Don Cornelius Has Died

Don Cornelius (Donald Cortez “Don” Cornelius), the host and creator of the TV musical show Soul Train, died on Wednesday. He ended his life with a gunshot to the head. It is said that he had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and, out of fear of this illness, he committed suicide. May his soul rest in peace.

Having been the host of Soul Train from 1971 to 1993, in 2008 he sold the show’s franchise rights to MadVision Entertainment.

As a journalist who had been influenced by the equality movements of African Americans, Cornelius, in the final years of the 1960s, realized that there was no television program broadcasting soul music that had emerged from the Black community. By creating the Soul Train show, he introduced many Black artists to Americans.

Michael and his brothers performed on Soul Train when they were children. After Michael’s death in 2009, Cornelius said that every time Michael sang as a child, he would become faint.

Cornelius on his memories of the King of Pop: “It was complicated—some kids from the city of Gary, near Chicago, where I worked as an announcer on television, and their work was amazing. Local artists had been warned that if Jackson 5 had a show, they shouldn’t go on stage under a sunny sky—because their trick was to pull the rug out from under them. At that time, Michael was 6 or 7 years old. I met their father, Joe, by chance—or maybe I was introduced to him; I don’t remember. It’s been a long time. That’s how I got to know Michael. At that time he was about 8 years old. Later, Joe was kind enough to bring the group to my show.

Michael was the best lead singer that any group could hope for. The Miracles and Smokey Robinson, the Commodores and Lionel Richie, the Temptations and Eddie and Dennis… Joe Jackson had discovered the secret to success: Michael. He was the key, and he knew every James Brown dance move perfectly. He would light up the stage. He knew how to work the stage—and that was the first thing you realized when the group came onstage. He was the commander.

From the age of 8, the nature of stardom was in him.

As a child, he was also very lovable. Female singers would gather around him backstage and make him feel like their child. They were always busy hugging him, petting him, and kissing him. And that was beyond the limits of any child at that age—it had no end. I’m sure Michael would get tired of their behavior, but he never complained. They would surround him.

Later, he became in love with Diana Ross—he loved her music and her singing—and I think it was a mutual love. Diana also fell for him, and Michael was only 9 or 10 years old. (Diana was 24.)

He was only about 120 centimeters tall all the time. But this child had the ability to do anything you could imagine on stage—with his feet or his voice. Think of James Brown—he was a showman and performed. Or Aretha Franklin—she was a singer and sang on stage. Even artists like Stevie Wonder… these people were known for their ability to sing. But Michael was still a child, and he worked on stage alongside these people. No one had such ability. When he sang, you could hear Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey, and all these people in his voice. He had all of their abilities inside him at once. But no one could imitate him because Michael’s talent was beyond measure.

He was the man for the job. Young people will make him their role model. If you could set one person as the standard and compare others to him—or tell young people to be like that person—then that person is Michael Jackson.”

Source: eMJey.com / CNN