Read Online The Hippest Trip in America by Nelson George - Free Book Online

that would grow to have twenty-two affiliates. Like Soul Train, the NBUF was very much the product of a collective desire to institutionalize the gains of the civil rights movement. Don’s relationship with Bakewell would be similar to the one he’d had with Jesse Jackson in Chicago, an enduring friendship that had a strong political aspect.
    Don’s own political skills were in full effect as he focused on wooing the biggest names in soul music for Soul Train ’s crucial second season. He made phone calls and had meetings and used the show itself as his most persuasive tool. Still, landing the major stars was a challenge. It took Cornelius until episode #49, in the middle of the 1972–73 season, to land James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, the biggest personality in a genre defined by outsized egos. Having Brown on the show was seen as crucial to establishing the Soul Train brand. Brown was also a strong believer in black capitalism, and at the time he owned a number of radio stations and should have been a natural supporter of Soul Train, but, according to Don, the Godfather had a difficult time grasping that the broadcast was black owned. Brown agreed to appear on the show only at the urging of his kids, who loved the dancing in season one.
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    Cornelius: I remember my first meeting with James Brown. He was so impressed as he looked around the studio, at the scenic studio with the set, that he asked me the same question three times. James Brown was from an era where you weren’t anything big unless you had somebody, probably somebody white, backing you. Or giving you the green light, or a loan, or the funds, or who would take a piece of what you had in return for the backing. That was the era that he was from. He said, “Brother, who is backing you on this?” And I said, “Well, James, it’s just, it’s just me.” And then he’d go to the dressing room and come back with his makeup and pass by me again, and say, “Brother, who you with on this?” I wanted to say, “You just asked me that.” But out of respect I’d say, “James, it’s just me.” And then I guess I saw him just one more time, and he came to me and he said, “Brother, who’s really behind this?” And I said, “James, it’s just me.”
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    Brown’s appearance established Soul Train ’s pedigree and made it a crucial stop not just for emerging young acts but for established stars. In that second season, major vocal groups the Isley Brothers and the O’Jays appeared on the show twice. Major Motown talents with major pop credentials such as ex-Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, Jermaine Jackson of the superhot teen-appeal group the Jackson Five, and Stevie Wonder, who was at the height of his creative powers, finally appeared on Soul Train . Aside from the O’Jays, other acts associated with the Philly sound of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and their publishing partner, Thom Bell, became Soul Train staples: Billy Paul, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Intruders, the Spinners.
    Lip-synching was standard operating procedure on television. Singers came on shows and sang along to their record. That’s how things were done in 1971, especially on syndicated programs like American Bandstand . That was Don’s intention as well, and in the early days of Soul Train quite a few artists lip-synched because live performances were expensive and cumbersome. But ultimately Don gave in and allowed many stars to perform live, a willingness that would be a key element in separating Soul Train from the rest of what was on television.
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    Booking James Brown was a major coup for Don Cornelius, and it helped bolster Soul Train’ s early success.
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    Because of Don’s flexibility, Soul Train became a prime live showcase for some of the greatest talents in black music, particularly during the 1970s. For example, a 1975