Don Cornelius reflects on 40 years aboard Soul Train

Don Cornelius reflects on 40 years aboard Soul Train
'Soul Train's' conductor, Don Cornelius, returns to Chicago for a concert celebrating the show's 40th anniversary. Photo courtesy of ‘Soul Train’
Don Cornelius reflects on 40 years aboard Soul Train
'Soul Train's' conductor, Don Cornelius, returns to Chicago for a concert celebrating the show's 40th anniversary. Photo courtesy of ‘Soul Train’

Don Cornelius reflects on 40 years aboard Soul Train

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Forty years ago, the hippest trip in America left the station. Soul Train — the little Chicago engine that could – went on to become the longest-running, nationally-syndicated show on television. 

Before longtime conductor and host Don Cornelius was moving to the grooves, he was deep in the civil rights movement. Cornelius will return home to Chicago over Labor Day weekend to celebrate Soul Train’s anniversary with a concert and a screening of a documentary about the show. He plans to catch up with some old friends and familiar faces, including WBEZ’s very own Richard Steele, who recently spoke with the TV host.

Chicago will celebrate with a Soul Train 40th Anniversary Concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on Monday. Some of the audio in this piece is from the documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America. Cornelius will host a screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Sunday.