Photo: Berry Gordy, Motown founder, with Cal Street, lead singer of the Velvelettes and one of first girl groups of Motown. Motown’s artists performed regularly on Soul Train.
Article: Contribution by Bertha Barbee-McNeal; New York Times reports
LOS ANGELES (CALIF.)-“Don was a pioneer, the first to present Soul music to the masses via television. His Soul Train show was an important and timely vehicle that showcased Black talent and their new releases to the public,” said Berry Gordy, founder of Detroit’s Motown Records. “From his unique Soul Train dances to his brilliant commentary, there are not enough adjectives to describe how important his role was to our society.”
According to an article in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/arts/music/don-cornelius-soul-train-creator-is-dead-at-75.html Police officers responding to a report of a shooting found Mr. Cornelius’s body at 4 a.m. on the floor of his house (Feb. 1) on Mulholland Drive with a gunshot wound to the head. It appeared to have been self-inflicted, said Ed Winter, the Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner.
He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The police said they had ruled out murder and were talking to relatives about Mr. Cornelius’s mental state.
“Soul Train,” one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history, played a critical role in spreading the music of black America to the world, offering wide exposure to musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson in the 1970s and ’80s.
“There was American Bandstand and Where the Action Is, The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo, and others, all extremely important to me and Motown and our growth; but Soul Train was our own, and yet it was for everybody,” Gordy said. “Don was a wonderful human being and a true friend who loved Motown music. He supported us in every way. I will miss him.”
