Smokey Robinson and Don Cornelius attend Soul Train documentary …

Soul Train: The Hippiest Trip In America documentary had it’s west coast premiere screening at the Los Angeles Paley Center For Media in Beverly Hills, Califo

Excerpt found on www.examiner.com

Soul Train: The Hippiest Trip In America documentary had it’s west coast premiere screening at the Los Angeles Paley Center For Media in Beverly Hills, California on Friday, January 29th at 7:00 p.m. The screening was presented by VH1 ROCK DOCS.

Soul Train is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and is one of the most influential and innovative music series of all time, providing the latest trends in music, dance, and fashion. The host of the Soul Train, Don Cornelius, became a television icon, bringing contemporary African-American culture into the national living room. This documentary, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated director Lauren Lazin, spotlights performances and great moments from the show, as well as memories from cast and crew. Among the musicians featured include Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Sly Stone, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie, and Chaka Khan, all with "a groove that will make you move real smooth." This documentary is a good look at the history of the show.

There was a panel discussion after the screening with Soul Train host Don Cornelius, music artists Smokey Robinson, Jody Watley, Questlove of the band The Roots and Cuba Gooding Sr.

During the panel discussion, Don Cornelius explained how he had the idea to do a Black Dance Show on a local station in Chicago. When asked if there were any one that he wanted but never appeared on the show, he replied two: Donny Hathaway, who was scheduled to appear but became sick and had to cancel, and Earth Wind and Fire, who never got booked even though the show wanted them.

Cornelius also explained that he feels that the best soul music was made in the 70s and 80s. When the show first started production in Los Angeles, they would tape the acts live. Some of the best performances, in his opinion, were seeing Al Green, James Brown and Barry White performing a number of songs backed by a full band playing live.

Smokey Robinson talked about how Cornelius is like a brother to him and how they became really close over the years. He talked about how the show was good for showcasing new artists and how many of their singles would break after their apperance.

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