Soul Train's Don Cornelius dead at 75

Story by MSNBC...also TheGrio, AP, Soul Train, and Wikipedia
Don Cornelius, creator of the long-running TV dance show "Soul Train," is dead at 75 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Los Angeles police tell the Associated Press.

Cornelius' death was discovered early Wednesday morning at his Sherman Oaks, Calif. home.

Us Weekly reports that when Cornelius was in court in 2009 for divorce proceedings, he complained of "significant health issues."

"Soul Train" began in 1970 in Chicago and aired in syndication from 1971 to March 2006, featuring primarily African-American musicians. It brought the best R and B, soul and later hip-hop acts to TV and had teenagers dance to them. It was one of the first shows to showcase African-Americans prominently, although the dance group was racially mixed. Cornelius was the first host and executive producer.

Stars such as Ike and Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, James Brown and Stevie Wonder appeared on the show.

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TheGrio: Why 'Soul Train; will never leave America's station: http://www.thegrio.com/black-history/why-soul-train-will-never-leave-americas-station.php

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Watching the show became a weekly ritual in many households, especially African-American homes. Author Earl Ofari Hutchinson wrote in theGrio that "It was virtually a black household ritual to do one of two things when Saturday rolled around and it was Soul Train time. One was to sway, swoon, and sing the lyrics belted out by the parade of R and B legends and top hit artists ... The other ritual was to dance, or more likely stumble around the living room, trying to do our best imitation of the latest dance steps displayed by the show's perpetual motion gyrating couples."

Popular features on the show included the "Soul Train Line," where individual dancers showed off their moves between two lines of people, and the "Soul Train Scramble Board," where dancers unscrambled letters that spelled the name of that night's performer or a prominent African-American.

The show began each episode by welcoming viewers to "the hippest trip in America" and closed by wishing them "love, peace and soul."

Bio below by Wikipedia

Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971-1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

Originally a journalist inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music, and introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers that would presage subsequent television dance programs. Cornelius said "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and Spike Lee described the program as an "urban music time capsule."

Besides his smooth and deep voice, Cornelius is best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: "... and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "...and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly".

The 2008 Soul Train Music Awards ceremony was not held due to the WGA strike and the end of Tribune Entertainment complicating the process of finding a new distributor to air the ceremony and line up the stations to air it. The awards show was moved in 2009 to Viacom's Centric cable channel (formerly BET J), which now airs Soul Train in reruns.

Cornelius most recently appeared at the 2009 BET Awards to present The O'Jays with the 2009 BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Don Cornelius at age 75 committed suicide today, February 1, 2012.

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Don Cornelius star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Don Cornelius, creator of the long-running TV dance show "Soul Train," shot himself to death Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home, police said. He was 75.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting found Cornelius at his Mulholland Drive home at around 4 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 4:56 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.

"Soul Train" began in 1970 in Chicago on WCIU-TV as a local program and aired nationally from 1971 to 2006.

It introduced television audiences to such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White and brought the best R&B, soul and later hip-hop acts to TV and had teenagers dance to them. It was one of the first shows to showcase African-Americans prominently, although the dance group was racially mixed. Cornelius was the first host and executive producer.

"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."

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.

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

The series spawned a franchise that includes the Soul Train Music Awards, the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and the Soul Train Christmas Starfest.

Cornelius stepped down as "Soul Train" host in 1993.

In his later years, Cornelius had a troubled marriage. In 2009, he was sentenced to three years' probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor spousal battery. In his divorce case that year, he also mentioned having significant health issues.

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STATEMENT FROM REV. AL SHARPTON REGARDING THE DEATH OF DON CORNELIUS


February 1, 2012 (New York, NY) "I am shocked and grief stricken by the reported news of the suicide of Don Cornelius, the creator of Soul Train. I have known him since I was19-years-old and James Brown had me speak on Soul Train. We have maintained a friendship for the last 38-years. He brought soul music and dance to the world in a way that it had never been shown and he was a cultural game changer on a global level. Had it not been for Don Cornelius we would not have ever transcended from the Chitlin circuit to become mainstream cultural trendsetters."

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Thank you Don Cornelius from Kirk Tanter:

Don Cornelus had a major influence on me as a teenager. I was a Soul Train dancer from 1976 to 1984. Mr. C. thank you for allowing me to see for myself your well-oiled machine in a day when Black Coaches, Quarterbacks, Managers, and Owners were few and far between leading anyone's Professional team. I was priviledged to see Don Cornelius for many a year as a serious/focused coach, quarterback, and owner of a major iconic corporation.

Today when I see African-Americans and Africans from other countries belittle and doubt the multiple-talents, skills, brains, and leadership abilities of American Black People, disrespectfully stereotyping us negatively, it saddens me having seen decades ago an African-American in Don Cornelius lead to internatinal legendary stature the Soul Train Television Program.

Don Cornelus worked his magic for four decades. Don was the one of those people -- along side the elder generations from my family and some teachers -- that gave me a first-hand perspective that we can do anything in any field of endeavor from top to bottom in an organized fashion.  

Seeing Don Cornelus in action lead an entire set of Directors, Gaffers, PA's, Set Designers, Camera Operators, Talent, Dancers, Advertisers, Caterers (ones that provided KFC dinners at lunch), and that heavy-set loud mouth Floor Manager of his echoing in my head now, "Quiet People" and agitated more minutes later at us loud mouths, "Will you Dancers Shut UP"!

Don Cornelus was one of the original "Yes We Can" people. To see a tightly run ship for and by Black People with my own eyes carries on with me to this date. "Yes We Can" compete head-up reader with anyone, anytime, anyday, in any subject.

Staying in Black Radio for the vast majority of my broadcast career is a testament to Don. There is a Don Cornelus in me, and I have seen it in recent decades in other influences of mine like Cathy Hughes, the late Percy Sutton, Bill Shearer, Willie Davis, Dorothy Height, Chuck Johnson, the late Jack Gibson, Sidney Miller, Bob Johnson, Al Sharpton, Alfred Liggins, Stevie Wonder, Warren Bell, Muhammad Naasardeen, the late Frankie Crocker, Johnny Morris, and other African-Americans leading their respective fields.

Seeing Don Cornelus seated in a typical actors' seat on the right side of the Soul Train set dressed down in his tailored suits, along side his trusted assistant with her massive planning notebook was especially powerful to me. You did not bother them seeing the intense focus to deliver the program. Never an outburst from Don. Cornelius commanded the set without panic nor fear nor crazy outburst that you get from others in power.

Don Cornelius was all business from Sun up to Sun Down, and often into the next day. We (Soul Train Dancers) would have to finish the Songs, the Soul Train Lines, and Scramble Board until 1 and 2 in the morning each day. The recording stars would take up most of the day taping from early morning to around 8pm. Soul Train taped one weekend per month, taping four shows. And yes the lines were long with Los Angeles finest dancers at the Hollywood studio to get in the gate early those Saturday and Sunday mornings. Fellow Radio Syndicators and its' sales staffers please take note, that Soul Train stayed ahead of schedule four weeks in advance.

The Recording Artists sang their known hits and also their yet-to-be-released songs to coincide with their Soul Train appearance weeks later. It was very cool to go back to school and tell friends what new song on an album was coming out by Bootsey or Chaka Khan or Marvin Gaye or Rick James or the Jacksons, etc... hearing the new release on a Soul Train taping during the previous weekend. They would think that I had some sort of gift to pick the hits, but I just saw the artists perform the song on Soul Train. 

In speaking with folks that knew of Mr. C's health ailments during Don's later years, Don had a brain aneuryism in the 1980's with major surgery simular (if not the same surgery) to Quincy Jones' surgery following Q's surgery. Following the successful surgery, one of the subsequent side effects were sizzures. Don also had more than one stroke over the past ten or so years.

In regards to the subject of suicide. As you may or may not know, Don Cornelius allegedly committed suicide, and many Christians -- and people from other religions -- treat suicide as the unforgivable sin. Some think that suicide means that you are suspended in mid-air forever, deprived from entrance into God's heaven. Others 'believe' that when someone commits suicide you go straight to hell. Many religious folks even 'believe' that the life of the one that committed suicide cannot be celebrated or properly memorialized on earth versus those that died a non-suicidal death. If anyone of these aforementioned scenarios fit you and your religious beliefs that could be validated from your chosen pre-historic scriptures, then you need to re-think your beliefs and 'question' your religious leader and scriptures in the case of Don Cornelius. Don did far too much for far too many people here and abroad. Don's success raised the "Yes We Can" in all of us, especially African Americans and Africans in all the other coutries. Re-think your beliefs on suicide. If anyone should go to heaven and a life celebrated on earth, it is Don Cornelius. Think about this,,,you or someone you know are faced with a choice to pull the plug -- by the leading medical doctor -- on a loved one that cannot function normally after a very serious stroke or brain aneuryism.

In closing, I would like to say thank you very much Don Cornelius. Rest in Peace Mr. C.


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