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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

TV / Music RIP, Don Cornelius

Posted by Dan Gibson on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:12 AM

I can't even say how sad I was today to hear that Don Cornelius died, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in his Sherman Oaks home. As a kid growing up here in Tucson, the show was a glimpse in a world almost entirely foreign to me, giving me a new favorite song on a weekly basis. Seeing Chuck Mangione in 1981 wasn't quite as exciting as some of the episodes from the show's golden age in the 70's, but I don't know where else I would have heard groups like Shalamar, Ready For The World, The System and all the 80's R&B tracks that I still love. In recent years, the cable channel Centric has been showing repeats of classic episodes and it's just a wonderful glimpse in youth culture of that era, between the outfits, hairstyles and dance moves I couldn't replicate if I tried. I have no idea what was going on in Cornelius' head lately that he would feel the need to end his life, but mostly I'm just sorry he had to go through whatever pushed him to that edge. He was an actual legend, bringing great music into the living rooms of kids across America, and my childhood was far better for taking a weekly ride on the Soul Train.

Don Cornelius was 75.

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Well said, Dan.

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Posted by rferrier on 02/01/2012 at 2:18 PM

I agree, Soul Train was something I looked forward to as a kid. I imitated all the dance moves in my living room and it began my love of R&B. He was equal in stature with Dick Clark to many people and I think maybe we didn't show our appreciation enough.

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Posted by Lori Gillen on 02/02/2012 at 8:10 AM
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