One Last "Soul Train" Line for Don Cornelius

DJs play certain standards to get everybody up on the dance floor. Some blast the "Little Chicken Dance," others rock the "Hokey-Pokey"; but those with a lot more s-o-o-o-oooul call out a "Soul Train" line. Soul Train Line? That's a line of dancers on the left, a line of dancers on the right and everybody taking turns showing off their best moves down the middle. It's a Don Cornelius thing. He started a new, more soulful television tradition when he brought "Soul Train" to TV airwaves four decades ago. That soulful tradition is bigger than ever, but it lost one of its founders when Don Cornelius died.

"Suicide"?

According to ET.online, Cornelius' death was allegedly due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "Suicide"? That pronouncement seemed so unlikely to me. I couldn't understand why a beloved personality like Don Cornelius would take himself out that way?

I've always thought of Don Cornelius as Dick Clark with a whole lot of soul. He produced "Soul Train" and got it on the air during a time when African American targeted programming was rare; and there were only three networks to make it happen. He introduced the music of singers like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Michael Jackson to the world. He produced nearly 4 decades of original programming. While Don Cornelius may have taken a break from TV, his brainchild, "Soul Train," has stayed on the air. Reruns of the show recently gained a new national audience with a daily schedule on Bounce TV, a new African American themed network.

Don Cornelius got people dancing. And he started the "Soul Train" line for goodness sake! As I considered all these things, I realized that the man was bigger than life. Only then did his alleged violent, self-inflicted death make a little bit of sense. He was such a big man, maybe he just wanted to go out of this world in a really big way.

One last "Soul Train" line for Don

Oh yes, I watched "Soul Train" from day one. I bounced my head to the music and learned how to move my once skinny frame in ways I'd never imagined. And yes, I've danced down a "Soul Train" line a time or two. I haven't twirled and shimmied like that in a pretty good while, but the very next time I hear the call, I'll get up and do one last "Soul Train" line dance in honor of the late Don Cornelius. May he rest in "..love, peace and s-o-o-o-oooul.." (That's what Don would have said.)

Watch a 70s era "Soul Train" Line on Youtube.com