Last week, the final chapter of Soul Train came to a close when show creator and longtime host Don Cornelius was found dead in his California home. Here are some highlights from the legendary show he created:
1971: James Brown accidentally invents the splits when he tries to exit the stage in both directions at once
1975: Amidst threats of violence against the first white singer to appear on Soul Train, federal troops are sent in by President Ford to escort Gino Vannelli to the stage
1982: The May 29 episode is immediately banned from ever airing after famed dancer Valerie Linder debuts a new move that proves 100 percent fatal
1988: Keith Sweat brings it!
1989: Public Enemy debuts “Welcome To The Terrordome” on the show, followed by the introduction of the group’s wildly popular new dance, the Terrordome
1998: Soul Train Line temporarily narrowed by 4 feet in experiment with bike lane
2000: MC Hammer makes his return to the Soul Train studio in an attempt to grab some food from the craft services table, but is quickly caught and tossed out
2005: Following a period of decline, the show is forced to change its motto to “the third-hippest trip in America”
2006: After 35 years and more than 1,100 episodes, the show goes off the air when the Republican-controlled Congress slashes long-running subsidies to the loss-generating soul-rail sector
