The television show hosted by Don Cornelius that featured soul-music performances was Soul Train.
Soul Train began as a local program on Chicago’s WCIU-TV in 1970, after Cornelius developed the idea from a touring series of concerts and dance events. It moved into national syndication on October 2, 1971, and became one of American television’s most important showcases for Black music and dance.
The program featured performances by artists in soul, rhythm and blues, funk, disco, and later hip-hop. Its distinctive format combined live or lip-synced performances with energetic studio dancers, helping popularize dance styles and giving emerging performers access to a national audience.
Cornelius hosted the show from 1970 through 1993 and remained its central creative force afterward. Soul Train continued producing new episodes until 2006. It is sometimes confused with American Bandstand or Showtime at the Apollo, but Soul Train’s identity was built around Black popular music, dance culture, and Cornelius’s signature presentation.