"Soul Train" Coming Back Under New Ownership

After two years of sitting dormant on the tracks, the Soul Train is ready to move again, thanks to new ownership. Series creator and longtime host Don Cornelius has sold the long-running franchise to production company MadVision, who plan to both produce new episodes for the first time since 2006 as well as release DVDs and Internet content from the show's massive archives. In recent years, Soul Train had only been broadcast in syndication in the form of "Best Of" episodes. MadVision is already talking to producers about the 2008 version of Soul Train, hoping to update it to connect with a younger audience. For the nostalgic set, "The series has never been shown on DVD, and it's not been utilized on video-on-demand or mobile or Internet platforms," MadVision co-founder Peter Griffith said. "There are many opportunities that we are exploring."

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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