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Authors: Nelson George
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performance by Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra on which the maestro did three solo hits, including âCanât Get Enough of Your Love, Babeâ and several instrumentals. Neon signs behind the stage read BARRY WHITE and LOVE UNLIMITED instead of SOUL TRAIN . A Barry Whiteâsponsored Little League baseball team, the Maestro Players, even appeared in the show.
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Cornelius: So we did Barry White with a forty-piece orchestra. We didnât really want to, but thatâs what Barry White wanted, and Barry White was so hot at the time we were like, Weâre not gonna lose this booking. We gotta do what we have to do; we ended up doing Al Green with his band, and we did James Brown and the JBâs, and James Brown with his whole band. We did Sly and the Family Stone, whole band. We did Tower of Power, who we hope people will remember with that, you know, superb horn section that they had. God, we did . . . and these were the mostâas far as the economics were concerned, as an owner, I kind of hated it. But these were the most exciting times of my whole life. These were the most exciting experiences I had in my entireânot just my experience with the show, but in my entire life.
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Donâs son Tony, who would eventually spend fifteen years working on Soul Train , remembers the tension of the live tapings well. âThe difficulty of putting together a live show as well as the excitement is youâre trying to put something together mistake-free, and when youâre trying to put something together mistake-free, when thereâs money being spent, if you can get through it, youâve accomplished a whole lot. My father is thinking of the fact that people were working so hard to make sure that this live element worked. The live experience is an experience that you canât forget because youâre trying to get all this done without a mistake, and with mistakes comes money lost.â
White, an ex-gang member from South Central turned R&B producer-arranger turned disco love man, was one of Donâs closest friends in the music industry, so itâs not surprising he bit the financial bullet for him. Watching them banter during his numerous appearances throughout the seventies and early eighties was to hear a basso profundo wrestling match, wondering which manâs bass voice would wrestle the otherâs to the ground. With White, as with so many of the soul era artists Don interviewed, you can sense the host reveling in the music and friendship.
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Barry Whiteâs lush disco sound made him a Soul Train staple.
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Al Green, who was the hottest young singer of the early seventies, introduced an updated Memphis soul sound that was spare and clean, driving on up-tempo numbers and haunting on ballads. He appeared regularly on Soul Train, displaying a sexy midrange tenor and an ability to sing softly with amazing vulnerability and passion. His seven-minute performance of âJesus Is Waiting,â from his Call Me album, on the show in 1973 is masterful. He starts by reciting the Lordâs Prayer before flowing into the gospel song with the nuance of a love song. Though people didnât turn to Soul Train for religious music, you can hear the crowd enjoying the testimony, especially when Green has the band bring it down low so he can sing with his trademark quiet intensity. His left arm is in a red bandanna sling, which only adds to the performanceâs devotional fervor.
On episode #38, Sly Stewart, of Sly & the Family Stone fame, made an equally flamboyant impression on the Soul Train audience. While Al Green was an ascendant star during his initial appearances, Sly was widely thought to have peaked by 1974. He was chronically late to shows, sometimes even missing them altogether. Many of the original members of his fantastic Family Stone had left the band in various disputes with its mercurial leader. But his performance of âI Want to
Â
Cornelius: So we did Barry White with a forty-piece orchestra. We didnât really want to, but thatâs what Barry White wanted, and Barry White was so hot at the time we were like, Weâre not gonna lose this booking. We gotta do what we have to do; we ended up doing Al Green with his band, and we did James Brown and the JBâs, and James Brown with his whole band. We did Sly and the Family Stone, whole band. We did Tower of Power, who we hope people will remember with that, you know, superb horn section that they had. God, we did . . . and these were the mostâas far as the economics were concerned, as an owner, I kind of hated it. But these were the most exciting times of my whole life. These were the most exciting experiences I had in my entireânot just my experience with the show, but in my entire life.
Â
Donâs son Tony, who would eventually spend fifteen years working on Soul Train , remembers the tension of the live tapings well. âThe difficulty of putting together a live show as well as the excitement is youâre trying to put something together mistake-free, and when youâre trying to put something together mistake-free, when thereâs money being spent, if you can get through it, youâve accomplished a whole lot. My father is thinking of the fact that people were working so hard to make sure that this live element worked. The live experience is an experience that you canât forget because youâre trying to get all this done without a mistake, and with mistakes comes money lost.â
White, an ex-gang member from South Central turned R&B producer-arranger turned disco love man, was one of Donâs closest friends in the music industry, so itâs not surprising he bit the financial bullet for him. Watching them banter during his numerous appearances throughout the seventies and early eighties was to hear a basso profundo wrestling match, wondering which manâs bass voice would wrestle the otherâs to the ground. With White, as with so many of the soul era artists Don interviewed, you can sense the host reveling in the music and friendship.
Â
Barry Whiteâs lush disco sound made him a Soul Train staple.
Â
Al Green, who was the hottest young singer of the early seventies, introduced an updated Memphis soul sound that was spare and clean, driving on up-tempo numbers and haunting on ballads. He appeared regularly on Soul Train, displaying a sexy midrange tenor and an ability to sing softly with amazing vulnerability and passion. His seven-minute performance of âJesus Is Waiting,â from his Call Me album, on the show in 1973 is masterful. He starts by reciting the Lordâs Prayer before flowing into the gospel song with the nuance of a love song. Though people didnât turn to Soul Train for religious music, you can hear the crowd enjoying the testimony, especially when Green has the band bring it down low so he can sing with his trademark quiet intensity. His left arm is in a red bandanna sling, which only adds to the performanceâs devotional fervor.
On episode #38, Sly Stewart, of Sly & the Family Stone fame, made an equally flamboyant impression on the Soul Train audience. While Al Green was an ascendant star during his initial appearances, Sly was widely thought to have peaked by 1974. He was chronically late to shows, sometimes even missing them altogether. Many of the original members of his fantastic Family Stone had left the band in various disputes with its mercurial leader. But his performance of âI Want to
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