Soul Train — Chicago roots

CTL-E-2592 · Institution · other · 1970–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

The Chicago origins of Soul Train: Don Cornelius's 1970 WCIU-TV local show, filmed at the Chicago Board of Trade building, before national syndication moved it to Los Angeles in 1971.

The record

Also known as: Soul Train Chicago years, Soul Train WCIU era

Relationships

Don Cornelius — founded by
Don Cornelius created Soul Train, premiering it as a local daily show on WCIU-TV in Chicago in 1970.
Soul Train archive (television) — archived at
The Soul Train television archive documents the show whose Chicago years (1970–1971, WCIU-TV) this entity covers; the brand and library are now held by Paramount Skydance via BET Networks.

Referenced by

Don Cornelius — founded → this record

Sources

Black America Web — Little Known Black History Fact: Don Cornelius
Wikipedia — Soul Train
NPR Illinois — 'Soul Train' Creator Don Cornelius Dies At 75
Chicago City Council — Proclamation: 55 years of Soul Train (primary source)

Record CTL-E-2592 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 4 sources (1 primary) · 3 mapped relationships · CTL research: RELP-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Soul Train — Chicago roots (CTL-E-2592),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2592/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Soul Train — Chicago roots (CTL-E-2592).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2592/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Soul Train — Chicago roots (CTL-E-2592) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2592/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Soul Train — Chicago roots (CTL-E-2592).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-2592/

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From the Archive

The archive in pictures

The people, places, and institutions this work documents. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Shoeshine, 47th Street, Chicago's main Negro business street, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Where the Negro and white sections on the South Side meet, the white and Negro children sometimes play together, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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