Channel Erykah Badu crooning back in the day while I take you back to those nostalgic, feel-good times when it seems there really weren’t too many cares in the world. We are the lucky ones, the 70’s and 80’s babies, who can roll back down memory lane when things get too hectic and zero in on a simpler time. Check out these 15 throw-back moments from childhood and early adulthood and see if you can identify.

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Soul Train

Remember when Don Cornelius’s gravely voice echoed against the walls of your living room, along with a multitude of solid gold dancers boogying to the latest tunes? You couldn’t wait to recreate the Soul Train line with your siblings, pop locking, snaking and shaking it fast! You didn’t need Dance Dance Revolution and the Michael Jackson Experience on Xbox Live to kick it.

AP Photo/Dave Allocca, StarPix

This Black History Month, we celebrate some of pop culture’s most influential movers and shakers who have changed the landscape of the world of entertainment. From the first African-American billionaire to the one of the hardest working men in radio, African-Americans have pioneered various media outlets, some even simultaneously.

Here are only a few of pop culture’s African-American innovators in the areas of music, television and film. We threw in a bonus, above: Michael Jackson. Besides his singing career both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist, and his investments across the music industry (including The Beatles portfolio), he invented the moonwalk, a move that continues to mystify and inspire dancers good and bad around the world. Check out this slideshow for more on the late, great MJ.

From thegrio.com

R. Kelly is nominated for two awards at this year’s Soul Train Awards, making him the most nominated act ever at the awards show. Kelly is up for the Ashford & Simpson songwriter’s award and album of the year, bringing his career total to 21 nominations. Usher leads this year’s awards with five nominations. Estelle, Nas, Trey Songz and John Legend are also multiple nominees.

Read more at: thegrio.com

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From EurWeb.com

E! News has obtained the graphic autopsy results on “Soul Train” founder Don Cornelius, who died in February at the age of 75.

The documents reaffirm the coroner’s ruling issued then: the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head which entered through the right temple.

The autopsy report states that Cornelius had suffered an aneurysm about 15 years ago which caused him to develop seizures and “as time went on the decedent’s health continued to decline regardless of his medication.”

It notes that on Feb. 1 at approximately 3 a.m., the 75-year-old “Soul Train” host phoned his son and said, “I don’t know how long I can take this.” Moments later, Cornelius apparently shot himself.

His son later told investigators, “[I] found the back door open and detected the odor of smoke … then found him unresponsive on a chair. 911 was dialed.”

The report, which includes vivid depictions of Don Cornelius’ wounds, reveals that he had been “very depressed about his failing health” for the past six months.

For the complete story as well as a link to the Coroner’s report, visit EurWeb.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before the death of Don Cornelius stirred pangs of “Soul Train” nostalgia in the American public, a group of black entrepreneurs already had begun working to revive Cornelius’ creation and carry it beyond line dances at parties and television reruns.

What, exactly, can be done with “Soul Train,” given that it lasted nearly four decades and is considered an American institution, even though there hasn’t been a new episode in six years? Will the soul of “Soul Train” carry on, or drift into history?

Soul Train Holdings LLC, the entity created by NBA legend and entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson when he bought the “Soul Train” library and brand last year, has a lot of ideas. Among them are bringing a “Soul Train” variety show back to television, CEO Kenard Gibbs told The Associated Press. There have been discussions with writers about taking “Soul Train” to Broadway, Gibbs said, and also in the works are film opportunities, potential book deals and, in 2013, the first “Soul Train” cruise.

Find out what’s next for Soul Train over at theGrio.com.

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If you live in NYC and are a lover of “Soul Train” you may have been on of the thousands of fans that boogied on  down Broadway wearing afro wigs and bell bottoms on while recounting your favorite episodes in tribute to Soul Train’s late creator, Don Cornelius.

About 100 dancers descended on Times Square in a “flash mob” organized through the Internet. As startled tourists looked on, they recreated one of the show’s “Soul Train lines” in which people would take turns dancing toward a TV camera while showing off their most outrageous moves.

“Don Cornelius was a big influence in my life, and I just wanted to pay tribute,” said disc jockey Jon Quick, as he held up a speaker blasting disco grooves. “He was playing the music that nobody else wanted to play. He was an amazing man.”

Cornelius, 75, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday. He had suffered from health problems, a difficult divorce, and had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor spousal battery charge in 2009.

Read full story here…

Has the sad news about Don Cornelius got you thinking about the glory days of Soul Train? I know it has us reminising via YouTube. But no need to search aimlessly. Check out the collection of hip-hop soul performances collated by the editors at HipHopWired to get a dose of the good ol’ times.

Read More at Hip Hop Wired

TMZ.com is reporting that Soul Train legend and host Don Cornelius has been found dead in his Los Angeles area home. According to TMZ.com, “cops discovered the body at around 4 AM PT.  Law enforcement sources tell us … Cornelius died from a gunshot wound to the head and officials believe the wound was self-inflicted.”

The Chicago Native founded and produced Soul Train from 1971 to 1993.

If there was anything indicating that Cornelius was miserable, it can be found in the letter he wrote in 2009 asking the L.A. County Superior Court to speedy things up and finalize his divorce. In the letter, he stated: ”I am 72 years old. I have significant health issues. I want to finalize this divorce before I die.”

Friends say that Cornelius suffered immensely from his health issues and believe that his death was a way for him to relieve himself of the pain. No suicide note was found at the scene.

When two amazing artists push their egos aside and come together to record some good music, we can’t help but to be excited. Check out the list of some of our favorite classic and contemporary duets and let us know which ones you love or what we may have forgotten!

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The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture just boarded the hippest trip in America as it now includes artifacts from the popular 1970s-era TV Show – Soul Train.

The museum now boasts items such as the “Applause” signs, the 10-foot-wide neon “Soul Train” sign, the neon “Soul Train Awards” sign, silver African heads from the awards program, and the Scramble Board, on which dancer’s unscrambled word puzzles quickly, then broke out in dance.

The new acquisitions will allow the Smithsonian to tell the story of ‘Soul Train’, one of the longest-airing nationally syndicated first-run programs in television history. The show is an interesting snapshot of several generations of African American culture and style, and now its history can be seen for generations to come.

Read more here….

Do you have any special Soul Train memories?