Saturday, May 7, 2016

Soul Train

This is the hardest thing I did all day, picking out a Soul Train video. They're all great. You can end up watching them all day. Comments to them make the videos even better. Comments to these video make me happy because people love this era.  It's not just nostalgia. Young people remark they wish they lived during this time. They love this style, this freedom of expression. Not just this video, they all have yearning type of comments attached to them. Reading them is half the pleasure.


AprilApple asks:
When will synchronized dancing phase out? Take all that energy and talent and funnel it into a new dance craze that excludes the synchronization. Oh the possibilities for something fresh.
I do not know the answer to this puzzling question, but I know it can be otherwise. It already has been. It's a phase with its development shown right here on these later Soul Train videos. I see its extreme in the K-Pop videos and I love their militaristic precision combined with their individual expression. I suppose all that will intensify. Extreme routines of high number of precision moves so that entire dance troops move as shoaling fish and all that look natural. (Psy, "Daddy" dance practice)

Here's another. Cornelius dances with Mary Wilson.



Random YouTube comments:

* cherri williams7 months ago
Don was one smooth brotha. Not all that wiggling and stuff. The man didn't even break a sweat!

* Ender Skies5 months ago
I think Don Cornelius just impregnated me through my eyeballs. And Im a man.

Dat swagger is on a whole nother level. Incomprehensible.

* winterlandboy9 months ago
Mary Wilson was and still is a good looking woman.Always hot as hell

* magurofan5 months ago
Ni**a was slick. Puttin moves on Mary, even without her knowing. Doing some sick-ass Jedi mind trick, getting her to ask him to dance with her. Dayyum!

* Ender Skies5 months ago
+magurofan The Pimp is strong with this one.

* Kevin Varga9 months ago
When asked to make a wish while guesting on SOUL TRAIN many moons ago, former Supreme Mary Wilson made a magical request: do the Soul Train Line with Mr. Don Cornelius himself!! Strap yourselves in for a tingling thrill ride down the tracks!

* Nadine Velasco1 month ago
omg....I'm sure I was too small to watch this one...Wow..Don Cornelius  in the  Soul  Train  Line...how special  is it to see that...RIP. LOVE.PEACE AND SOUUUULLLL!!

They're all like this.

Here is another favorite. It's a dance off to Love Train. The team members say their names then the names are displayed. Commenters are fast to say their favorite pair throughout the string of comments.  It's fun so many viewers choose the same pair as their favorite and it's like 30 to 45 years later.

17 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Would you look it that?

Don Cornelius jamming grooving and dancing.

Nice find Chip.

ndspinelli said...

Great clip. I watched Soul Train most every week. Loved the Afro Sheen commercials. The show always ending w/ "I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul."

Chip Ahoy said...

Venita & Scooby-Do!

The Dude said...

James Brown's trombonist was Fred Wesley - his daughter is a friend of a friend of mine.

The more you know.

But seriously, that is one great trombone lead in Doin' it to Death. That man can still play.

Michael Haz said...

Thanks, Chip and Chick. Two of my favorite kinds of music are the Soul Train style (what? Soul? Rhythm and Blues?) and doo-wop. We don't hear much doo-wop on the radio these days, which is a shame.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

That's all I'm saying. Boogie

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

wiggle your fannie... without rehearsal.

Michael Haz said...

That's all I'm saying. Boogie

I believe the complete phrase is "get down, boogie oogie oogie 'til you just can't boogie no more". I could be wrong, though, as I'm not as fluent is soul as I used to be.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I'm from that era. I have never ever watched an episode of Soul Train. I guess the dancing is OK but I really don't like disco type music. For black music of that era, I was more into groups like Tower of Power, War, Sly and the Family Stone, some of the Temptations and Earth Wind and Fire. Disco sucked. I also thought the Beatles sucked.

I pretty much like most genres of music from Jazz to Blues to Psychedelic Rock to Country Swing. Not much I don't like or don't tolerate. Cold Blood with Lydia Pense from that era seemed to be one that combined a lot of elements. It doesn't get better than Ten Years After and Alvin Lee.

There were a LOT of really great bands, singers and innovative music. Soul Train, the show, just didn't get it for me. Some of the music was really great though....except the disco crap :-D

ricpic said...

Does it strike anyone as strange that the dancers are dancing alone? There's a male and a female, each one dancing separately, not a couple.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Cold Blood Down to the bone

Tower of Power in a soul train clip.So very hard to go and of course Back on the streets again

I still have all the vinyl from those years. Need to get system set up so I can listen again. Whooo .....I have to stop looking for songs now.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Yes! Boogi... oogie ...oogie.

ndspinelli said...

DBQ needs to come out of her shell and learn to say what she really thinks.

ndspinelli said...

I didn't get to go to Woodstock. I had to work. Some of my good buddies did. They actually bought tix! We were beer/wine drinking, a doobie if someone had some, dudes. They came back psychedelic. Anyway, I have talked w/ probably 15-20 people who were @ Woodstock. Now, I've talked to probably 100 who SAY they were there. But, I've always had a strong bullshit detector, got it from my old man. Anyway, if you talk to anyone who was there, it wasn't Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, etc., The Dead, or any act that stole the show. Without question, hands down, not even fucking close, Sly and the Family Stone OWNED that concert. And, all you gotta do is watch the movie to know. I went to a Sly show in Hartford. He was almost 3 hours late. The wait was worth every second. Sly was probably the biggest influence on Prince. Last I read he was homeless on Skid Row in LA. Heroin be a mofo. There are some incredible white musicians and bands. But, black folk be entertainers.

chickelit said...

ricpic said...Does it strike anyone as strange that the dancers are dancing alone? There's a male and a female, each one dancing separately, not a couple.

I asked that very question back here. I think there's a technical answer to the question and I blame drummers.

Methadras said...

That brings back so many great memories of my childhood. Cornelius was a total smooth pimp.

rcocean said...

Funny clip. Those Afro's and clothes are outta this world.