>> ^longde:

Soul Train's Legacy
I’m seeing a lot of people talk and write about Don Cornelius passing but do not seem to comprehend the legacy Don Cornelius established while he was here with us. Don Cornelius was a pioneer who built a Black empowerment framework that was also an economic engine and knew exactly what he was doing and succeeded. As a fellow Chicago native who knows my people, know and respect those who came before me and appreciate the path they shaped for me and you to move forward, we are going to discuss Don Cornelius legacy and contribution.
Don Cornelius is from Chicago and was definitely someone who grew up with love for his people. You can check his history where he was straight hustling to get his in the Chi before joining WVON radio in the 60s. WVON means Voice of the Negro in case you didn’t know broadcasted to the Black community back then. Martin Luther King Jr. would appear regularly on WVON and most likely Don Cornelius was inspired by his presence as well as the fact he broadcasted for his people. He also carried this on television at WCIU where Soul Train got it start:

However, the late sixties was a beautiful time for brothas and sistas as we became united. More people were moving from the South up North to Chicago and cats were establishing themselves and their identity as Black. Don Cornelius was throwing parties all around Chicago as a party promoter and this is where he wanted to promote a television show and used his media industry connects to host Soul Train in Chicago.
Now Soul Train blew up and Don Cornelius moved the show out to Los Angeles for a bigger audience. Now here is where we have to take a break because this is the moment of truth. When some of us brothas or sistas make it big, what do we do? Most of us start acting like we don’t know our Black people anymore and start trying to go “mainstream” hoping to reach a bigger audience. But Don Cornelius not only kept his show Black-orientated, he pioneered Black media as we know it today and built a Black economic framework upon his success.
Soul Train was not some dance show, it was a framework that Don Cornelius used to promote his people and promote peace, love and soul in the core essence. Let’s look at each element of the Soul Train show:.................


Lest we forget another pioneer's passing this month, Johnny Otis passed, with him a lifetime-legacy of promoting the struggle of black entertainers. Producer, musician, talent scout, DJ, pastor...Son of Greek immigrants, he identified with the black culture during the civil rights era, and got black-listed on many fronts for his outspoken support of the struggle. little Esther, Big Mama Thornton, Jay McNeely, he discovered and promoted some of the best talent during the heyday of rhythm and blues.

Since when did R&B mean this bullshit? I always thought it was Rhythm and Blues?

Relevant: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Rhythm-Blues-Various-Artists/dp/B000009TPI
See song list.

Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter and pianist. She generally is classified as a jazz musician, although she disliked that categorisation herself; and her work also has been described as covering the blues, rhythm and blues and soul. Her vocal style is characterized by passion, breathiness, and tremolo. This is a fantastic stop-motion animated performance of My Baby Just Cares For Me from Aardman studios.