was one of those youngsters who tuned in to the show. She said she would finish her chores early so she could check out the latest music, fashions and dance moves.

"His reach is just amazing, and personally he was such a charming man," she said, calling Cornelius a role model and "a great interviewer who knew how to connect to artists" and had "the best voice in the world."

With that voice, he helped bring the best R&B, soul and later hip-hop acts to TV. It was one of the first TV shows to showcase African-American artists including Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White.

"You have to dream," Cornelius said in a 1995 interview. "I dreamed everything. I used to introduce Marvin Gaye in my living room. So when the time came that I was going to really introduce guys like Marvin Gaye and Steve Wonder, I had done it before."

"Soul Train" had a whimsical cartoon train and whistle that opened each show. And Cornelius would close each show with his sign-off: "Love, peace, and SOUL!" drawing out the pronunciation of the last word with his deep voice.

The show, with his sharp eye for talent, became the cornerstone of his entertainment empire. He acted as independent producer-host-salesman to bring "Soul Train" into partnership with Tribune Entertainment Co., which became the show's distributor in the 1980s.

The show chugged gradually onto TV screens nationwide: Only a handful of stations initially were receptive. Johnson Products Co., maker of Afro Sheen and other hair-care goods, was its major sponsor and the first black-owned company to sponsor a national weekly TV show. Years later, major advertisers including Coca-Cola and McDonald's joined.

"Soul Train" aired nationally from 1971 to 2006. Asked why it endured, he told The New York Times in 1995: "There is an inner craving among us all, within us all, for television that we can personally connect to." He stepped down as host in 1993, and sold it to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

"Don Cornelius was a pioneer & a trailblazer," Earvin "Magic" Johnson wrote on Twitter. "He was the first African-American to create, produce, host & more importantly OWN his own show."

Though "Soul Train" became one of the longest-running syndicated shows in TV history, its power began to wane in the 1980s and '90s as American pop culture began folding in black culture instead of keeping it segregated.

By that time, there were more options for black artists to appear on mainstream shows. And on shows like "American Bandstand," blacks could be seen dancing along with whites.

But even when Michael Jackson became the King of Pop, there was still a need to highlight the achievements of African-Americans that were still marginalized at mainstream events. So Cornelius created the "Soul Train Awards," which would become a key honor for musicians. The series also spawned the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest.

Along the way, however, Cornelius became estranged from a changing music scene that clashed with his relatively conservative taste. But while he suggested violently or sexually explicit gangsta rap should be labeled "X-rated," Cornelius said the focus should be on eliminating poverty and violence from low-income black communities.

DJ Scratch, the DJ from the rap act EPMD, tweeted on Wednesday that Cornelius "100% didn't like Hip Hop. But he realized that it was what the youth wanted. So again, I thank you Don."

Cornelius' world grew dark in recent years as he faced fallout from a divorce and other pressures. In 2009, he was sentenced to three years' probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor spousal battery and, in his divorce case that year, he also mentioned having significant health problems.

He has two children, Anthony and Raymond, with his first wife, Delores Harrison.

Cornelius, who was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 1995 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, said in 2006 he remained grateful to the musicians who made "Soul Train" the destination for the best and latest in black music.

"As long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for 'Soul Train,'" he said.

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Associated Press writers Nekesa Moody, Frazier Moore, Mesfin Fekadu and David Bauder in New York and Robert Jablon, Jeff Wilson, Anthony McCartney and Sandy Cohen in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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February 01, 2012 09:31 PM EST

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-dead-of-...

Rolling Stone...

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'Soul Train' Creator Don Cornelius Dead of Apparent Suicide
TV legend was 75

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-dead-of-...

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By James Sullivan
February 1, 2012 10:15 AM ET

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Host Don Cornelius on the set of 'Soul Train' in Los Angeles.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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Don Cornelius, who created the long-running R&B and dance-music showcase Soul Train, was found dead in his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., early this morning. He was 75. Law enforcement officials suspect suicide; the body was found with a gunshot wound to the head.

Trained as a journalist on WVON, an African-American talk radio station in his native Chicago, Cornelius conceived of Soul Train during the Civil Rights movement, noting there was no showcase for black music on national television. Soul Train debuted in 1971 and quickly became a popular stop for major acts such as James Brown, the O'Jays and Michael Jackson. Cornelius hosted the show from its inception until 1993; Soul Train ended its long run in its original form in 2006.

The show had a huge influence on popular culture and the pop charts. One of its themes, "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)," became a hit record, and references to Cornelius and Soul Train have appeared in dozens of songs over the years. Cornelius famously closed each episode with the parting words, "We wish you love, peace and soul."

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Chicago Tribune...

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Don Cornelius: Peace, love, soul -- and civil rights

Greg Kot Music critic

6:29 p.m. CST, February 1, 2012

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Don Cornelius, who died Wednesday at 75, was a civil-rights pioneer disguised as a dance-music-show host. He used to sign off the “Soul Train” show he founded by wishing his viewers “love, peace and soul,” and devoted every programming minute to proving he meant it.

The baritone-voiced host slipped into many roles on “Soul Train” and made it look easy, like he was trying on just another tailored double-breasted suit. He was a music tastemaker, fashion leader, smooth talker and business innovator, a national icon who could broker a deal or bust a move on the dance floor without seeming to break a sweat.

But his role as a civil-rights leader is perhaps his most significant contribution, even though he didn’t call attention to it. Cornelius worked uplifting community messages into his programming, and created a social context for “Soul Train” that was as radical and empowering as any equal-rights speech or rally.

As Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson wrote Wednesday after Cornelius was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home, “Next to (Motown founder) Berry Gordy, Don Cornelius was hands down the most crucial nonpolitical figure to emerge from the Civil Rights era post-‘68.”

Thompson went on to amplify that assertion on his blog at Okayplayer.com: “To say with a straight, dignified face that ‘black is beautiful’ was the riskiest, (most) radical life-changing move that America has seen. And amazingly enough for one hour, for one Saturday out (of) the week, if you were watching ‘Soul Train,’ it became contagious. Next thing you know you are actually believing you have some sort of worth. The whole idea of Afro-centrism in my opinion manifested and spread with ‘Soul Train’ in its first six years.”

To do it, Cornelius had to break through the walls that had barred African-Americans from power in television and music. In 1970 he went from juggling jobs as an insurance salesman, police officer, TV reporter and radio DJ in Chicago to hosting a local, low-budget African-American answer to Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” By the next year, he was going national and soon every major black performer was clamoring to be on his syndicated show. James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and Sly Stone were among his guests. Barry White showed up in a black velvet tux with a 40-piece orchestra in the midst of his larger-than-life heyday. The renowned Philadelphia songwriting and production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote the show’s theme song.

At a time when commercial radio was segregating across lines of style and race, Cornelius presented the richness of black music in all its variety to a national audience. He effectively became the most powerful DJ in America.

He also showed the ability to adapt, keeping the show relevant through the disco and hip-hop eras, even though he was not particularly a fan of either style of music. He hosted the most important hip-hop artists of the time, including L.L. Cool J, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Public Enemy. For many of these acts, “Soul Train” would be the first national television exposure they would receive.

“We didn’t get nationally known until we did ‘Rebel Without a Pause’ on ‘Soul Train’ in 1987,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D said Wednesday on Twitter. “We thanked Don forever.”

“Soul Train” did more than just passively present the music. At its core, Cornelius’ show was about a community responding – creatively, spontaneously, ecstatically -- to the music made for it. The palpable excitement of that interaction opened up African-American culture to the rest of the world and made it not only more accessible but also desirable, hip, fun.

Cornelius’ primary ambassadors were the dancers he hired. Initially, they were teenagers and young adults he met at the parties he used to DJ in Chicago. A number went on to become famous in their own right: Jody Watley, M.C. Hammer, and future Bears running back Walter Payton. They brought a street flair to the show that made “American Bandstand” seem tame, and their dance moves – the pop and lock, robot, moonwalk – were studied and often emulated by viewers, including a young Michael Jackson.

The show’s cultural cache – documenting and spreading the gospel of not just music, but African-American dance, slang, hairstyles and fashion – was tied to Cornelius' acumen as a businessman. As Berry Gordy was to music, Cornelius was to the intersection of music and television. He cut a path for future African-American music moguls such as Russell Simmons, L.A. Reid, Sean “Puffy” Combs and Jay-Z, as well as Bob Johnson, who founded the Black Entertainment Television cable network in 1980. Cornelius partnered with George Johnson and Johnson Products, another black-owned Chicago institution, as an early sponsor.

“At the time, there weren’t many black advertisements or black figures appearing in ads, so there really was no place else to put them,” said Todd Boyd, a professor of critical studies at USC. “If you want to go back in the late 1950s, Nat King Cole’s show was canceled because they couldn’t find a sponsor. By the ’70s, Don Cornelius was pushing the [black] culture into the mainstream and also introducing concepts around sponsorship and advertising that previously had no other places to exist except the pages of John Johnson’s publications (Jet and Ebony).”

Cornelius quit as host in 1993, but continued to oversee everything from behind the scenes until the show’s demise more than 15 years later. Last September, Cornelius was coaxed back to Chicago from his California home for a week of festivities honoring the show’s 40th anniversary. About 15,000 people attended a concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park headlined by his friends Jerry Butler, the Impressions, the Emotions andChi-Lites. Cornelius, dressed in black leather, got the biggest ovation, the decades of memories compressed into a sustained moment of appreciation.

“It was pretty emotional,” said Richard Steele, the old friend who co-hosted the concert with DJ Herb Kent. “To look out and see all those people who came because it was ‘Soul Train,’ he was really moved by that.”

“At the end they also presented him with a street sign,” said Steele, now a host and producer at WBEZ-FM 91.5. “He was pretty shook up… When he did the customary sign-off he used to do, ‘Love, peace and soul,’ well, they went crazy.”

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The Tribune’s Steve Johnson and Los Angeles Times staff writers contributed to this report.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/01/prweb9160308.DTL

San Francisco Chronicle...

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Press Releases
RoadFish.com Praises the late Don Cornelius in Wake of the "Soul Train" Creator's Death

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) February 01, 2012

RoadFish.com men's lifestyle and finance magazine today offered praise and admiration to the late Don Cornelius, creator of the nationally syndicated music franchise "Soul Train," in the recent wake of Cornelius' death. According to James C. McKinley Jr. of The New York Times, Cornelius was reported dead in his home this morning from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. "Soul Train" offered African American musicians a platform for exposure during a time when there was no television channel dedicated to soul music, and led to the fame and financial success of many now-recognized soul legends.

McKinley's article in The New York Times reports that the police were notified early on Wednesday morning that shots had been fired at Cornelius' Mulholland Drive home. The Times says that Cornelius was taken to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, and was pronounced dead at 4:56 a.m. The Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner, Ed Winter, is quoted saying, "It was reported as a suicide, a self-inflicted wound. I have investigators at the hospital."

RoadFish.com's editor states, "I grew up as a Jewish kid in an almost all-white Christian neighborhood with a mom who used to have us lock the car doors when a black person was around. 'Soul Train' was a peek into a world and a culture that I never would have seen before. In fact, it was watching 'Soul Train' that I first got any sense of dance moves and curvy girls. I loved that show, and it made me ever so slightly cooler just by watching it. I hope you are now with some swinging chick going down the Soul Train Line, busting out some moves to some warm grooves."

Cornelius said of his show in 2006, "I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for 'Soul Train.'" He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 1995 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

According to the Associated Press, Cornelius' business partner, Quincy Jones, stated, "I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague, and business partner Don Cornelius. Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Before MTV there was 'Soul Train,' that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched."

RoadFish.com wishes to express their "admiration and respect for Cornelius' role in offering exposure for those who we now recognize as household names, but might not have been if it weren't for the launchpad of a show that Cornelius provided."

The Associated Press reports that after a two-year hiatus, The Soul Train Awards will return to the air on November 29, to acknowledge the people who were influential in the R&B music industry. The two-hour music special will be co-hosted by actors Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard.

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http://soultrain.com/

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Soul Train

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Resting in love, peace and soul...

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Resting In Love, Peace and Soul
February 1, 2012 · 1 Comment

Updated 2PM CST:

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Statement from Soul Train Holdings, LLC CEO Kenard Gibbs:

We are overwhelmed with the news regarding the passing of Don Cornelius. Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with his family at this time. He was a true television visionary and his contributions to African American culture and music entertainment are immeasurable. The outpouring of affection and tributes to his legacy are a true testament to the profound impact that his life’s work had on many generations. - Kenard Gibbs, Partner/CEO Soul Train Holdings, LLC

By now, you have read reports of the passing of our beloved Don Cornelius on AP or other credible news sources. We at SoulTrain.com are saddened to hear the news and are praying for Mr. Cornelius’ family and friends. At this time, please take a moment to share your love through a comment below or on our Facebook fan page. In the spirit of support and positivity, share your favorite Soul Train video from our video gallery, YouTube page or tweet us you most memorable Soul Train moment today.

Wishing you Love, Peace and Sooouulll

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/02/don-cornelius-legacy-he-made-b...

Los Angeles Times...

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Don Cornelius' legacy: 'Soul Train' said 'black is beautiful'
February 1, 2012 | 11:13 am
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Don Cornelius was a pioneer. The "Soul Train" creator, who was found dead at his home Wednesday, caused a sensation the moment his groundbreaking musical variety show launched nationwide in 1971.

Each Saturday morning, "Soul Train" gave African Americans an opportunity to see themselves reflected on their TV screens. Proud black teens and young adults moving and grooving down the now-classic "Soul Train Line" instantly dictated hairstyles, dance moves and wardrobe choices in the weeks to come.

The show also gave many white Americans their first glimpse of black culture.

For those too young to remember the music and dance show, or missed it the first time around, producer and "Roots" drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson explains on OkayPlayer.com just why it was so groundbreaking:

"to say with a straight, dignified face that BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL was the RISKIEST radical life-changing move that america has seen. and amazingly enough for one hour for one saturday out the week, if you were watching soul train….it became contagious. next thing you know you are actually believing you have some sort of worth."

The outpouring of love, support and admiration was immediately evident online following the news that Cornelius had died in his Mulholland Drive home in Encino. The early evidence suggests he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, although authorities stress that the death remains under investigation.

Regardless of the circumstances of Cornelius' death, several fans noted that the timing was especially poignant:

"1st day of black history month. R.I.P Don Cornelius," tweeted rapper Young Jeezy.

Other celebrity tweets on Wednesday spoke to how much Cornelius meant to black culture:

--I never could get my Afro to work right, but I am among the legion who wanted a turn on that Soul Train line. #DonCornelius RIP," tweeted Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS' "NewsHour."

--"It meant more to me to perform on #SoulTrain than to win a Grammy...Loved U So Much Don.Thank U RIP," tweeted MC Hammer.

--My 89-year-old mom just nailed the critical importance of #DonCornelius. She called Soul Train a "rebuttal" to American Bandstand," tweeted sports writer and ESPN analyst Kevin Blackistone.

"If you were a new artist or an emerging artist, being on "Soul Train"…was a big thing," said TV historian Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York. "But the other important element was the people who were on the dance floor. You have to remember, this was long before MTV. This was cutting edge, it was hipper than anything else that was on TV."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-d...=1

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Washington Post...

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Don Cornelius, ‘Soul Train’ creator, dies at age 75

The legendary music show host was found dead at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/arts/music/don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-is...

The New York Times...

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February 1, 2012
Don Cornelius, ‘Soul Train’ Creator, Is Dead
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

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Don Cornelius, the producer and television host who created the dance show “Soul Train,” was found shot dead in his Los Angeles home early Wednesday morning in what appears to be a suicide, the Los Angeles Police Department and the county coroner’s office said. He was 75.

A person called the police from Mr. Cornelius’s house on Mulholland Drive in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood just before 4 a.m. and reported shots had been fired, a police spokesman, Chris No, said. When officers arrived, they were let into the house and found Mr. Cornelius lying lifeless on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted, said the Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner, Ed Winter.

Mr. Cornelius was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:56 a.m., Mr. Winter said. “It was reported as a suicide, a self-inflicted wound,” he said. “I have investigators at the hospital.”

“Soul Train” was one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history and played a critical role in spreading the music of black America to the world, offering wide exposure to musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson in the 1970s and 1980s.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague and business partner Don Cornelius,” said Quincy Jones, according to the Associated Press. “Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Before MTV, there was ‘Soul Train.’ That will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched. My heart goes out to Don’s family and loved ones.”

Mr. Cornelius, a former disc jockey, created the show in 1970 in Chicago on WCIU-TV and served as its writer, producer and host. Quickly becoming a success, the show was first broadcast nationally in 1971, beginning a 35-year run.

Besides the performers, the program showcased young dancers who would strut their stuff, laying the groundwork for countless dance programs, including current hits like Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” “We had a show that kids gravitated to,” Mr. Cornelius said.

In a 2010 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Mr. Cornelius said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about the show. “We’ve been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn’t be the ‘Soul Train’ dance show. It would be more of a biographical look at the project,” he said. “It’s going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show.”

Mr. Cornelius stopped hosting the show in 1993, and “Soul Train” ceased production in 2006. Two years later, he sold the show to MadVision Entertainment.

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Don Cornelius, seen to the right of Martin Luther King Jr., didn't preach protest on Soul Train. But the show's impact was political, some say.

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