12 Facts About Soul Train

Origins of Soul Train can be traced to 1965 when WCIU-TV, an upstart UHF station in Chicago, began airing two youth-oriented dance programs: Kiddie-a-Go-Go and Red Hot and Blues.

Soul Train was part of a national trend toward syndicated music-oriented programs targeted at niche audiences; two other network series entered syndication in 1971 and would go on to have long runs.

Soul Train continued to oversee production in Chicago, where Clinton Ghent hosted episodes on WCIU-TV until 1976, followed by three years of once-weekly reruns.

From 1981 to 1993, Soul Train aired a country music-themed episode, titling it "Country Soul".

The following fall, Soul Train began using celebrity hosts until comedian Mystro Clark took over as the host in 1997.

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The future of Soul Train was uncertain with the announced closing of Tribune Entertainment in December 2007, which left Don Cornelius Productions to seek a new distributor for the program.

All rights and trademarks to the Soul Train brand including the show's extensive library, the annual cruise event, and the award shows are under the ownership of Paramount Global after its Paramount Media Networks division acquired the franchise in 2016.

Cornelius acknowledged Bandstand as a model for his program; as the years advanced and Soul Train evolved into a tradition in its own right, he tended to bristle at the Bandstand comparisons.

The Soul Train logo was featured, with a song or instrumental playing throughout.

One of the most distinctive parts of the opening was when “Soul Train” was announced, stretching out the first word into a high-pitched imitation of a train whistle.

Soul Train then produced the short-lived Soul Train Comedy Awards in 1993, which discontinued that same year.

Soul Train used various original and current music for theme songs during its run, including.