"Soul Train" MC Don Cornelius dead at 75

[CrankyYankee]

TMZ.com reports Cornelius died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
http://www.tmz.com/2012/02/01/don-cornelius-commits-suicide-dead-died-gunshot/

[Al Timiter]

I wonder how much of a memorial there will be for a wife-beater.

[DToTheJ]

But seriously, Al, tell us how you really feel about Don... 

Centric currently airs old "Soul Train" episodes. You can bet they're planning a marathon of some sort.

[Bongwater]

I remember watching Soul Train, which came on right after American Bandstand on Saturday afternoon when I was a kid.........

[Al Timiter]

I give him his due for being an astute businessman and for bringing R&B and Soul to an under-served audience. He created an iconic show and brand. I didn't think he was much of a host though, usually sporting a rather dour expression. He smiled only rarely. And he beat his wife. Looks like that people will be singing (literally) his praises now though.

[Mike Stroud]

To take another angle of this, the "Fuzzy Memories" tribute website to Chicago television has a short clip of Cornelius hosting a different kind of program on Chicago indie WCIU, the station where Soul Train began. He hosted what was then called a "call-in" show where local black citizens discussed their views and ideas. It can be found here: http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/.

[wbhist]

The local version of Soul Train on WCIU (in B&W, as Channel 26 didn't go color until the mid-'70's) carried on for five more years after Cornelius began the nationally syndicated, Hollywood-based version out of the KTTV studios at Metromedia Square in 1971; the local version, towards the end, had a different host as Cornelius concentrated all his energies on the national version.  (The national Soul Train aired in Chicago first on WBBM-TV through 1977, then WGN-TV.)

[ShawnHill1]

I give him his due for being an astute businessman and for bringing R&B and Soul to an under-served audience. He created an iconic show and brand. I didn't think he was much of a host though, usually sporting a rather dour expression. He smiled only rarely. And he beat his wife. Looks like that people will be singing (literally) his praises now though.

My co-worker and I were discussing him at work today, and we more or less mentioned a lot of your same points.  In the few interviews I've seen of him through the years, he did seemed rather very dour at times.  He was also rather conservative when it came to the show itself, especially when it came to the dance styles (by his own Soul Train Dancers) and hip-hop/rap in general.

[RALfan]

  All I can say is I'm heartsick over this news.  The Don was always a welcome presence in our home ever since a was a toddler watching TV every Saturday morning on WTVD.  I don't think he seemed dour when he hosted the show; he was always cool on his own terms, just like everyone else.  Only recently have we realized the legacy that this man left us.  To you, Mr. Cornelius, we wish you love, peace and soul. (sniff)

[Mike Stroud]

I give him his due for being an astute businessman and for bringing R&B and Soul to an under-served audience. He created an iconic show and brand. I didn't think he was much of a host though, usually sporting a rather dour expression. He smiled only rarely. And he beat his wife. Looks like that people will be singing (literally) his praises now though.

I think one person's "dourness" might be another's "low-key" style, when you're talking about Cornelius. I think Cornelius clearly emulated Dick Clark in that regard--as we all recall, Clark maintained an even tone of voice when introducing songs and interviewing acts who appeared on Bandstand. Because Cornelius largely became big by luck, he probably felt he it would be best to do the same as Clark and not employ the "jive-talk" banter that DJs on 1960s soul stations frequently did. That, he probably reasoned, might have ruined any chance Soul Train had in getting a large audience among whites--and getting the seal of approval from older blacks also, who were highly sensitive about stereotypical presentations in media at the time.

Be sure to see my other thread about Soul Train's impact upon American culture.