Since 1970, fans have been grooving every week to America's top soul and R&B hits on a televised boogie down called Soul Train. Known as "the black American Bandstand," the syndicated dance party proved to be more than just a musical showcase: It established an African American presence on television at a time when such representation was almost nonexistent.

Created and hosted for 23 years by Don Cornelius, a former Chicago disc jockey with a silky, measured baritone, Soul Train was conceived around the notion of "soul music going from city to city as a train would." The program relied on a sequence of stock elements that gave it an air of familiarity. The show's distinctive squealing "Soooulll Traaain" opening, devised by a deejay friend of the host, has remained unchanged since 1970. Each week, Cornelius opened the show by promising viewers they could "bet your last money...