Blog 365: My Soul Train Ride Has Ended

My Soul Train Ride Has Ended

By Mr. Joe Walker

Black Entertainment Television purchased Soul Train. The deal officially brought my time with SoulTrain.com to an end. It was truly an amazing, exciting, historic ride.

I watched Soul Train every Saturday for much of my early life. I’d often imagine myself performing on its stage, completing Scramble Board puzzles, and dancing down the Soul Train Line with the lady who wore those shiny colorful stretch pants.

Actually being a part of the brand and its history through the official website was better than I could have ever imagined.

For more than 6-and-a-half years I wrote celebrity interviews, album and concert reviews, and columns exclusively for one of the most respected, appreciated, and celebrated urban entertainment brands of the last half-century. It was an honorable challenge, with each of the nearly 500 pieces I wrote, to uphold and add to Soul Train’s existing reputation of excellence. And my role there concluded because the brand was sold to BET. That’s a pretty awesome circumstance to be a casualty of. Soul Train will live on in their very capable hands.

My writing career spans an astounding 18 years. Looking back over everything I’ve done, reflecting on all the ways I’ve been blessed to impact lives using words, my contributions to Soul Train lore via SoulTrain.com ranks pretty close to the top of my list of most-cherished accomplishments. And for that I’m eternally grateful and thankful.

Thank you to Soul Train Holdings, LLC for having me.

Thank you to SoulTrain.com’s management for letting my unconventional style run wild, for allowing me to spearhead all-star tributes to Tina Turner, Gerald Levert, Ice Cube, Patti LaBelle, GURU and, of course, late Soul Train creator, Don Cornelius.

Thank you for bestowing upon me the honor of writing “SoulTrain.com’s Top 40 Most Soulful Hip-Hop Artists” and “SoulTrain.com’s Top 25 Most Soulful Rock Singers”.

Thank you to everyone I interviewed, whether it was their first Soul Train experience or a rekindling.

Last and most importantly, thank you to every reader who spent time with an article written by me or anyone else who helped make SoulTrain.com a must-visit web location before the BET purchase. I sincerely wish you all love, peace, and soul!