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Here’s all the different intro’s they used on the show throughout the years.
(Oct 71 – Oct 73) – Hot Potatoes – King Curtis – 0:00 (✲)
(Oct 73 – Aug 75) – The Sound of Philadelphia – MFSB – 1:10
(Aug 75 – Oct 76) – Soul Train ’75 – The Soul Train Gang – 2:50
(Oct 76 – Sep 78) – Soul Train ’76 – The Soul Train Gang – 4:47
(Sep 78 – Mar 80) – Soul Train Theme ’79 – The Waters – 6:55
(Mar 80 – Jun 80) – Up on Soul Train – The Waters – 8:53
(Jun 80 – Jan 83) – Up on Soul Train – The Whispers – 10:23
(Apr 83 – Jul 83) — Soul Train’s a Comin’ – O’Bryan – 11:39
(Oct 83 – Sep 87) – Soul Train’s a Comin’ (Party Down) – 13:44
(Sep 87 – Jun 89) – TSOP ’87 – George Duke (✲)
(Sep 89 – Jun 93) – TSOP ’89 – George Duke – 15:46
(Oct 93 – Jun 99) – Soul Train ’93 – Naughty by Nature – 17:51
(Sep 99 – Mar 06) – TSOP 2000 – Dr. Freeze, Samson – 19:58
(✲) Starts with “Familiar Footsteps” by Gene Chandler.
(✲) TSOP ’87 is almost identical to TSOP ’89, I didn’t include it.
The first one was before my time. The 2nd with the TSOP (The Sound of
Philadelphia) is the earliest one I remember.
Oh, that 2nd clip brought back a memory. If that episode featured The Ohio
Players doing **Love Rollercoaster**, then I saw it when I was 4!
Hahahahaha! The ’73-’75 theme is the first one I remember.
This was very exciting and bright at the beginning and then you get to
around the 89 one and the soul train dancers are still hip but one is
humping a cage wall. Finally at the 90s one the soul train looks tired and
warn out with only a grey exterior. Its heartwarming and yet kind of sad
near the end especially when the last one has a different host. That’s when
you know its over.
Wow! Watching these intros brings back so many memories of me growing up
watching Soul Train every Saturday morning in Chicago @9am on WGN. I
stopped watching it after Don left the show, it just wasn’t the same!
What’s so crazy about watching all these intros is you can gradually see
the show declining meaning all the intros from 71-93 the announcer was
lively, the train was dancing and jamming, Don looked happy to be on the
show but by 94-06 the announcer was more toned down, the train was dragging
like it was running out of steam and on it’s last leg and the few times Don
announced the host for the day he looked like he barely wanted to be there
as to say let me get this over with and read this teleprompter. The last
years of Soul Train looked really sad..I’m glad I watched it when it was
still in it’s prime.
I STILL get goose pimples when I see these intros! LOVE ME SOME SOUL
TRAIN!
George Duke theme is the best to me, love them all but it is more identical
to Soul Train, that just me and people was jamming to it.
This show Soul Train back in the 70’s takes me back to a time when music
was good damn good not like all this rap and hip hop bullshit today. I
liked Soul way better in the 70’s and 80’s when it got up to the 90’s
that’s when everything began to go down the tubes I mean everything
people’s attitudes and society took a turn for worst people today can say
whatever they want they I’m telling the truth the 90’s things really
changed and for the worst even today in the 2000’s.
Reading all of the various comments, and as a child of the 70s/80s myself
(born in 1970) and white (which should make no difference)…
Each generation has its own sound. I remember hearing that rock and roll
was the “devil’s music”, and each younger generation’s music was worse than
the previous. As a DJ, I can understand this. Our grandparents did not like
our parents’ music, our parents didn’t like our music, and we don’t care
for our childrens’ music. But look at it for what it is: an expression of
our times. Yes, the subject matter has gotten increasingly more
challenging, and we rarely heard profanity in our music. Nowadays,
profanity, sexuality and genitalia are, unfortunately part of the music
scene today. In 1985, we would not have even dared (given the political
climate of the times…remember Tipper Gore?) mention anything about booty
or @$$ in the music. By that time, rap had barely entered the scene, and
was clean (Sugarhill Gang). But times, as Bob Dylan sang famously, they
“are a’changing”.
Back to Soul Train. I fondly remember my own mother tuning in to a local TV
station every Saturday afternoon to Soul Train. I watched with amazement
the Commodores, Stevie Wonder, LTD, and other major black artists of the
day in the 70s. I would dance along with her. I remember Don C’s famous
intros and exit. We can reminisce here on YT, remember the good times we
had, but please let the new generation enjoy their “good old days”. They
will look back and remember thier music. Who knows where music will be in
ten or twenty years?
Don’t let the music stop. Peace, love and SOUL to all!
Here we go with the bullshit again because somebody deleted my comments.
Would ya’ll stop doing that shit. I’m tired of ya’ll sensitive ass people
that don’t like somebody’s opinion because it isn’t the same as yours. I
think singer O’Bryan had the best Soul Train theme song Soul Train’s A
Comin from April 1983 to July 1983 at 11:51 mark. I stopped watching Soul
Train after the 80’s because it became boring. I love a lot of old funk
artists from the 80’s like Cameo, Con Funk Shun, The Gap Band(RIP Robert
Wilson), Dazz Band(they’re from my hometown Cleveland, Ohio), Midnight
Star, Zapp(they’re from my hometown state Ohio. RIP Roger Troutman), Kool
and the Gang, Lakeside, Parliament/Funkadelic. R&B music became boring
after the 80’s. There was a few 90’s r&b singers I liked. RIP Don
Corneileus and I love you for putting Soul Train together. I like the fact
that he gave r&b artists a platform to be shown on tv because they weren’t
being shown on tv that much back in the day. It’s sad that Don killed
himself because he was suffering from a illness but if that’s how he wanted
to go, that’s his business. I guess he felt that a doctor couldn’t help him
get better.
Of all the Soul Train theme songs, The two best ones for me were The
Whispers (80-82) and O’Bryan:Soul Train’s a coming (83-87)
lots of spots my dancing performances…right on baby!!!! jowitt
Soul Train Themes (All Intros – 1971 to 2006): http://youtu.be/TuGiQHqQCxE
soul train vs ressha sentai toqger
This is nostalgic but actually kind of sad. It chronicles the height and
the decline of an important gem of popular culture, but also two
individuals–Don Cornelius and the announcer Sid McCoy. By the end you can
hear the fatigue and age in Mr. McCoy’s delivery and see it in the eyes of
Mr Cornelius–as he seemed to reluctantly relinquish his throne to a
younger, more relevant host in the 90s. Interesting to me, as well, is the
fact that early on, the dancers were really bad dancers–they got better as
the show progressed, but those first few seasons were comical, from the
looks of it here. One unintended take-away for me from this compilation
is–getting old kind-of sucks–in a culture which glorifies and caters to
youth. But I believe we have it backwards in the US–we need to glorify
the old people–for they are the ones on whose backs we build our futures.
Anyway, thanks for a great post 11db11!
I love the second one. Especially the animation and M.F.S.B theme.
i was on soul train in the early 70’s and i’ve been searching high and low
for the footage. If anyone out there have a clip of Joe Tex being interview
will you notify me or how can i obtain footage from early episodes of soul
train during 1971 @ cs252537@gmail.com
Soul Train was at its best in the 70s/80s IMO. (born in 1985) The clothes
and music were so much better. Also, in the late ’80s, early 90s, Don
appeared to had checked out. I don’t know if he was forced out or if he was
simply tired of the show.
Rest In Power Don Cornelius
The problem with soultrain is the crappy music they play, The talent have
no soul, you cant dance to todays music!!
Thank you so much for bringing this back. The best days of my life. If it
wasn’t for you, this would be lost. Can’t tell you how much it means to see
this.
Great train ride through theme memory lane.
Wow! inabot ng mga Philippine Rabbit buses especially Ordinary reds.
I love every intro they did for every season.
It’s The Sound of Philadelphia (73-75) I love best.
Rest in Peace Don. You brought an icon of America to life.
*By far my favorite theme is by “O’Bryan”…*
That last train looks sad and like an ejaculating penis. wtf
Sooooooo fucking jealous of the people who grew up in the 1970s with those
big ass afros back then good as music lol
I love every Soul Train Intro. What I’m mad about is that I can’t find any
trace of Soul Train ’93 (Know You Like to Dance). It’s by Naughty By
Nature ft. Everette Harp. By any trace, I mean the actual song. And,
that’s my ALL TIME FAVE!!!!!!!!
Nick Cannon is reviving the show….nah.
Wothout Don Cornelius, the show was just not the same. He sounded so sad
and stoic when he was introducing Malik Yoba.
Between 1988 and 2004, my Saturday nights consisted of watching Showtime At
The Apollo and Soul Train.
I love plenty of 80s/90s and later rap but IMO it got too big in the black
music genre and totally crowded out many other genres, I wish it remained a
sideline genre
Soul train was the shit until the 90s those girls were on the stage dancing
half naked
Love the TSOP 87 mix better
dancing while walking through this soul plane planet, i never forget and
learned all i could,…music mike me
the woman dancing in all white @5:32 is finnnne
this really makes me want some Afro sheen
Don Cornelius was a mastermind and genius……..you couldn’t watch soul
train on Saturdays and not be excited and exuberant! Miss your shows sir,
rest in peace!
The SOOOOUUUUUuuuul Train!
Awesome!how did you do this?! Beautiful clips!
I love the animation, love the music, love the times, I wanna be on soul
train dancing with a hot black chick with afro puffs and striped stockings
with platform shoes.
R.I.P. Cornelius.
19:56-20:23 What year was that?? Also, what year was the intro right
before??
2nd song was my era yeah !!!
35 years of greatness!!! All time favorite television show. Still great
even without Don Cornelius as host. God Bless!!!
“Soul Train” was at its best when Don Cornelius was the host! I still
watched it on occasion after he left, but it wasn’t the same. I’m Black,
and I never had a problem with White artists/dancers appearing on the
program! Some of my White friends also watched “Soul Train”, and I watched
“American Bandstand” as well! To me, good music never had a “color”! My
favorite music genre is Disco, but I enjoy other genres as well! I wish
that more people would be open-minded when it comes to music!
Oh man does this take me back!!! My favorite intro always was and always
will be TSOP!!!!