THE HIPPEST TRIP IN AMERICA: I wasn't quite sure how, as a 39-year-old white guy, I had any ability or authority to eulogize Soul Train creator/host Don Cornelius, who ended his life today at the age of 75.
"The epitome of black entrepreneurship, building Soul Train from the ground up" is how Pam Spaulding put it, and I guess what I can add is that in the pre-MTV era, Soul Train is the vehicle that smuggled black culture into white households. I don't think primarily of the musical performances or even the scramble board, but rather the dancing -- and especially the line dancing. That wasn't something I got to see at my USY dances, and it wasn't music that I got to listen to on Top-40 radio of the early 1980s.
Soul Train made my childhood a little funkier and more enjoyable, and for that I say thank you, Mr. Cornelius.
As I've said elsewhere, as a child, I hated Soul Train, because it meant Saturday Morning cartoons were over. But I've since gained an appreciation for Don Cornelius and his contributions to The Funk.
ReplyDeleteDon Cornelius, May you rest in peace. Thank you Don, for giving Michael Jackson a tool to gauge what black culture was doing. Thank you for all of the times you let me peek, and thank you for that one time that you went down the line yourself. May you rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteLike Eric, I remember Soul Train as the moment when I had give up on Bugs Bunny and either start grinding the gears on my cartoon and sugar addled brain looking for something to do with my Saturday, or check to see if maybe there was a good movie marathon on (independent) Channel 2. Sometimes there were war movies or westerns. On really special days, Godzilla. Mostly not. The point is, I probably could have become a better and more interesting person sooner and with less effort if I'd just sat the fuck still and watched Soul Train.
ReplyDeleteDon't believe me? Let Odienator convince you. I just knew he'd post something good.