Soul Train debut (August 17, 1970) – Hot Potato (Piping Hot) (1963)
The show's original theme song when it began its run as a live weekday show in Chicago was written and performed by King Curtis.
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On August 17, 1970, the iconic show Soul Train made its debut. The first episode was hosted by creator Don Cornelius and broadcast live on Chicago's WCIU-TV.
Cornelius was an entrepreneur, DJ, and radio and television journalist in Chicago. He was also once a Chicago police officer, until he was supposedly discovered by a radio executive during a traffic stop in 1966, who offered Cornelius a job after hearing his amazing voice. While working at radio station WVON and later, WCIU-TV, he began to promote record hops at local high schools, calling them “The Soul Train.” Intent on turning these live music events into a television show, he landed a sponsorship deal with the Chicago-based Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Soul Train premiered on WCIU-TV as a live show that aired weekday afternoons, hosted by Cornelius. Musical guests on the first episode were Jerry Butler, the Chi-Lites, and the Emotions. It was filmed in a tiny studio at the Chicago Board of Trade building, and young people would regularly line up around the block to be chosen as dancers for the show.
Cornelius with the Impressions and other guests during Soul Train’s first season.
The show’s original theme was “Hot Potato (Piping Hot)” by King Curtis. Written by Curtis, it was first released in 1963 on Enjoy Records, with Parts I and II on the A and B-sides, but was credited to the Rinkydinks for contractual reasons. It was produced by Bobby and Danny Robinson, who the year before in 1962 had produced Curtis’ debut single “Soul Twist,” an instrumental that went to #1 R&B.
On later compilations of Curtis’ singles, the track appeared with the title “Piping Hot.” After Cornelius used “Hot Potato (Piping Hot)” as Soul Train’s first theme song, a new, edited, shorter version was issued in 1972, credited to the Ramrods. The Rimshots recorded their own cover version, also released in 1972.
Soul Train ran for one year in Chicago, filmed in black and white, before Cornelius expanded into syndication to other markets and moved production to Los Angeles, where it remained for the rest of its 35-year run. There, it became a weekly show broadcast in color that brought Black music into America’s living rooms.
With Cornelius as its long-running host, Soul Train gave crucial national exposure to R&B artists in the golden age of soul, funk, and disco, and became a powerful promotional force that sold records and concert tickets. The show helped funk up the seventies as it shaped the decade’s music, fashion and culture.
Further info:
”The Soul Train Impact,” by Hermene Hartman, Huffington Post, February 7, 2012.
“This Week In Illinois History: Soul Train Premieres (August 17, 1970),” by Clint Cargile, Northern Public Radio, WNIJ, August 16, 2021.
“Love, peace and ‘Soul Train’: On August 17, 1970, the “hippest trip in America” started in Chicago,” by Arionne Nettles, Chicago Sun-Times, August 17, 2023.
#soul #funk #KingCurtis #DonCornelius #SoulTrain