BACK IN THE 70’s THERE WAS SOMETHING SO COOL, IT WAS LIKE JESUS CHRIST, THE PROHPET MOHAMMED, BUDDHA AND ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS DEITY FORMING A BOYBAND AND TOTALLY SMACKING IT WITH THERE MATCHING OUTFITS AND BANGING BEATS: OTHERWISE KNOWN AS…..

SOUL-TRAIN….

Soul Train premiered on WCIU-TV in Chicago on August 17, 1970 as a daily program. Its success attracted the attention of two Chicago-based companies — the Johnson Products Company (manufacturers of the Afro Sheen line of hair-care products), and Sears, Roebuck and Co. — who agreed to sponsor the program’s expansion into syndication. Soul Train began airing in selected cities across the United States, on a weekly basis, on October 2, 1971. When it moved into syndication, the program’s home base was also shifted to Los Angeles, where it remained for the duration of its run. Syndication of the program was initially handled by Syndicast Services until 1985, when Tribune Entertainment took over those responsibilities.

Don Cornelius ended his run as host in 1993, and guest hosts were used from that time until 1997, when comedian Mystro Clark began a two-year stint as host. Clark was replaced by actor Shemar Moore in 1999. In 2003, Moore was succeeded by actor Dorian Gregory, who hosted through 2006.

The show is known for its animated opening title featuring the popular cartoon train from unknown various cartoon studios.

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As a nod to Soul Train’s longevity, the show’s opening sequence (during later seasons) contains a claim that it is the “longest-running, first-run, nationally-syndicated program in television history,” with over 1,100 episodes produced from the show’s debut through the 2005-06 season.

Production of first-run episodes was suspended at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, the show’s thirty-fifth. For two seasons starting in 2006-07, the program aired archived episodes under the title “The Best of Soul Train”. [1] The future of Soul Train was uncertain with the announced closing of Tribune Entertainment’s syndication division on December 18, 2007, which left Don Cornelius Productions to seek a new distributor for the program.[2] Cornelius soon secured a deal with Trifecta Entertainment & Media.

In May 2008, the rights to the Soul Train library were purchased by MadVision Entertainment, whose principal partners come from the entertainment and publishing fields. The price and terms of the deal were not disclosed. [3] However, by the start of the 2008-09 television season, the Tribune-owned stations (including national carrier WGN America) that had been the linchpin of the show’s syndication efforts dropped the program, and many others followed suit. The move coincided with Trifecta Entertainment & Media’s transfer of its only other major syndication effort, American Idol Rewind, to network television, indicating it may have exited the syndication business as well. Soul Train’s website acknowledged that the program had ceased distribution on September 22, 2008.

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Despite this, in years on air, Soul Train will continue to hold the honor of the longest, continuously-running first-run syndicated program until at least 2016, if and when its nearest competitor, Entertainment Tonight, completes its 35th