The Best of Soul Train Volume 1
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Marvin Gaye, Sly & the Family Stone, Barry White and more!
For black music audiences—and after a while, for mainstream music listeners too—Soul Train was the definitive “must see” television show of its time. While R&B and soul performers of the ’60s were lucky if they got spots on popular music shows such as Shindig or Hullabaloo, the arrival of Soul Train as a weekly nationwide program in October 1971 gave these artists the kind of exposure they had only dreamed of. The brainchild of Don Cornelius, a former police officer turned newsreader and radio DJ, Soul Train provided a regular platform that could result in massive sales and hit records. No surprise that an appearance on the show was a big coup for record companies and artists alike: as it gained in popularity within weeks of national syndication—with co-sponsorship by Johnson Products Company, makers of a line of hair care products including Afro Sheen—Soul Train became a fixture in black (and many other) households across the nation.
Cornelius, whose influence in the music world grew as Soul Train became a much-coveted vehicle for superstars and new acts alike, created the program as an outgrowth of a series of Chicago talent shows he hosted; in August 1970, Soul Train was seen for the first time on local station WCIU-TV as a weekday afternoon live show.
Beyond the combination of well-known and relatively unknown artists performing their hits and latest releases, Soul Train had a whole lot going for it: pioneer Cornelius, with his bass-baritone voice, doing quick interviews with guests; the famous Soul Train dance line, a chance for members of the studio audience to flaunt their dance moves, one or two at a time; and the Soul Train “Scramble Board,” at which two dancers were given the opportunity to rearrange letters into the name of a show guest or well-known African-American personality. All were key components that made Soul Train required watching for young and old alike.
Thanks to Time Life, dozens of star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available on DVD for the first time. This initial volume brings together some of the most important and influential artists in contemporary music, true mainstays in black culture. “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin was already considered an icon by the time she appeared in 1973 to perform the ever-funky Rock Steady, a big hit from the gold Young, Gifted & Black album. Earlier that same season, the mighty O’Jays previewed their first No. 1 track, Back Stabbers—the song that put producer-songwriters Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and their Philadelphia International Records label on the map. On the same show, Gladys Knight & the Pips were in rousing form on their Motown chestnut I Heard It through the Grapevine.
Motown Records was also home to the legendary Marvin Gaye, and in 1974 he held television and studio audiences spellbound with three selections from his groundbreaking Let’s Get It On LP—the sexy Let’s Get It On, the dreamy Distant Lover, and the finger-snappin’ Come Get to This.
A wonderful opportunity to see some of the most influential acts in music, Soul Train drew an even larger viewership with groups like funk-rock pioneers Sly & the Family Stone, who did their own unique thing via Dance to the Music and I Want to Take You Higher. Funk was in full effect, too, when Graham Central Station provided the perfect soundtrack for the Soul Train dance line with Release Yourself, a seriously groove-a-licious jam much in the vein of Live It Up Part 1 and That Lady (Part 1), two of the three tracks performed on the same episode by the inimitable Isley Brothers. Summer Breeze (Part 1), the Isleys’ interpretation of pop duo Seals & Crofts’ big hit, also soothed many a soul.
Soul Train began taping in Los Angeles in 1971, so it inevitably became a magnet for locally based acts such as big, bad Barry White, one of hundreds of artists whose first national exposure was on the show. White had become a major international star by the time he was the focus of episode 142: in addition to conducting his Love Unlimited Orchestra for the epic Love’s Theme, the musical giant had the Soul Train dancers moving and grooving with massive hits You’re the First, the Last, My Everything and Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe along with What Am I Gonna Do with You. It was, as host Cornelius said week after week, “a stone gas, honey!”
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 119, Original Air Date: December 14, 1974
1. The Isley Brothers
That Lady (Part 1)
2. The Isley Brothers
Live It Up Part 1
3. The Isley Brothers
Summer Breeze (Part 1)
4. Graham Central Station
Release Yourself
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 142, Original Air Date: May 24, 1975
5. Barry White
Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
6. Love Unlimited Orchestra
Love’s Theme
7. Barry White
What Am I Gonna Do with You
8. Barry White
You’re the First, the Last, My Everything
Episode 89, Original Air Date: February 16, 1974
9. Marvin Gaye
Come Get to This
10. Marvin Gaye
Distant Lover
11. Marvin Gaye
Let’s Get It On
Episode 105, Original Air Date: June 29, 1974
12. Sly & the Family Stone
I Want to Take You Higher
13. Earth, Wind & Fire
Mighty Mighty
Soul Train Dancers
14. Sly & the Family Stone
Dance to the Music
Episode 33, Original Air Date: October 7, 1972
15. Gladys Knight & the Pips
I Heard It through the Grapevine
16. The O’Jays
Back Stabbers
Episode 314, Original Air Date: December 1, 1979
17. Aretha Franklin
Respect
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 56, Original Air Date: April 14, 1973
18. Aretha Franklin
Rock Steady
BONUS MATERIAL
The Best of Soul Train Volume 2
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from James Brown, The Commodores, Curtis Mayfield and more!
There was nothing on television like Soul Train. From October 1971, when the original Chicago-based show went into nationwide syndication, it was the premier showcase for soul artists and their music, which was enjoying greater mainstream success throughout the ’70s and ’80s than ever before.Soul Train was a fixture in most black households—a chance to see R&B hit-makers of the day performing their latest smashes. And because the program was co-sponsored by Johnson Products Company, marketers of African-American hair care products such as Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, the weekly show included some of the hippest, coolest commercials around—all populated entirely by black actors.
Host Don Cornelius was a former police officer whose later career in broadcasting led to his inspired idea to create a show that would give audiences an opportunity to see black superstars as well as new acts on a regular basis. Other music shows like Shindig and Hullabaloo had given R&B stars occasional opportunities to perform, but Soul Train became an essential way to expose soul artists, often making the difference in their career success. Record companies eagerly sought coveted spots on the program that could turn a new release into a national chart smash, and many black recording stars got their first significant exposure on Soul Train.
Regular features included the Soul Train “Scramble Board,” in which two audience members decoded the name of a guest artist or well-known African-American personality, and the short interviews that host Cornelius would do with guests in his distinctive bass-baritone voice. But it was the famous Soul Train dance line—a chance for audience participants to strut and parade, one or two at a time—that kept teens and adults alike glued to the screen for a glimpse of new dance moves and new fashion at the same time.
Thanks to Time Life, many of the best of the star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available on DVD for the first time. The brilliance of two R&B legends and the exciting music by young artists just beginning to make an impact form the basis for the second volume of this series. Episode 37 provided viewers with an opportunity to see the talents of Bill Withers, whose résumé included installing toilets on aircraft before he began his music career in earnest at the age of 33. The singer-songwriter left an indelible mark through tunes like the classic anthem Lean on Me and the ever-funky Use Me. Philadelphia International Records, a relatively new label, was also making headway in 1972 when Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes appeared on Soul Train with a certain drummer-turned-vocalist, Teddy Pendergrass, to share their massively popular slow jam If You Don’t Know Me by Now.
Curtis Mayfield, former lead singer and founder of the perennial vocal group the Impressions, went solo in 1970 and his first album was well received. However, with the release of 1972’s Superfly, Mayfield struck gold: as the producer and songwriter for the massively successful blaxploitation film, Mayfield (known as the “Gentle Giant”) became a household name among black audiences, and his performances of the title track and Pusherman on Soul Train certainly helped. On that same show was the Main Ingredient, a New York–based vocal trio whose members included Cuba Gooding, father of the future Academy Award–winning actor of the same name. The group had its biggest hit with Everybody Plays the Fool and no doubt won over more converts with their sweet soul sound after appearing on Soul Train. For good measure, dancers on episode 45 got to groove along with War, already making strides as a funk-rock and jazz aggregation out of Los Angeles, and their hypnotic hit The Cisco Kid.
Four episodes later, Soul Train focused entirely on the music of one of the greatest performers ever, the Godfather of Soul. James Brown was already a mainstay on the R&B (and pop) charts by the time Don Cornelius introduced him with reverence and respect on episode 49. The dynamic, distinctive and ever-energetic Brown kept the Soul Train dancers on the move with three of his biggest hits, Get on the Good Foot—Part 1, Get Up I Feel Like Being Like a Sex Machine (Part 1) and Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2). Then he slowed everything down with the deeply emotive Try Me, one of his first late-’50s hits.
Formed in Tuskegee, Alabama, the Commodores started out as a funk band: tunes like Machine Gun and Brick House helped keep Motown as active as ever as a hit-making label. By the time the group appeared on episode 316, however, the emerging focus on future international superstar Lionel Richie as lead singer and primary songwriter ensured their longevity with across-the-board classics like the ballads Sail On, Still and Three Times a Lady, enduring songs that remain part of the soul music legacy of the ’70s and ’80s in much the same way that Soul Train has.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 37, Original Air Date: November 4, 1972
1. Bill Withers
Use Me
2. Bill Withers
Lean on Me
3. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
If You Don’t Know Me by Now
Episode 316, Original Air Date: December 15, 1979
4. Commodores
Still
5. Commodores
Three Times a Lady
6. Commodores
Sail On
Episode 45, Original Air Date: January 6, 1973
7. Curtis Mayfield
Pusherman
8. War
The Cisco Kid
Soul Train Dancers
9. The Main Ingredient
Everybody Plays the Fool
10. Curtis Mayfield
Superfly
Episode 49, Original Air Date: February 10, 1973
11. James Brown
Get on the Good Foot—Part 1
12. James Brown
Try Me
13. James Brown
Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like a) Sex Machine (Part 1)
14. James Brown
Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2)
BONUS MATERIAL
The Best of Soul Train Volume 3
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from The O'Jays, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls and more!
Without a doubt, Soul Train was required viewing in many a household, particularly in the ’70s during an era often considered the “golden age” of black music—when funk, R&B and dance records dominated the pop charts. It was a time when soul music reigned supreme and the weekly show created and hosted by Don Cornelius was the primary opportunity to see black hit-makers of the day and legendary superstars alike showcase their latest music. Thanks to Time Life, many of the best of the star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available on DVD for the first time.
In addition to the performances, the show’s highlights included the interviews that Cornelius (a former police officer turned broadcaster) would conduct with guest artists in his distinctive bass-baritone voice. Young viewers in particular would focus on the fashions and new dance moves that were on display each week when members of the eager studio audience paraded one by one or in pairs down the famed Soul Train dance line. And who could forget the show’s “Scramble Board,” which had two dancers deciphering the scrambled name of a prominent personality or show guest. Courtesy of Soul Train’s co-sponsors the Johnson Products Company—whose commercials featuring black actors were among the hippest and coolest on television—winners would receive “must have” popular hair care products such as Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen as prizes.
Beyond the popularity that Soul Train began to enjoy with viewers after it went from local Chicago airing to national syndication in October 1971, the show was an essential and crucial vehicle for artists and record companies alike: a much-coveted spot on Soul Train could affect the chart outcome and sales of a new release, and many times new artists got their very first national exposure on the program.
Even into the ’90s, Soul Train played a major role in presenting great music and legendary artists. Such was the case on episode 671, where the Soul Train dancers got to boogie on down to the O’Jays’ classic Love Train as well as see musical pioneer Stevie Wonder in action doing an incredible medley that included My Cherie Amour, Sir Duke, I Wish and These Three Words.
Another superstar artist who appeared on Soul Train on occasion was the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. Residing in L.A. in 1979, she performed I Was Made for You (written by her son Clarence and from her final Atlantic album, La Diva, produced by the late Van McCoy). Soul Train viewers also got a very special treat when the legendary artist was joined on the same episode 314 by Detroit school friend Smokey Robinson for his classic Ooo Baby Baby, with Aretha playing the piano while the two performed an incredible duet for one of the most amazing moments in Soul Train history!
On episode 235 in 1977, it was the turn of a man who would become Philadelphia International Records’ primary solo superstar, Teddy Pendergrass, to appear on Soul Train to perform his latest recordings. Starting out as the drummer with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Pendergrass emerged as the soulful “voice” for the group: a solo career was inevitable, and in 1977 his debut album was released. Considered a sex symbol by adoring female fans, Teddy sang two songs, The Whole Town’s Laughing at Me and I Don’t Love You Anymore. On the same show, Soul Train dancers got a chance to boogie on down thanks to Motown’s hot funk group the Commodores, whose Brick House was a classic in the making a few years before the team shifted musical gears to become premier balladeers thanks to lead singer and songwriter Lionel Richie.
Episode 207 gave one relatively new group and one seasoned performer the opportunity to do their thing: L.T.D., a Greensboro, North Carolina–based band—whose ranks included drummer-turned-lead Jeffrey Osborne (who would go on to solo success of his own in the same way the aforementioned Pendergrass had)—were as talented with up-tempo grooves as they were with gorgeous slow numbers like their future classic Love Ballad. Almost fifteen years into his recording career, the multitalented Lou Rawls was enjoying a fresh burst of popularity in 1976 thanks to his signing with Philadelphia International, the label started by the producing and song-writing team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Rawls presented two songs on the show—his massive hit You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine and From Now On, a prime cut from his best-selling LP All Things in Time.
Of course, the Jackson 5 were no strangers to Soul Train, having appeared on numerous occasions from when they first hit the big time with I Want You Back, which was one of the three songs the group performed on episode 35. The others were Corner of the Sky (from the musical Pippin) and Lookin’ through the Windows, among their last hits at Motown before the group (minus Jermaine) moved to Epic Records in 1976. Jermaine also treated the Soul Train audience to a solo performance on episode 35, his hit-making rendition of Shep and the Limelites’ classic Daddy’s Home.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 671, Original Air Date: September 21, 1991
1. The O’Jays
Love Train
Soul Train Dancers
2. Stevie Wonder
My Cherie Amour (Medley)
3. Stevie Wonder
Sir Duke (Medley)
4. Stevie Wonder
I Wish (Medley)
5. Stevie Wonder
These Three Words (Medley)
Episode 314, Original Air Date: December 1, 1979
6. Aretha Franklin
I Was Made for You
7. Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson
Ooo Baby Baby
8. Aretha Franklin
Respect
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 235, Original Air Date: November 5, 1977
9. Teddy Pendergrass
The Whole Town’s Laughing at Me
10. Teddy Pendergrass
I Don’t Love You Anymore
11. Commodores
Brick House
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 207, Original Air Date: January 22, 1977
12. Lou Rawls
You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
13. L.T.D.
Love Ballad
14. Lou Rawls
From Now On
Episode 35, Original Air Date: October 21, 1972
15. The Jackson 5
I Want You Back
16. The Jackson 5
Corner of the Sky
17. Jermaine Jackson
Daddy’s Home
18. The Jackson 5
Lookin’ through the Windows
BONUS MATERIAL
The Best of Soul Train Volume 4
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Luther Vandross, Rufus, The Stylistics and more!
For anyone who loved soul music—a genre that began in the ’60s and enjoyed its greatest mainstream success during the ’70s and ’80s—watching Soul Train on a weekly basis was “must see” viewing. It was an opportunity to watch the hottest black artists perform their latest hits—often a chance to catch superstars and legends alike—as well as a peek at the latest moves and fashions, thanks to the famous Soul Train dance line.
The brainchild of former police officer turned broadcaster Don Cornelius, Soul Train quickly became a fixture in black households after it went into national syndication in October 1971. The show was co-sponsored by Johnson Products Company, marketers of lines of “must have” African- American hair care items such as Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, and the company’s commercials were among the hippest ads on television.
Soul Train viewers loved watching regular features like the dance line, which featured the studio audience parading singly or in pairs; the Soul Train “Scramble Board,” in which two dancers were given the opportunity to decipher the name of a guest or well-known African-American; and the interviews that host and founder Cornelius would conduct with the show’s guests in his distinctive bass-baritone voice.
Undoubtedly, Soul Train was the primary weekly opportunity for black artists to showcase their latest recordings, and many a new act got initial exposure on the highly influential show, making it an essential and key opportunity for record companies and artists alike hoping for a boost in sales. Thanks to Time Life, many of the best star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available on DVD for the first time.
One of the most exciting aspects of each show was the presentation of artists from across the soul music spectrum. Such was the case on episode 26, which featured R&B superstar Wilson Pickett and then up-and-coming L.A.–based band War, whose brand of funk, jazz and Latin rhythms was quickly gaining popularity for the group nationwide. “The Wicked Pickett,” as he was known, performed his major 1971 hit, Don’t Knock My Love—Pt. 1, and Fire and Water, both tracks from his Don’t Knock My Love LP, his last for Atlantic Records. For their part, War offered two cuts from their sophomore album: the title track, All Day Music, and the hypnotic Slippin’ into Darkness.
A year later, it was the turn of the Spinners, the vocal group who started out at Motown but only achieved major recognition after joining Atlantic Records and working with Philly producer and songwriter Thom Bell. On episode 51, the Detroit-based team showcased two of their smash hits, Could It Be I’m Falling in Love and I’ll Be Around.
Another group that benefited from the talents of Bell (and his song-writing partner Linda Creed) was Philly’s Stylistics, who enjoyed tremendous across-the-board success with now classic tracks like Betcha by Golly, Wow and You Make Me Feel Brand New, the two tunes they performed on episode 93. On the same episode, the Soul Train Dancers grooved down the dance line to Sexy Mama, the sweet soul offered by another vocal harmony group, the Moments from New Jersey. Rounding out the show was the legendary Bobby Womack with a new version of Lookin’ for a Love, a song he had originally done in the ’60s as a member of family group the Valentinos.
Since the show was taped in Los Angeles, it was an obvious magnet for artists based in the city. Multifaceted musician Billy Preston, whose career had enjoyed a major boost when he spent time working with the Beatles in London, achieved immediate success after returning to his native L.A. with the funky Nothing from Nothing, featured on episode 107 in 1974. On the same show was the interracial group Rufus (whose lead singer, Chaka Khan, would go on to solo stardom four years later), performing Tell Me Something Good, written specially for them by music icon Stevie Wonder. From Miami, singer and songwriter George McCrae got the Soul Train audience moving with his 1974 pop and R&B smash, Rock Your Baby, and for the show’s dance segment, War’s Ballero kept the groove going.
Soul Train was the perfect platform for former New York jingle singer Luther Vandross to join L.A. vocalist Cheryl Lynn (winner of The Gong Show) in 1982 for a brilliant version of If This World Were Mine, originally a hit for Motown stars Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Equally stunning was his reading of A House Is Not a Home, his version of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David tune that, while never released as a single, would remain a staple in Vandross’s repertoire for his entire career.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 405, Original Air Date: November 27, 1982
1. Luther Vandross
A House Is Not a Home
2. Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn
If This World Were Mine
Episode 93, Original Air Date: April 13, 1974
3. The Stylistics
Betcha by Golly, Wow
4. The Stylistics
You Make Me Feel Brand New
5. Bobby Womack
Lookin’ for a Love
6. The Moments
Sexy Mama
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 51, Original Air Date: February 24, 1973
7. Spinners
I’ll Be Around
8. Spinners
Could It Be I’m Falling in Love
9. War
The World Is a Ghetto
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 107, Original Air Date: September 7, 1974
10. George McCrae
Rock Your Baby
11. Rufus
Tell Me Something Good
12. Franklin Ajaye
Comedy Routine
13. Billy Preston
Nothing from Nothing
14. War
Ballero
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 26, Original Air Date: March 25, 1972
15. Wilson Pickett
Fire and Water
16. War
All Day Music
17. Wilson Pickett
Don’t Knock My Love—Pt. 1
18. War
Slippin’ into Darkness
The Best of Soul Train Volume 5
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from The Chi-Lites, Al Green, The Delfonics and more!
There was no show quite like Soul Train in the ’70s and beyond. Founder and host Don Cornelius (a former policeman turned broadcaster) came up with a brilliant concept when he launched the original local Chicago version of the show in 1970; by October 1971, Soul Train was in national syndication and pretty quickly it became the “must see” fixture in many households across the U.S. While the musical focus was clearly on black performers, the popularity of the genre known as soul music grew among mainstream audiences to such an extent in the ’70s that the show became a national music institution.
Soul Train presented artists who might otherwise get little TV exposure; prior to the show’s emergence, there were few opportunities for R&B acts to perform on national television. As a result, the program became a vital and essential platform for spotlighting new artists as well as the legendary superstars who were often the focus of an entire episode. Beyond performances of the latest hit records, Soul Train gave viewers a chance to see the newest dance moves, hippest fashions, and coolest hairdos thanks to the famous Soul Train dance line, during which individuals or pairs of dancers from the studio audience had their moments in the limelight to show off their skills. There was the Soul Train “Scramble Board,” at which a couple of audience members would decipher the name of one of the show’s guests or a familiar personality, and mini-interviews with the guests conducted by host Cornelius in his distinctive bass-baritone voice. Even the commercials sparkled: show co-sponsors Johnson Products Company highlighted its Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen hair care lines using black actors for the snazzy ads.
Starting with its earliest episodes, Soul Train was the place to see a wide range of black music artists showcasing brand new material, and an appearance could be a boon to sales and exposure. Thanks to Time Life, many of the best of the star-studded Soul Train clips are being made available on DVD for the first time, giving original viewers a chance to relive their memories, and subsequent generations an opportunity to see pioneering artists in action.
Episode 11 included Philadelphia’s sweet soul harmony group the Delfonics, who delighted viewers with their timeless classic Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time), while Southern soul sister Jean Knight laid it down with her unforgettable Mr. Big Stuff, a double-platinum smash that subsequently became one of the most sampled tracks in the world of rap and hip-hop.
One week later, it was the turn of established soul man Joe Tex to sock it to the audience with I Gotcha. Motown recording artists the Originals were celebrating a follow-up to their first-ever major hit (Baby, I’m for Real) with The Bells, a wonderful ballad co-written and produced by labelmate Marvin Gaye. And one of Chicago’s most beloved vocal teams, the Chi-Lites, presented a future classic with the beautiful Have You Seen Her while keeping the groove moving with another hit, (For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People.
Episode 17 featured a full spectrum of great artists, including the female trio known as the Honey Cone (from the Hot Wax label, owned by former Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland Jr.), who were in fine form with their infectious hit Want Ads. One of soul music’s most creative individuals, Curtis Mayfield, was another guest: the former lead singer, primary songwriter for, and founder of the Impressions was already enjoying success as a solo artist and producer when he performed the track Get Down from his 1971 album Roots. New York–based vocal group the Persuaders introduced the nation to their epic Thin Line between Love & Hate, a song that would became part of the very fabric of ’70s R&B (and provide the title for a 1996 film starring comedian Martin Lawrence). Detroit-based guitarist Dennis Coffey, who had lent his talents to dozens of Motown and other hits that came out of the Motor City, was enjoying success as a recording artist in his own right with the Detroit Guitar Band, and the track Scorpio was the perfect jam for the Soul Train dancers.
Episode 25 saw a return of the Chi-Lites with another immortal ballad, Oh Girl, while Motown hit-maker Edwin Starr spelled out in no uncertain terms how he felt about what was going on in the world with the funky cut War, a song focused then on the conflict in Vietnam, but whose lyrics still resonate decades later.
Nicknamed the “Prince of Soul” in the early ’70s, superstar Al Green was the justifiable focal point of episode 52, thrilling audiences in 1973 with his latest in a string of hit records, You Ought to Be with Me, as well as reprising the anthemic Love and Happiness and his version of Kris Kristofferson’s For the Good Times, two of the key cuts from his 1972 best-selling album I’m Still in Love with You.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 11, Original Air Date: December 11, 1971
1. Jean Knight
Mr. Big Stuff
2. The Delfonics
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
Episode 12, Original Air Date: December 18, 1971
3. The Chi-Lites
(For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People
4. The Chi-Lites
Have You Seen Her
5. The Originals
The Bells
6. Joe Tex
I Gotcha
Episode 17, Original Air Date: January 22, 1972
7. The Honey Cone
Want Ads
8. The Persuaders
Thin Line between Love & Hate
9. Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band
Scorpio
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 52, Original Air Date: March 3, 1973
10. Al Green
You Ought to Be with Me
11. Al Green
For the Good Times
12. Al Green
Love and Happiness
Episode 25, Original Air Date: March 18, 1972
13. The Chi-Lites
Oh Girl
14. Edwin Starr
War
The Best of Soul Train Volume 6
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Ike & Tina Turner, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and more!
Because it really was the “must see” television show for black music performers throughout the ’70s—and, to some degree, the ’80s—Soul Train has earned a special place in the history of a musical genre that has had a major impact worldwide. Soul music had its roots in the fusion of gospel and rhythm and blues: the late Ray Charles is still considered the first recording artist to have brought the term “soul” into the popular vernacular, and certainly by the late ’60s, James Brown was on the scene as the “Godfather of Soul” and Aretha Franklin as the “Queen of Soul.”
The music’s popularity grew tremendously throughout the ’70s, with solo artists like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green achieving unprecedented sales among mainstream audiences. Similar success was being enjoyed by such bands as the O’Jays, the Jackson 5 and the Spinners. There’s little doubt that Soul Train, the vision of former police officer turned broadcaster Don Cornelius, played a major role in the exposure that black artists received on television. After its initial run as a local show in Chicago, Soul Train began nationwide syndication in October 1971; within a very short time, it was a fixture in most black households—and beyond.
Each week the show’s popular dance line showcased studio audience members in the latest fashions demonstrating the newest moves, the “Scramble Board” segment featured dancers unscrambling the name of a show guest or prominent personality, and in interviews conducted in his gravel-voiced tones, host Cornelius caught up on what was happening with the new artists or legendary superstars performing. The Johnson Products Company, which co-sponsored Soul Train, was responsible for the hip commercials that featured their hair care lines, Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen. Understandably, Soul Train became an all-important vehicle for record companies and artists alike. One performance on the much-viewed series could bring chart success and a boost in sales for the newcomers and established recording artists who appeared.
Thanks to Time Life, many of the star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available for the first time on DVD, and Volume 6 is no exception. Ike & Tina Turner were two of the principal guests on episode 30, performing two of their recent hits, namely their reworkings of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary and Sly Stone’s I Want to Take You Higher. On the same show, Jerry Butler—nicknamed “The Ice Man” for his cool onstage demeanor—sang an old ’50s standard, I Only Have Eyes for You.
Nine shows later, episode 39 featured a wonderful potpourri of artists. Soul men Joe Simon and Billy Paul both performed tracks that had been recorded in Philadelphia with producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Simon offering Power of Love and jazz stylist Paul showcasing his now-classic story of infidelity, Me and Mrs. Jones. Completing the line-up: L.A.–based family group the Sylvers—sometimes compared to the Jacksons—entertained with Wish That I Could Talk to You.
Episode 67 was what host Cornelius might have called “a stone gas, honey!” Heavyweights the Temptations, the Four Tops and the O’Jays were all on board—the last with their international smash Love Train; the Tops with their first post-Motown hit, Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got); and the Tempts with their ever-so-funky Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.Episode 159 in 1975 included two songs from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Philadelphia group enjoying great success—Bad Luck (Part 1) and Wake Up Everybody (Part 1). Also on that week: song stylist Esther Phillips, whose career had begun in the ’50s when she was a chart-topping teenager. Like many other R&B stars, Phillips ventured into the world of disco music, which was gaining immensely in popularity at the time, offering her hit version of the legendary Dinah Washington’s What a Diff’rence a Day Makes. Jumping ahead four years, Motown legend Smokey Robinson was the special guest on episode 312; after the Soul Train dancers boogied to The Tears of a Clown, he performed his memorable 1979 hit, Cruisin’, another stellar performance seen in all its glory some thirty years later thanks to modern technology.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 30, Original Air Date: April 22, 1972
1. Ike & Tina Turner
I Want to Take You Higher
2. Jerry Butler
I Only Have Eyes for You
3. Ike & Tina Turner
Proud Mary
Episode 39, Original Air Date: November 18, 1972
4. Joe Simon
Power of Love
5. The Sylvers
Wish That I Could Talk to You
6. Billy Paul
Me and Mrs. Jones
Episode 67, Original Air Date: August 11, 1973
7. The Temptations
Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
8. Four Tops
Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)
9. The O’Jays
Love Train
Episode 159, Original Air Date: November 22, 1975
10. Esther Phillips
What a Diff’rence a Day Makes
11. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
Bad Luck (Part 1)
12. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
Wake Up Everybody (Part 1)
Episode 312, Original Air Date: November 17, 1979
13. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
The Tears of a Clown
Soul Train Dancers
14. Smokey Robinson
Cruisin’
15. Smokey Robinson
Get Ready
Dance Routine
The Best of Soul Train Volume 7
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Gladys Knight & the Pips, Donna Summer, Ohio Players and more!
Throughout the ’70s, for anyone who wanted to see the hottest artists in the world of black music, Soul Train was required viewing. The pioneering show, founded by Don Cornelius (a former police officer turned broadcaster) in 1970 in Chicago, became a “must see” fixture in black households—and many others as well—as soul music gained greater popularity than ever. After it went into national syndication in October 1971, Soul Train became the singularly most important opportunity for exposure for both new artists and legendary superstars alike. Thanks to Time Life, many of the star-studded clips from Soul Train are being made available for the first time on DVD.
For the latest moves and fashions, Soul Train offered the legendary dance line (during which audience members strutted one at a time or in pairs), while the Soul Train “Scramble Board” gave a couple of dancers the chance to win hair care items courtesy of show co-sponsors Johnson Products Company, whose popular Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen were the focus of their hip commercials.
Host Cornelius, with his distinctive bass-baritone voice, did short interviews with the show’s guests, recording artists who knew that an appearance on Soul Train could result in a big jump in sales and chart positions. No doubt members of Tower of Power (with lead singer and future solo star Lenny Williams) had that in mind when they performed two of their biggest hits, the soulful ballad So Very Hard to Go and the funky What Is Hip? on episode 78. They were joined by fellow Bay Area residents the Pointer Sisters, enjoying their first national success with a revival of Lee Dorsey’s Yes We Can Can, which jumpstarted a career that continued for a good two decades.
The Soul Train dancers (whose ranks at different times included Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniels, future members of the hit-making group Shalamar) grooved to Put Your Hands Together by the O’Jays on the same episode, and eighteen shows later the much-loved Philly group appeared to keep that groove going with their smash For the Love of Money. The featured guests on episode 96 were perennial chart toppers Gladys Knight & the Pips, who started out in the early ’60s and earned a stellar reputation for dynamic live performances, harmonies and neat choreography. The group wowed viewers with their Grammy-nominated Motown swan song, the timeless ballad Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye), as well as the upbeat On and On, a track from their best-selling 1974 Curtis Mayfield–produced soundtrack for the movie Claudine.
Episode 116 was proof positive that dance music was becoming a dominant mainstream force: the 1974 show included two New York teams at the forefront of the growing disco movement. Brooklyn-based B.T. Express (whose member Kashif would become a hit-making producer-songwriter and artist in his own right) offered the future classic Do It (’Til You’re Satisfied) while Ecstasy, Passion & Pain showcased one of the quartet of hits they enjoyed in the mid-’70s, the infectious Good Things Don’t Last Forever. Funk masters the Ohio Players thrilled the national television audience with their ’74 smash Skin Tight, and Jamaica-born soul man Carl Douglas kept the Soul Train dancers moving with his popular Kung Fu Fighting.
And if that 1974 show was dance-heavy, episode 176, with an appearance by Donna Summer, was confirmation that disco had become firmly entrenched as a major element in contemporary music. Originally from Boston, Summer had moved to Germany, where she met two producers (Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte) who would transform her career thanks to a sexy track marked by seductive sighing. Love to Love You Baby was an international smash, and Summer quickly became a full-fledged disco queen, one of the most enduring performers to emerge from the ’70s.
The genre’s influence was such that even a venerable Southern soul man like Arkansas-born Johnnie Taylor, who had established himself with such songs as Who’s Making Love, was stepping into it: Disco Lady actually became his biggest record of all time in 1976. While not exactly a disco smash, Livin’ for the Weekend did provide the O’Jays with yet another in their stash of classic Philly hits. That track, along with interracial team Rufus featuring Chaka Khan’s Dance wit Me, primary dance song for that week’s show, made sure the Soul Train audience was putting it down—as they did every week.
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 78, Original Air Date: November 10, 1973
1. Tower of Power
So Very Hard to Go
2. Pointer Sisters
Yes We Can Can
3. Tower of Power
What Is Hip?
4. The O’Jays
Put Your Hands Together
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 96, Original Air Date: May 4, 1974
5. Gladys Knight & the Pips
On and On
6. The O’Jays
For the Love of Money
Soul Train Dancers
7. Gladys Knight & the Pips
Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)
Episode 116, Original Air Date: November 9, 1974
8. Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
Good Things Don’t Last Forever
9. Carl Douglas
Kung Fu Fighting
Soul Train Dancers
10. B.T. Express
Do It (’Til You’re Satisfied)
11. Ohio Players
Skin Tight
Episode 176, Original Air Date: March 20, 1976
12. Donna Summer
Love to Love You Baby
13. The O’Jays
Livin’ for the Weekend
Soul Train Dancers
14. Johnnie Taylor
Disco Lady
15. Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan
Dance wit Me
Soul Train Dancers
The Best of Soul Train Volume 8
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Kool & the Gang, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes and more!
The ’70s are often thought of as the “golden age” of soul music—and there was nothing like Soul Train, the weekly television show created and hosted by Don Cornelius, for checking out the genre’s newest hit-makers and established superstars. Thanks to Time Life, many of the star-studded clips from Soul Train are now being made available on DVD for the first time—and what a wonderful visual history of soul music these volumes provide.
After its early days as a local show in Chicago, Soul Train went into national syndication in October 1971 and quickly became a “must see” show in most black—and many other—households. Whether it was the short interviews that Cornelius (a former police officer turned broadcaster) would do with the show’s guests or the famous Soul Train dance line (in which audience members sporting the latest fashions would demonstrate the newest moves as they boogied between two lines of fellow dancers), the Train was required viewing for avid music fans everywhere. Show co-sponsors the Johnson Products Company provided not only hip commercials but a gift pack of their popular hair care items, Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen, to winners of the Soul Train “Scramble Board,” a segment in which a pair of dancers would unscramble the name of either a show guest or a notable African-American personality.
Simply put, Soul Train was a vital part of American popular culture starting from the early ’70s, and an appearance could translate into big sales and chart success for artists who performed on it. The opportunity to see soul music’s diverse range was evident from the start: on episode 4 the Staple Singers, sometimes called “the first family of gospel,” performed their future anthem, Respect Yourself, while Detroit-born jazz-turned-R&B songstress Freda Payne offered her bestseller Band of Gold, one of the big hits to come from the Invictus Records label of former Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr. On the same show, the Soul Train dancers (whose participants at one point included actor Fred “Rerun” Berry, later of the ’70s sitcom What’s Happening!!) kept the groove moving thanks to the Academy Award–winning featured dance song, Theme from Shaft, by Isaac “Black Moses” Hayes.
Three shows later, the Philadelphia group the Intruders reprised their first major hit, Cowboys to Girls, while Martha & the Vandellas dipped back into the ’60s for a rousing Dancing in the Street. In 1973, it was Houston-born Johnny Nash’s turn to showcase a song that had become a major hit in the U.K., where he lived at the time: I Can See Clearly Now no doubt benefited from exposure on Soul Train and became a massive record in the U.S. as well. On the same episode 47, Chicago teen group Brighter Side of Darkness offered the epic ballad Love Jones (the title for a popular urban movie two and a half decades later), which would be their only claim to fame.
Episode 86 focused on New Jersey band Kool & the Gang, who started out as a jazz outfit but became funk masters in the ’70s with cuts like Funky Stuff and the infectious Jungle Boogie. About a year later, Soul Train viewers saw the group LaBelle in all their space-suit-and-feathers finery: Formerly known as Patti LaBelle and Her Blue Belles, the trio consisting of Patti, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx had transformed into cutting-edge divas and were celebrating their first international hit with Lady Marmalade, the story of a New Orleans streetwalker. On that same episode 118, the audience was entertained by Detroit native Carl Carlton with one of his biggest hits, his 1974 cover of Robert Knight’s Everlasting Love.
While Soul Train was a great vehicle for giving audiences a first glimpse of future stars, there was nothing like seeing a musical legend on television. Motown icon Marvin Gaye already had an amazing track record thanks to ’60s solo hits and duets (with partners like Tammi Terrell); his 1971 groundbreaking What’s Going On album brought a whole new dimension to his career, followed by more classic recordings, Let’s Get It On and I Want You. His 1977 hit Got to Give It Up (Pt. I) was Gaye in the groove, and this clip embodies all the great elements that made Soul Train what host Cornelius called, in his own inimitable way, “a stone gas, honey!”
—David Nathan
London-born “British Ambassador of Soul” David Nathan is an R&B historian and author who’s interviewed hundreds of recording artists and written liner notes for and produced over 500 CD reissues. The founder of www.soulmusic.com, he co-produced Songs 4 Worship Soul for Time Life in 2008. He was an avid Soul Train viewer throughout the ’70s and ’80s!
PROGRAM
Episode 4, Original Air Date: October 23, 1971
1. The Staple Singers
Respect Yourself
2. Freda Payne
Band of Gold
3. Isaac Hayes
Theme from Shaft
Soul Train Dancers
Episode 7, Original Air Date: November 13, 1971
4. Martha & the Vandellas
Dancing in the Street
5. Aretha Franklin
Rock Steady
Soul Train Dancers
6. The Intruders
Cowboys to Girls
Episode 47, Original Air Date: January 27, 1973
7. Johnny Nash
I Can See Clearly Now
8. The O’Jays
Love Train
Soul Train Dancers
9. Brighter Side of Darkness
Love Jones
Episode 86, Original Air Date: January 12, 1974
10. Kool & the Gang
Funky Stuff
11. Kool & the Gang
Jungle Boogie
Episode 118, Original Air Date: December 7, 1974
12. Carl Carlton
Everlasting Love
13. LaBelle
Lady Marmalade
Episode 222, Original Air Date: May 7, 1977
14. Marvin Gaye
Got to Give It Up (Pt. I)
This episode features a basketball game between Don Cornelius and Marvin Gaye, with special guest star Smokey Robinson as the official.
The Best of Soul Train Collector's Box
Store these superstar-packed DVDs in your very own
Best of Soul Train collector's box!
Special Bonus DVD- The Soul Train Awards Show
Witness historic appearances by the architects of soul music on an incredible and momentous journey into the richest archive of R&B shows ever seen. Includes performances from Cameo, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross and more!
PROGRAM
Original Air Date: March 23, 1987
1. Cameo
Word Up
2. Whitney Houston
You Give Good Love
3. Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick
My Cherie Amour
4. Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
5. Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick
All in Love Is Fair
6. Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick
I Just Called to Say I Love You
7. Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston
That’s What Friends Are For
8. Luther Vandross
So Amazing
9. Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Andraé Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Shirley Caesar, Tramaine Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, The Williams Brothers, Cissy Houston, The Winans
Oh Mary Don’t You Weep
Money Back
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