It is with much regret that I inform you that Donald Cortez Cornelius, long-time producer and host of Soul Train, has passed away this morning of an apparent suicide.

Most of you may be unaware that Mr. Soul Train started his career as a journalist, influenced by the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. It occurred to him that there was no television outlet for soul music, and he endeavored to fill the bill. Soul Train was an integral part of every teenager’s weekend life. One could not attend a party on a Saturday night without having watched Soul Train on Saturday morning and been schooled on the latest dance steps.

Mr. Cornelius was responsible for bringing numerous musical acts to the forefront of the national and international stage, as well as highlighting many talented dancers, over the course of more than two decades. He was interviewed for an episode of TV One’s Unsung on the group Full Force, which aired for the first time this week.

No one could forget Mr. Cornelius’s age-old catch phrase, “And you can bet your last money, it’s all gon’ be a stone gas, Honey!”

 

Don “Love, Peace and Soul” Cornelius (1936 – 2012)
[02/01/2012]
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