Booty Central: Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America

Watley, another Chicago native, was invited to dance by a bit of "fortuitous destiny." She was only 14. "Though I had been invited the first time," Watley says, "it took several months for me to become a regular. I'd get kicked out, ride the bus home, cry, and the next month I'd go back and try it again. And it payed off.

"One of my favorites would probably be Labelle," says Watley when asked about watching some of the show's greatest performances. "They were so flamboyant. The word fierce is tossed around kind of cheaply today. But Labelle was genuinely fierce. We hadn't see anything like that before. It was futuristic. It was gospel. It was funk. It was dance. It was disco. I just remember the excitement and the buzz that day. The second that comes to mind would be David Bowie. I got kicked out of that taping because I wasn't invited and I snuck in."

Don Cornelius only danced once on his show, but his tastes inspired a generation of groovers.

Location Info

Map

The Paley Center for Media

465 N. Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Category: Museums

Region: Beverly Hills

Photos

0 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare

Related Content

• Train Kept a-Soulin'
  June 28, 2012
• Fanatics! Tonight's Show Is Packed With Mix Tape Goodness
  May 10, 2013
• Henry Rollins: The Day After Bowie's The Next Day
  March 28, 2013
• Remembering Napster
  March 28, 2013
• Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: David Bowie's "Scary Monsters"
  December 28, 2012

More About

• Soul Train
• Don Cornelius
• Jody Watley
• Soul Music
• Celebrity News

After launching a successful solo career and winning a Grammy in the '80s, Watley returned to sing on Soul Train seven times. "I recall crying in my dressing room because I remembered being a teenager and just wanting to get on the show and dance," Watley says. "I'd wanted to be a singer all my life and it was realizing a dream come true. It really meant so much to me. Perseverance and determination count for something."

Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America airs on VH1 on February 5 and screens at the Paley Center on January 29, followed by a discussion with Don Cornelius, Jody Watley and other guests.