Don Cornelius remembered

The pop-locking dances and fly fashions that helped make 1970s Soul Train one of the best productions in television history were so specific to black Los Angeles. So it is not wrong to associate that show with the City of Angels.

But Don Cornelius was Chicago through and through.

Born in Chicago in 1936, and raised in Bronzeville, Cornelius was schooled in music and culture at DuSable High School (its arts program also produced Dinah Washington, Johnny Hartman and Von Freeman, amongst others). Though he dreamed of being a commercial artist, he made his living in sales, law enforcement and insurance before his resonant voice landed him on the Chess brothers’ WVON radio station as an auxiliary member of the legendary cadre of black disk jockeys known as the Good Guys. He was relegated to pinch hitting for sick DJs and reading the news, and ultimately the latter led him towards his destiny.

Cornelius began moonlighting as a sportscaster on "A Black’s View of the News" on Chicago’s first UHF station, WCIU. Getting a feel for the capabilities of the low-budget station, which broadcast all its shows live from a cramped studio on the 43rd floor of the Board of Trade, helped Cornelius envision a showcase for Chicago’s thrilling R&B artists and impressive teenage dancers. Convincing Sears to sponsor the show, Cornelius was able to debut Soul Train on channel 26 on August 17, 1970.

Broadcasting live every weekday after school, the hippest trip in America was presided over by Cornelius, his booming bass vox flipping the latest lingo as he introduced Jerry Butler, the Chi-Lites, the Impressions and scores of other lip-synching legends.

Though he was able to launch a nationally syndicated version in 1971, with production in California, that endeavor in no way ended Cornelius’s relationship with the Windy City. A wonderfully symbiotic relationship with their primary sponsor, Chicago’s black-owned haircare company Johnson Products (“beautiful people use Afro Sheen”) helped bring both parties to unprecedented levels of success—and some crew, too, including Chicago DJ turned Soul Train announcer and director Sid McCoy, and even a few dancers.

Most significantly, Cornelius kept the daily Chicago production on the air, taping his national shows on the weekend then flying back to emcee the local shows for a couple of years, before handing the hosting duties over to local dancer Clint Ghent, who helped until production ended in 1976 (it continued to rerun for several years).

Cornelius hosted the national show through the early '90s, but oversaw nearly every aspect of production until it ended in 2006. Being on camera was far less important to him than ownership, independence and creating a show that was both by and for African Americans.

Cornelius spent a week here last summer as the city of Chicago honored Soul Train’s 40th anniversary with a series of fantastic events, culminating in a grand Pritzker Pavilion concert that brought together many of the acts that helped launch the show. The ceremonies brought tears to Cornelius’s eyes when he was honored with a street in his name.

One can never fully understand the inner storms that motivate a man to take his life. Seeing how proud and moved Cornelius was last summer in his home town, we can at least hope that he left us knowing that his wonderful work was not only done, but also fully appreciated.

Read our rare interview with Cornelius, from last summer's visit to Chicago, here.