The Soul Train Gang were an American R&B vocal group. In the early 1970s, the dancers on

Don Cornelius Donald Cortez Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer widely known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show '' Soul Train'', which he hosted from 1970 until 199 ...

' hit television program ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'' were called 'The Soul Train Gang'. The dancers became 'The

Dancers' in 1975 when the name 'The Soul Train Gang' was given to a R&B vocal quintet by Cornelius and

Dick Griffey Richard Gilbert Griffey (November 16, 1938 – September 24, 2010) was an American record producer and music promoter who founded SOLAR Records, an acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records". The label played a major role in developing a funk ...

. They did so to announce the founding of Soul Train Records (later

SOLAR Records SOLAR (acronym for Sound of Los Angeles Records) was an American record label founded in 1978 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only three years after it was founded with ''Soul Train'' television show host and creator Do ...

), home to Lakeside,

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group created by Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius in 1977 and active throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic lineup on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey D ...

The Whispers The Whispers are an American vocal group from Los Angeles, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers ...

and others—and . Consisting of two brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio; Gerald Brown & Terry Brown; Judy Jones (replaced by Denise Smith in 1976), Patricia Williamson and Hollis Pippin, The Soul Train Gang recorded its debut album,'' Don Cornelius Presents the Soul Train Gang'', in 1975. Produced by Cornelius and Griffey, the LP included "Soul Train '75," one of the many themes from ''Soul Train''. (The previous theme had previously been MFSB's famous "

TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" is a 1974 recording by MFSB featuring vocals by The Three Degrees. It was written by Gamble and Huff as the theme for the American musical television program ''Soul Train'', which specialized in African American ...

" on

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. The ...

.) The song peaked at 75 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 9 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The group recorded its second album, ''The Soul Train Gang'', produced by Norman Harris and done largely in Philadelphia, in 1976. Cornelius and Griffey hoped they could use Soul Train's popularity to make The Soul Train Gang a hit. Lead single "Ooh Cha" peaked at 107 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and 62 on the R&B chart. Both albums contained a 1970s

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

sound but neither made them a big name in the R&B world. They subsequently released a cover of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's " My Cherie Amour" which peaked at 93 on the Hot 100 and 21 on the dance chart. After the Gang disbanded in 1977, Brown went on to join Shalamar the following year, replacing original member Gary Mumford. Brown appeared on Shalamar's second album, '' Disco Gardens'', and the hit single "Take That to the Bank" before being replaced by

Howard Hewett Howard Hewett Jr. (born October 1, 1955) is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He si ...

in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soul Train Gang American soul musical groups American disco groups American dance groups Soul Train Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1977