Don Cornelius, 'Soul Train' creator, dies

Don Cornelius, creator and host of "Soul Train," which helped demolish the color barrier for black musicians on television over its long run, died Wednesday, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75.

His death is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County coroner's office. "The death was reported as a suicide," Los Angeles coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter told Reuters. Police said there was no evidence of foul play and no suicide note was found.

Police responded to a call at Cornelius' home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just before 5 a.m. Cornelius had been in ill health, according to associates and news reports, and was no longer active in day-to-day activities of Soul Train Holdings.

A Chicago native who initially aspired to be a journalist and later went into sales, Cornelius made his mark on cultural history by introducing generations of viewers to some of the greatest acts in R&B -- he at first eschewed hip-hop but did include it in later editions -- long before MTV and at a time when cable was in its infancy.

Tall, urbane, deep-voiced, he opened shows with a classic catch phrase -- "the hippest trip in America" -- and closed with his trademark, "We wish you love, peace and soul!"

The artists who came through his Chicago studio are icons of American music -- Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, the Jackson Five -- but had few outlets other than radio to reach listeners in the early 1970s.

"Don Cornelius was simply a genius, and the contributions he made to music and our culture are second to none," singer Patti LaBelle said in a statement.

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"Before MTV, there was 'Soul Train,' [and] that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius," producer Quincy Jones said in a statement. "His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched."

Launched in 1970 and later syndicated to eight stations outside of Chicago, "Soul Train" was a long shot at the time. Many stations relegated it to so-called "fringe dayparts" when fewer viewers were available, which rankled Cornelius even years after it had become a TV staple: "If a show like 'Soul Train,' which is the godmother and godfather of all black entertainment television . . . cannot get on at a good time period in Chocolate City, obviously there's a problem," he said in an interview in 1995. Original production ended in 2006, though reruns aired until 2008.

"Don impacted the lives of so many artists by giving them their first television exposure," Kenard Gibbs, chief executive of Soul Train Holdings, said in an interview Wednesday. "He was able to strike a chord with consumers of all colors and give them an opportunity to not only see their favorite artists, but see what the latest dances were."

J. Fred MacDonald, a media historian who has written on the color barrier in TV, said in an interview Wednesday: " 'Soul Train' was a long overdue representation of authenticity to what ten, twelve percent of the population had otherwise been cut off from on television."

"If I saw 'American Bandstand' and I saw dancing and I knew black kids can dance better; and I saw white artists and I knew black artists make better music; and if I saw a white host and I knew a black host could project a hipper line of speech -- and I DID know all these things," then it was reasonable to try, Cornelius said.

Public Enemy leader Chuck D said the Roosevelt-based hip-hop pioneers were always grateful to Cornelius for supporting them. "We didn't get nationally known until we did 'Rebel Without a Pause' on 'Soul Train' [in] 1987," he said on his Twitter page Wednesday. "No question."

The show also introduced the world to the "Soul Train Line," where dancers form two lines and then take turns showing off their moves as they move between them. Not only did those showcased moves influence generations of dancers, but the "Soul Train Line" remains a staple of high school proms and wedding receptions today.

Cornelius had two children, Anthony and Raymond, with his first wife, Delores Harrison.