(CNN) — You’ve seen the early episodes: flashing teeth, swaying hips and oil-misted afros swaying to the beat. This was “Soul Train,” the music TV series that was Black people’s binoculars. It showcased popular songs and performances from a wide range of artists and featured some of the most energetic studio audiences you’d ever seen. From MTV’s “TRL” to BET’s “106 & Park” to NPR’s “Tiny Desk” to the list goes on, “Soul Train” chugged along, shaping cool ideas in dance, fashion and culture.
When it premiered on Chicago’s WCIU-TV in August 1970, this Saturday morning entertainment show portrayed a light-hearted, yet politically conscious, black America. At the height of the Black Power era and riding the wave of the civil rights movement, “Soul Train” offered a new opportunity for black people to see and celebrate themselves. It was the most prominent platform for imagining a blend of socio-cultural and political progress, and a life free of white supremacy. It was an instant hit, resonating with black families across the county. To this day, it holds the honor of being the longest-running syndicated television series in broadcast history.
Soul Train/Getty Images
The Jackson Five perform “Dancing Machine” on an October 1973 episode of “Soul Train.”
“It was subscription television. You knew what time it was on, and no matter what you were doing, you cleared your schedule to watch ‘Soul Train,'” radio and music industry veteran Diana Williams told CNN. “You got to see your favorite artists and dancers.”
Williams, who was just a teenager when the show first aired, witnessed first-hand how it instantly influenced music, fashion and culture. “I’d send them pictures of my afro,” Williams recalled of how the show influenced the beauty and fashion choices of her generation. “[We]wore all the outfits.”
In the early 1970s, beauty mogul George E. Johnson made millions with his Ultrasheen and Afrosheen lines. A grease and hairspray respectively, these products could be used at home and were perfect for maintaining afros as well as other natural hairstyles such as braids. These styles were becoming popular among a growing and impressionable demographic with the expansion of the Black Power and Black is Beautiful movements. Johnson soon became a co-sponsor of “Soul Train” and advertised hair products throughout the show. This, plus the performances of natural-haired singers such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, and Sly Stone, encouraged even more black people to embrace natural styles.
At the same time, new styles of clothing emerged.
“The fashion was cool,” Williams says. “It was kind of a mix of bohemian hippie and black nationalism. Soul Train really inspired a lot of young people at the time to wear natural hair, vests, platform shoes, bell bottoms and long maxi dresses. So our fashion tastes and upbringing were definitely inspired by Soul Train and the other media that we were exposed to.”
The show’s appeal was dual, both a mirror and a catalyst for fashion trends. ’70s ensembles ranged from leisure suits to Superman costumes to cuffed hems. Contrasting separates, from fitted to loose, in earthy tones to energetic hues, gave the show’s fashion an iconic, confident vibe. The vibe was simply the fact that the dancers and celebrity talent wore what made them feel good, whether that was a step away from a cocktail dress or a tight t-shirt and flared jeans. The word that most accurately described the dress code was “cool.”
Soul Train/Getty Images
Sly and the Family Stone perform on a June 1974 episode of “Soul Train.”
In Nelson George’s “America’s Hippest Trip: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture and Style,” designer Todd Oldham highlights the trendy matching outfits, especially worn by couples and paired performers. “People were in it together,” Oldham writes in the book. “That’s why it worked. The same clothes emphasize the movement, and the same clothes aren’t androgynous.” These correlational looks are likely the result of the popularity of unisex fashion (as well as broader movements around feminism and gender roles) and the underlying idea that two is better (and arguably more eye-catching) than one.
One of the show’s greatest cultural contributions was the “Soul Train” line. The format was straightforward yet ambitious: two lively lines of dancers facing each other, with one or two people at the front of the line enthusiastically performing their dance moves in the middle. This predated the electric slide, cha-cha slide and Cupid shuffle, line dances that have become staples of black gatherings.
In her late teens, Williams hosted concerts in Washington, DC, and saw the impact the dance had on the city. “There wasn’t a house party or club that didn’t have lines from Soul Train,” she says. In February 2012, less than two weeks after the death of the show’s longtime conductor, Don Cornelius, Williams set a Guinness World Record for the longest Soul Train line. She was trying to give credit to a man who she said was “kind, loving, warm, and respectful” to her, but also “strict.” (Williams’ ex-husband is Kenneth Gamble, one half of the musical duo Gamble & Huff, who also wrote, produced, and composed the Soul Train theme song, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia).”)
Music journalist Naima Cochran believes the show’s most important fashion era is its early days, and it’s certainly the most imitated. “Honestly, the best era of Soul Train was the first decade,” she says. “I think the style, the look, the way people moved during that time was most heavily influenced by Soul Train.”
Still, Cochran, a Gen Xer, says her Soul Train days, and her Soul Train line, have changed with the times. “It’s a little bit more ’80s glam than ’70s pop rock,” she says. “In the ’80s it was all about swinging your hair and pumping it up with your hands and your chest.”
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
R&B group the Sylvers performed it on a 1976 episode of “Soul Train.”
Multi-talents like Rosie Perez, who went on to star in films like “Do the Right Thing” and “White Men Can’t Jump,” got their start on the dance floor of “Soul Train.” Many cultural luminaries also launched successful careers on the show, including Patrice Rushen, Shalamar, Fred Berry, Vivica A. Fox and Cheryl Song (the show’s first non-black dancer).
Pérez’s appearance on the show stood out so much that in 2020, TikTok user @terriarcelia copied her dance moves, garnering nearly a million views. Fifty years after the show first aired, Soul Train continues to captivate the masses. “Nobody was trying to be anything else. Nobody was trying to look like anything else,” Cochran says. “They were just black. To me, that’s the greatest gift of Soul Train.”
“It’s the foundation for every music show that came after, because the only show we knew before that was ‘American Bandstand,'” Williams points out. “But with ‘Soul Train,’ we got to see our favorite artists, hear our favorite songs, and learn about popular styles and lingo. And it was amazing to be seen, heard, and influence the culture of a generation, at a time when we weren’t even being seen on television. Forever.”
Editor’s note: The next episode of the CNN original series, “See It Loud: The History of Black Television,” which looks at the reality TV series and talk shows that have showcased Black talent and shaped the culture, airs Sunday, July 30 at 9 pm ET.
