Before music videos became the industry's 24-hour marketing machine, there were a handful of television shows that mixed music, dance, and live performance. And few held the attention of generations of teens like "Soul Train."

Creator and host Don Cornelius packaged fashion, fros, and funk with the top soul and R&B hits of the day. Soul Train was a pop culture phenomenon that ran for an amazing 35 years.

Cornelius, who died yesterday of an apparent suicide, is being remembered for his pioneering efforts.

Soul Train was completely different than anything else on television in the 1970's and ‘80s. Cornelius, with his deep velvety voice, showcased black kids dancing in a friendly, almost family-like atmosphere every Saturday afternoon. Black music's royalty regularly appeared on his show: Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, the Jacksons, and many more. And he welcomed white cross-over artists like David Bowie, as well.

Critics often said Cornelius repackaged Dick Clark's American Bandstand. But Soul Train did something Bandstand couldn't. It helped introduce mostly black music to a world that was still dominated by white pop and rock artists. And the artists and their music transcended cultural stereotypes, lifting us away from the shadows of bigotry.

Though America was still reeling from civil unrest and the Vietnam War, your troubles disappeared for an hour whenever you watched Soul Train.

And Cornelius's familiar sign-out at the end of the show, "Peace and soul, my brothers and sisters," seemed possible.