History Series / SoulTrain

* [[spoiler: AuthorExistenceFailure: [[TearJerker Don Cornelius committed suicide in 2012. May he rest in peace.]]]]

* [[spoiler: AuthorExistenceFailure: Don Cornelius committed suicide in 2012]]

** Also also: the Soul Train Line didn't go to separate into the more familiar men and women's lines until 1982.

* Also, many acts chose to perform live, rather than lip-synch to their record. This was a practice that pretty much died by the late 70s.
* Also also: the Soul Train Line didn't go to separate into the more familiar men and women's lines until 1982.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Carol Song had been a ''Soul Train'' Dancer since at least the late 1970s.
* NostalgiaFilter: Some saying the show stopped being good after the 1970s.
* NeverLiveItDown: Although outlasting the genre by two decades, the show couldn't escape its connection to disco (particularly big bellbottoms and bigger Afros).

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soultrain1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The hippest trip in America.]]

''"The longest-running first-run nationally-syndicated program in television history."''

''Soul Train'' was a music program in the vein of ''AmericanBandstand'' that ran in first-run {{syndication}} from 1971-2006.

Conceived and hosted by Chicago newscaster Don Cornelius, the 60-minute show was both a showcase and a trend setter for black music, fashion and dance for generations of black youth. Along with its signature elements, the ''Soul Train'' Scrambleboard (where a man and woman had 60 seconds to arrange letters on a magnetic board to spell out the name of a current celebrity) and the ''Soul Train'' Line (where dancers show off their best moves while moving down two columns of fellow dancers), the show is a pop cultural icon to this day. Along the way, it spawned its own record label (Soul Train Records[[hottip:*:which was rebranded as Solar Records after only two years, when Cornelius dropped out to concentrate on the TV show, though the show and label remained closely tied]]) and its own awards show (which actually survives the show itself).

Don Cornelius hosted from the October 2, 1971 debut through the end of Season 22 (1992-93), after which the show utilized a large variety of guest hosts for the next few years. Mystro Clark became the new permanent host at the beginning of Season 27 (1997-98), but only held the role briefly before Shemar Moore replaced him on the thirteenth show of Season 29 (1999-2000). Dorian Gregory was the final host, holding the reins for the show's last three years (2003-06).

The last first-run episode aired on March 25, 2006, with the broadcasts of December 9, 2006 to December 29, 2007 being repeats of episodes from 1973-88; some of these episodes were shown again starting the following week, with the very last broadcast (September 20, 2008) being the Donna Summer/Staple Singers show from December 15, 1984.

After the sale of ''Soul Train''[='s=] rights from Don Cornelius Productions to [=MadVision=] Entertainment in early 2009, an official {{YouTube}} channel was established along with a planned series of DVD sets from Time-Life. Reruns of early episodes can currently be seen on {{BET}}'s new Centric channel (formerly [=BET J/BET on Jazz=]).

Not to be confused with [[SoulTrain a train full of souls]].
----
!!The show contains examples of:
* CatchPhrase: The show opening, "The hippest trip in America", and the show closing "We wish you love, peace, and...'''''SOOOUL'''''!"
* CoolOldGuy: Don Cornelius, during the show's later years.
* DuelingShows: With ''AmericanBandstand'' (though Cornelius hated the comparison), and later with variety show ''Showtime At The Apollo''.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Early episodes owed more to ''LaughIn'' than ''AmericanBandstand'' in terms of the show's look and camera work. The pilot in particular had a completely different announcer, and the open showed the musical guests (Gladys Knight & The Pips, David Ruffin, and The Honey Cones) were dancing among the "Soul Train ''Gang''" instead of showing short clips of their performances.
* LongRunner: Every weekend for 35 years.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Carol Song had been a ''Soul Train'' Dancer since at least the late 1970s.
* NostalgiaFilter: Some saying the show stopped being good after the 1970s.
* NeverLiveItDown: Although outlasting the genre by two decades, the show couldn't escape its connection to disco (particularly big bellbottoms and bigger Afros).
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: During the mid-1970s, a rumor began floating around that Cornelius had died of a drug overdose, prompting him to make an announcement at the beginning of a subsequent episode that he had not died of a drug overdose and his attorneys were trying to find whoever had spread that slander. The interesting thing is that while Cornelius had carefully stated he did not ''die'' of a drug overdose, he never stated that he hadn't used drugs.
* RealSongThemeTune: Many people think "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" was written specifically for ''Soul Train''...and actually, it was. In an interview for a VH1 documentary about the show, Cornelius stated that he hired the Philadelphia-based songwriting team of Gamble and Huff to write a song for the show. He liked it, but he was adamant about '''not''' calling the song "Soul Train", so they called it "TSOP" and he approved. Cornelius went on to say that he regretted that move.
----
''"And as always, in parting, we wish you love...peace...and '''SOOOOOOOUL!'''"''

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Several, but the best known is Carol Song aka "the Asian chick with the hair".

* MemeticMutation: ''THE '''SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUL''' TRAIN!''
** Also parodied was Cornelius' tendency to sway when [=MCing=], lampshaded on ''MadTV'' once.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Former ''Soul Train'' Dancers include Fred "Rerun" Berry, Nick Cannon, Carmen Electra, MC Hammer, Rosie Perez, NFL legend Walter Payton, and Jody Watley.
* JumpTheShark: Most people point to Cornelius giving up hosting duties.

* ReplacementScrappy: After Don Cornelius stepped away from hosting, every subsequent host was tolerated at best by the fandom.
* TheScrappy: Any white male dancer in the ''Soul Train'' Line. Bro, give it up — you can't dance.
** White women tended to avoid this Trope, holding their own on the dance floor.
** White singers were tolerated, but only a few of them (including EltonJohn and DavidBowie[[hottip:*:hilariously, as he was transitioning to his aristocratic, "emotionless ''[[NaziNobleman Aryan]]'' [[{{Ubermensch}} superman]]" "Thin White Duke" phase]]) were deemed worthy.

''The longest-running first-run nationally-syndicated program in television history.''

''And as always, in parting, we wish you love...peace...and '''SOOOOOOOUL!''' ''

''Soul Train'' was a music program in the vein of AmericanBandstand that ran in first-run {{syndication}} from 1971 to 2006.

Conceived and hosted by Chicago newscaster Don Cornelius, the 60-minute show was both a showcase and a trend setter for black music, fashion and dance for generations of black youth. Along with its signature elements, the Soul Train Scrambleboard (where a man and woman had 60 seconds to arrange letters on a magnetic board to spell out the name of a current celebrity) and the Soul Train Line (where dancers show off their best moves while moving down two columns of fellow dancers), the show is a pop cultural icon to this day. Along the way, it spawned its own record label (Soul Train Records[[hottip:*:which was rebranded as Solar Records after only two years, when Cornelius dropped out to concentrate on the TV show, though the show and label remained closely tied.]]) and its own awards show (which actually survives the show itself).

After the sale of ''Soul Train'''s rights from Don Cornelius Productions to [=MadVision=] Entertainment in early 2009, an official {{YouTube}} channel was established, along with a planned series of DVD sets from Time-Life. Reruns of early episodes can currently be seen on {{BET}}'s new Centric channel (formerly [=BET J/BET on Jazz=]).

Not to be confused with [[SoulTrain a train full of souls.]]

!! The show contains examples of the following tropes:
* CatchPhrase: The show opening, "The hippest trip in America," and the show closing, "We wish you love, peace, and... '''''SOOOUL'''''!"
* CoolOldGuy: Don Cornelius, during the shows later years.
* DuelingShows: With ''AmericanBandstand'' (though, Cornelius hated the comparison). And later with variety show ''Showtime At The Apollo''.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early episodes owed more to ''LaughIn'' than ''AmericanBandstand'' in terms of the show's look and camera work. The pilot in particular: Not only did it have a completely different announcer, but the opening showed the musical guests (Gladys Knight & The Pips, David Ruffin and The Honey Cones) were dancing among the "Soul Train ''Gang''" instead of showing short clips of their performances.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Several, but the best known is Carol Song, BKA "The Asian Chick with the hair"
* HeyItsThatGuy: Former Soul Train Dancers include Fred "Rerun" Berry, Nick Cannon, Carmen Electra, MC Hammer, Rosie Perez, NFL legend Walter Payton and Jody Watley.
* JumpTheShark: Most people point to Don Cornelius giving up hosting duties.
* LongRunner: Every weekend for 35 years.
* MemeticMutation: ''THE '''SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUL''' TRAIN!''
** Also parodied: Don Cornelius' tendency to sway when [=MCing=], lampshaded on ''MadTV'' once.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Carol Song had been a Soul Train Dancer since at least the late 70s.
* NostalgiaFilter: Some saying the show stopped being good after the 70's.
* NeverLiveItDown: It outlasted the genre by two decades, but Soul Train could never escape it's connection with the Disco culture. (Particularly, big bellbottoms and bigger Afros.)
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: A rumor had been floating around during the middle 1970s that Don Cornelius had died of a drug overdose. On one show, he made an announcement at the beginning of the program that he had not died of a drug overdose and his attorneys were trying to find whoever had spread that slander. What was interesting was he carefully stated he did not ''die'' of a drug overdose, he never stated that he had not used drugs.
* RealSongThemeTune: Many people think "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" was written specifically for ''Soul Train''.
** Actually, it was! In an interview for a VH1 documentary about the show, Don Cornelius stated that he hired the Philadelphia-based songwriting team of Gamble and Huff to write a theme song for the show. He liked the song, but he was adamant about NOT calling the song Soul Train, so they called it TSOP and he approved. Don Cornelius went on to say that he regretted that move.
* ReplacementScrappy: After Don Cornelius stepped away from hosting, every host after him was tolerated at best by the fandom.
* TheScrappy: Any white dancer in the Soul Train Line. Bro, give it up. You can't dance.
** White ''male'' dancers. White women tended to hold their own on the dance floor.
** White singers were tolerated, but the fact is that only a few of them (including EltonJohn and DavidBowie--hilariously, as he was transitioning to his aristocratic, "emotionless ''[[NaziNobleman Aryan]]'' [[{{Ubermensch}} superman]]" "Thin White Duke" phase at the time) were deemed worthy.

<<|AmericanSeries|>>
----
''And as always, in parting, we wish you love... peace... and '''SOOOOOOOUL!''' ''

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Carol Song, better known as "The Asian Chick with the hair"
** There have been quite a few actually.

Conceived and hosted by Chicago newscaster Don Cornelius, the 60-minute show was both a showcase and a trend setter for black music, fashion and dance for generations of black youth. Along with its signature elements, the Soul Train Scrambleboard (where a man and woman had 60 seconds to arrange letters on a magnetic board to spell out the name of a current celebrity) and the Soul Train Line (where dancers show off their best moves while moving down two columns of fellow dancers), the show is a pop cultural icon to this day. Along the way, it spawned its own record label (Soul Train Records) and its own awards show (which actually survives the show itself).

[[caption-width-right:350:♪PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD!♪]]

[[quoteright:417:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soultrain1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:417:♪PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD!♪]]

''Soul Train'' was a music program in the vein of AmericanBandstand that ran in first-run syndication from 1971 to 2006.

** White singers were tolerated, but the fact is that only a few of them (including EltonJohn and DavidBowie--hilariously, as he was in his aristocratic, "emotionless ''[[NaziNobleman Aryan]]'' [[{{Ubermensch}} superman]]" "Thin White Duke" phase at the time) were deemed worthy.

** White singers were tolerated, but the fact is that only a few of them (including DavidBowie--hilariously, as he was in his aristocratic, "emotionless ''[[NaziNobleman Aryan]]'' [[{{Ubermensch}} superman]]" "Thin White Duke" phase at the time) were deemed worthy.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Former Soul Train Dancers include MC Hammer, Rosie Perez, Carmen Electra, Nick Cannon, Fred "Rerun" Berry and NFL legend Walter Payton.

**Actually, it was! In an interview for a VH1 documentary about the show, Don Cornelius stated that he hired Philadelphia-based songwriting team of Gamble and Huff to write a theme song for the show. He liked the song, but he was adamant about NOT calling the song Soul Train, so they called it TSOP and he approved. Don Cornelius went on to say that he regretted that move.

Not to be confused with a "mere" SoulTrain.