*On March 24, 1973, Dick Clark tried to launch an R&B version of his “American Bandstand” to take down the Hippest Trip in America, only to watch it crash and burn just several episodes later, thanks to the civil rights movement and “The Black Godfather.”
On Aug. 5, 1957, “American Bandstand” expanded from a local Philadelphia program to a nationwide ABC phenomenon.
White teens danced to Top 40 hits from Jerry Lee Lewis to Frankie Lymon, as host/producer Clark introduced songs and interviewed live performers.
Cameras would capture the teens in their suits and dresses doing the latest dances. Here’s an episode that aired several months after the national launch.
On Oct 2, 1971, Don Cornelius’s “Soul Train,” featuring Black teens dancing to the latest R&B hits, similarly expanded from a local Chicago program to a nationally syndicated show, with host/producer Cornelius introducing songs and interviewing live performers.
Black teens in Afros and their freshest threads showcased the latest dances. Here’s footage from the first nationally-televised episode, featuring Bobby Hutton, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Eddie Kendricks and the Honey Cone.
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By 1971, every music genre had its respective lane on syndicated television, including “The Lawrence Welk Show,” for the big band generation, and “Hee Haw,” for country music fans. By 1973, “Soul Train” had become a cultural staple for R&B music, while “American Bandstand” was the same for Top 40.
“Bandstand’s” Black guests were limited only to those R&B artists with crossover hits. But, that wasn’t enough for Dick Clark, who reportedly felt that with his industry muscle, he could easily produce an all-Black version of “American Bandstand” and place it on more affiliates across the country, which would essentially push “Soul Train” out of existence.
On this day 50 years ago, Dick Clark Productions launched “Soul Unlimited,” with popular voice actor Buster Jones as its host. Clark even recruited Gladys Knight and the Pips to appear in the first episode, as Cornelius had done two years earlier for “Soul Train’s” national launch. Watch below.
Needless to say, Black political leaders were furious over Clark’s power move. As author and cultural critic Nelson George pointed out in his 2014 book “The Hippest Trip In America, Soul Train,” civil rights leaders felt that having a Black-owned show on television was a win for the movement. Chicago-based Rev. Jesse Jackson led a coalition of Black leaders that contacted Clark and ABC executives to protest “Soul Unlimited.” George wrote: “The idea that Clark, with whom blacks had always had an uneasy relationship, could kill ‘Soul Train’ led to threats of an ABC boycott.”
Also among the coalition was Clarence Avant, the all-powerful music industry exec known as “The Black Godfather.” Ironically, he also served as a consultant to ABC. According to George, Clark invited Avant to meet and discuss “Soul Unlimited.” Avant told George, “Clark wanted my okay. He wanted me to endorse his idea. I freaked out. ‘If you do this, there’s no Don Cornelius,’ I told him. We had just gotten free enough to have something on TV. I told Dick Clark no – I would not endorse his show.”
According to George, Avant called a meeting with top ABC executives in New York, as well as ABC chairman and founder Leonard Goldenson and president Eldon H. Rule. Meanwhile, the William Morris Agency, which represented Dick Clark Productions, sent Avant a threatening letter insisting that he mind his own business. Apparently, neither William Morris, Dick Clark Productions nor Dick Clark knew who they were dealing with. The Black Godfather would not be intimidated. In fact, after several episodes, “Soul Unlimited” was deceased and sleeping with the fishes, never to be heard from again.
Below is all that remains of “Soul Unlimited” following its head-on collision with Avant. In addition to Gladys Knight and the Pips, the March 24, 1973 premiere episode featured Rufus Thomas:
Another “Soul Unlimited” episode featured Ronnie Dyson of the Broadway musical “Hair,” and the band Malo:
A third, and apparently final “Soul Unlimited” episode, featured Eddie Kendricks and The Sylvers:
During its short run, “Soul Unlimited” also included taped remote segments with Bill Withers and Rosie Grier:
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