Soul
Train Television Host and Music Promoter
Don Cornelius Dead At 75
U.S. television host and music promoter Don
Cornelius has died. For more than 20 years, his
iconic show Soul Train helped introduce
African-American music stars to mainstream America.
Police say the 75-year-old Cornelius was found
dead of a gunshot wound to the head in his Los
Angeles home. Officials say the wound apparently was
self-inflicted.
It is not clear why Cornelius would have ended
his life, although there have been reports in recent
years that his health was failing.
Tributes quickly poured in to honor the man who
brought “soul music” to a mainstream TV audience
from 1971 to 1993. Cornelius, a Chicago native,
created the show in his hometown, then brought it to
Los Angeles. It went on the air nationally a decade
before the MTV network.
Singing legend Aretha Franklin, who appeared on
Soul Train, called Cornelius' death “sad,
stunning and downright shocking.” She called it a
“huge and momentous loss.”
Composer-producer Quincy Jones said he was
“deeply saddened” by the loss of his friend and
business partner
