Soul Train ran for over thirty years in syndication, and was the self-described ‘hippest trip in America.’  While Don Cornelius allegedly hates the comparison, it was easy to call Soul Train black culture’s answer to American Bandstand. 

Now on to the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  It’s hard to get more relevant than having a show that focused on R&B (and later) hip hop music.  It meant something to my generation, and by all accounts meant even more to the generation that preceded me to see their favorite artists lipsync perform their hit songs.

Legacy:  There’s the legacy of course as one of television’s longest running syndicated shows.  There’s the Soul Train Scramble Board, lest we forget the killer parody from the early years of In Living Color.  There’s the fairly recent addition of the Soul Train Music Awards, followed by the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.  Since this is my countdown, however, I prefer to think the greatest legacy belongs to the Soul Train Music Line.  The sillier the house party or the wedding reception gets, the more likely a Soul Train Music Line will break out.  This is Law.

Craft:  Hmm.  Definitely the category where this show loses a little luster.  It wasn’t really live television and the performances were only live on occassion.  However, if by craft, ‘dancing’ is meant, well that’s a different story altogether isn’t it?  The number of moves mimicked after being seen on Soul Train is absolutely infinite. 

Crossover:  The point of this show wasn’t to crossover, but it reached a point through longevity and the number of artists who appeared over the decades, that’s it’s hard to imagine people outside the target audience not even hearing about Soul Train.

Apollo:  Again, because it was live television there were not that many ‘Apollo’ moments on the show.  It was a fun ride while it lasted, rumors are that the show may be revived later this year or early next.  We’ll see…

Next up on the TV show countdown is another ‘controversial’ choice, but one I’m ready to defend.  Until then I wish you love, peace, and SOULLLLLLLLL!!!!!