Do Kids Today Even Know Who Don Cornelius Is?

Rest in peace Don Cornelius. Even though Don Cornelius stopped hosting Soul Train back in 1993, even though his show continued in first-run syndication until 2006. While it is great that his show continues to run on television, many may be confused as to exactly who Don Cornelius is.

Soul Train first aired in 1971, a year before I was born. Throughout the years I was able to see plenty of musical acts on television every Saturday morning. The great thing about Soul Train, is that you were able to learn the latest dance moves, see Blacks on television in a positive light, and see the biggest bands in Black music perform their songs on television.

This isn't a big deal today. Networks are walking on top of each other trying to show the latest rappers, soul singers, and artists on television. There are entirely too many cable channels to count, in which you can see a Black artist perform their hits on television, or the latest music videos, from contemporary African-American artists.

That wasn't the case in the seventies. Kids too young to remember when MTV refused to play music videos, until the larger than life popularity of Micheal Jackson forced their hand, may not be able to appreciate a show where a bunch of Blacks, and later on, a few Latinos danced to the latest tunes. At the time Don Cornelius brought the streets of Chicago to our living rooms.

Soul Train eventually moved out to Los Angeles, and the epicenter of Black culture moved with it. By the time we were all fascinated with the Crips and the Bloods, and watching John Singleton films like Baby Boy, Don Cornelius was already a step ahead of us, and the dancers were in a studio out in LA.

Don Cornelius wasn't perfect though, and he was not always on top of the trends. He hated what Rosie Perez referred to as sexually explicit East Coast dance moves, on a VH1 documentary about Soul Train. Well Don Cornelius probably had the Midwest in his heart, and may not have understood the differences between Chicago and LA, and New York. He hated rap music, but eventually allowed a few artists to perform on his show.

Over the years Soul Train evolved into a franchise that went beyond the dance show. The Soul Train Awards, ironically, is as well known for the fights that break out among rappers as it is for being one of the oldest award shows to honor achievements by African-American artists.

Unless Entertainment Tonight continues to run past 2016, Soul Train will continue to remain as the longest first-run syndicated program, in U.S. history.