"Soul Train": The First 25 Years Quiz

Answer: Chicago

"Soul Train" got its start on station WCIU in Chicago, in 1970. Don Cornelius had produced the show's pilot episode in 1969 and, after seeing it, the Sears and Roebuck Company gave him some of the funding to put the show on air in exchange for the right to use the Soul Train name in promoting a line of record players the company was selling at the time.

As the show began to pick up a following, it picked up its most popular sponsor of all, the Johnson Company, whose cosmetics line included Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen hair-care products.

Answer: October

"Soul Train" made its nationally syndicated debut in the U.S. on October 2, 1971.

Answer: Sly and the Family Stone

Except for Sly and the Family Stone, all of these acts appeared on the first episode of the show. Eddie Hutton rounded out the first four artists to debut on the show.

Answer: Jeffrey Daniels

Jeffrey Daniels and Jody Watley both joined the show as dancers in 1973. In 1977, they both joined the group, Shalamar, and were members together until Jody left to pursue a solo career in 1984.

Answer: Dennis Coffey

In December 1971, Dennis Coffey, along with his Detroit Guitar Band, was the first white artist to appear on "Soul Train". The historic show aired on January 8, 1972. Consisting of members James Barnes on congas, Bob Babbitt on bass, Eric Morgan on organ, and Andrew Smith on drums, the group performed their instrumental hit, "Scorpio", as well as a track from their album, 'Evolution', entitled, "A Whole Lot of Love". Coffey was a session guitarist who'd played for various Motown artists including the Temptations, The Jackson 5 and Edwin Starr before putting together his own band, in 1970; he also formed the group C.J. and Company, which had a big hit in the Summer of 1977 entitled ,"Devil's Gun", which went all the way to Number Two on the Billboard Top 40 R&B chart.

There has been considerable debate and confusion as to who truly was the first white artist to grace the "Soul Train" stage. Many people (myself included) believe the first white artist to appear on the show was Gino Vanelli, on February 2, 1975. In fact, in the 2011 documentary, "Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America", narrated by actor, Terrance Howard, Vanelli himself re-counts the story that the program's staff informed him that he would be the first white artist to ever appear on the show; however, the official "Soul Train" website does indeed list Dennis Coffey and his band as holding that distinction, so you can see how the mistake on this question could have been made.

In my personal opinion, I think that while Coffey may well have been the first white face to actually appear on "Soul Train", Vanelli was the first one to have actually been SEEN by an audience outside of the Chicago area as many, if not all, of those taped shows during that first season have been lost or destroyed.

My apologies to EVERYONE who previously missed this question; however, I believe in many ways that Gino Vanelli was (and it could be argued, still is) the correct answer.

Answer: The Whispers

For twelve consecutive seasons, beginning on February 19, 1972 until June 25, 1983, The Whispers were the only act to appear on the show every year. After that June '83 appearance, the group would not return to the show until almost exactly four years later on June 13, 1987.

Answer: Cheryl Lynn

Of the artists mentioned, Cheryl Lynn had the most appearances on the show between 1971-1993; she was a guest star on seven different occasions, which occured between 1979-1989. However, Cheryl shares the record for most appearances during that time with Stephanie Mills, who was also on the show seven times.

Her guest appearances occured between 1980-1989. Seven other artists are tied with six appearances each which include Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, and Al Green.

Answer: Ralph Carter

Ralph Carter, who was the youngest child, "Michael", on "Good Times", and a Tony-award winning actor, made a musical appearance on "Soul Train", on September 20, 1975. He sang, "When You're Young and In Love", a song later re-made in the early 1980's by Stacy Lattisaw.

Answer: Earth Wind and Fire

Earth Wind and Fire never appeared on the show during its first quarter-century of being on the air. However, on September 16, 1978, the group did "appear" via concert footage. The songs which they were shown performing were, "Jupiter", "Serpentine Fire", "Fantasy", and "Sunshine".

Answer: peace

It is unclear as to how or where the catchphrase Don Cornelius used for the 22 years in which he hosted the show came from, but many can recite it word for word. Although I only asked for the last portion of the quote, the following is the catchphrase in its entirety, "You come on and run with us next week on these same stations and you can bet your last money, it's gonna be a stone gas, honey. I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace, and soul!"