Soul Train
Soul Train is a long-running American music-related syndicated television program. It premiered on a local television station in Chicago, Illinois in 1970 and went to first-run syndication in selected cities across the United States in October 1971. New episodes are still being broadcast in first-run syndication today.
Although a few white musicians such as David Bowie have appeared on Soul Train through the years, the program features African American singers and performers almost exclusively. These artists sing their latest songs and are interviewed by the show's host, who in 2004 is Dorian Gregory. Soul Train has primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although jazz musicians and gospel singers have also appeared. In addition, there is an in-studio group of dancers who dance along to the music as it is being performed.
From its inception until the mid-1990s, the host of Soul Train was Don Cornelius, who is also the program's creator.
During the heyday of Soul Train in the 1970s, the program was enormously influential among younger black Americans, many of whom turned to it not only to hear the latest songs by well-known black artists but who also tuned in for clues about the latest fashions and dance steps. Moreover, for many white Americans in this era who were not living in areas that were racially diverse, Soul Train provided a unique window into black culture. Some commentators have called Soul Train a "black American Bandstand," another long-running (though now cancelled) program with which it shares some similarities.