Soul Train - more than groovy threads and bustin' the hippest moves

Every Saturday morning, for 35 years, Soul Train gave America an hour-long celebration of black youth culture. The show’s self-proclaimed reputation as “the hippest trip in America” made Soul Train not only the place to show the latest dance moves, hairstyles, and threads, but also the place to premiere new music. It became an indispensable promotional platform for black musicians in the 1970s, and by the 80s, was responsible for giving groups like Run-DMC their first national exposure. It was a pop cultural pipeline that taught mass audiences how to dance, how to dress, and who to listen to.

But while the principle of the show was simple, its radicalism has been somewhat forgotten with age. Beneath the dazzling lights, bewitching performances, and cascading paisley, Soul Train was revolutionary in its depictions of black identity. Its foundation was rooted in resistance against a bigoted media and a bigoted culture more broadly, and it came of age in a time of tremendous upheaval and frustration, as poor economic conditions persisted even as the Civil Rights movement made advances. Soul Train’s message of black empowerment was urgent, despite its joyful and seemingly unserious exterior. “It was a way of life for me, my culture, and my generation,” says Louie Ski Carr, a fan favourite Soul Train dancer. “I’m black and Mexican and grew up on the streets of Inglewood, and every Saturday morning, that was our chance to see our people, and to indulge in our own dances, styles, eras, and crazes.”

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