Don Cornelius, the funkiest man in the world.

Soul Train was one of the indelible memories of my childhood.  For most people born in the vicinity of 1970 or for 35 years after that day, Soul Train was a phenomenon that was part of your life.  The theme song, the cry of “Sooooooul traaaaain!”, or just the Soul Train dance line… it was all part of pop culture and it was all because of one man, Don Cornelius.  Soul Train ended in 2006 (13 years after Cornelius left the show), but the show’s impact remains, thanks to the Soul Train Music Awards and Lady of Soul Awards.  Still, the show lives on, but the creator does not.  Don Cornelius ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 75 in Sherman Oaks, California.  Let’s bust a memorial groove, shall we?

“Motown had laid down the sonic groundwork, but Don Cornelius let you visualize it,” said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke.  “Black power was visible on Soul Train.  It’s what led to the love affair between black and white culture, and why eventually you started seeing white musicians like Boz Scaggs on Don’s show.  That show filled a gap.”

The show debuted on Chicago’s WCIU, and spread like wildfire across the nation in the years that followed, becoming the longest running first-run syndication series to ever hit television.  Lasting 35 years is an incredible achievement, even if you don’t become a trendmaker in dance moves and a style guide for American pop culture.

Tags: obituaries, self-inflicted gunshot wounds, don cornelius dead, don cornelius, soul train, soul train don cornelius, don cornelius suicide, los angeles, california, wciu, chicago, soul train creator don cornelius dead at 75, don cornelius dead at 75, mark anthony neal, duke university, sherman oaks, black popular culture, black history, music, dancing, television

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]