In the wake of Don Cornelius’s passing, much has been said about the cucumber-cool Cornelius and his long-running and iconic show, Soul Train. I won’t wax poetic about the show’s societal impact and influence because it’s been done by many who can say it far better than I, but I’d like to take this opportunity to take us on a trip down memory lane by sharing footage of some of the local artists who graced the Soul Train stage during the show’s unprecedented 35 year run. If you know of more and can produce the video, please share!
Oakland’s Pointer Sisters perform “Automatic”
San Francisco-based Frankie Beverly and Maze perform “Lady of Magic”
Vallejo boy Sly Stone and his Bay Area band, The Family Stone, perform “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)”
Oakland’s funky divas, En Vogue, get down to “Hold On”
Oakland funk/soul legends Tower of Power perform “So Very Hard To Go”
Don Cornelius interviews Lenny Williams and the rest of ToP
The Town’s Pointer Sisters perform “Yes We Can Can” in 1973
Tupac speaks at the 1995 Soul Train awards
Marvin Gaye and Don Cornelius discuss the amazing people of Oakland, CA after Marvin’s comeback performance at the Coliseum. Read our feature on that show HERE.
Lil B’s “Pretty Boy” Soul Train reprise video (woop!)
