Entry · catalog no. 8411
Soul Train
/ /ˈsoʊl ˈtreɪn/ /SOHL TRAYN
noun · Chicago, then Los Angeles · 1970s
✓ Verified
1.
The television show created by Don Cornelius that showcased Black music and dance.
“We ran home on Saturday mornings for Soul Train.”
2.
Short for the Soul Train line, where dancers go down a corridor one at a time.
“They set up a Soul Train at the reunion.”
Origin & Attribution
Don Cornelius, a Chicago broadcaster, launched Soul Train on WCIU in Chicago on August 17, 1970, and took it to national syndication in October 1971, moving production to Los Angeles. It was built as a Black-owned showcase for Black music, fashion, and dance, and ran until 2006. The term stands for the show and for the dance-line tradition it popularized.
1970
Don Cornelius launches Soul Train on WCIU in Chicago
1971
Show goes into national syndication and moves to Los Angeles
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Chicago, then Los Angeles · 1970s
Spoken by
Black viewers, dancers, and artists
$SOULTRThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady56 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
70/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1970
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Love, peace and Soul Train: On Aug. 17, 1970, the hippest trip in America started in Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times (2023)
article
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Soul Train (1970–2006), BlackPast
article
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+ Cite a sourceSoul Train, Wikipedia
article
See also