![]() ![]() “The cast was great, the crew members … it was one big family.” “We filmed in Atlanta for a good three months. She is excited about making that debut alongside such established talents as Kelly Rowland and Bobby Brown. “American Soul” marks Nichol’s acting debut. In 2012, Nichol performed on the “Teen Scream Tour” headlined by rapper Diggy Simmons. At the time, she was signed to Blige’s label, Matriarch Records. She grew up singing at Jesus Peace Ministries in Fayetteville, where her parents were choir directors who encouraged her musical ambitions.Īt age 12, Nichol performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York alongside one of her idols, Mary J. Playing the role of a dreamer is something that must have come naturally to Nichol. They find out about this new show called ‘Soul Train’ and they end up auditioning and getting on.” “It’s been a passion since she was young. “Simone is a dreamer, she has dreams of becoming a superstar,” Nichol said. Nichol referred to the character as a “diva in training.'' Simone is an ambitious singer in a fictional group called Encore. Nichol, who attended Sherwood Park Elementary, John Griffin Middle and graduated from Jack Britt High School in 2016, plays Simone Clarke, a musical performer on the show. ![]() “It’s basically a look into the life of Don and his dancers.” “The show is about Don Cornelius, the creator of ‘Soul Train,’ and the lives of the ‘’Soul Train’ dancers,” said Nichol in a telephone interview from Detroit, where she was promoting the show. Kelly Rowland plays Gladys Knight, Michelle Williams portrays Diana Ross and Bobby Brown plays Rufus Thomas. "American Soul" boasts some major talent. Like Dick Clark on "Bandstand," Cornelius introduced and interviewed the acts as well as the dancers who were an essential part of the show. "Soul Train" was a kind of black counterpart to "American Bandstand,'' with a similar music-and-dance format. Set in the early 1970s, “American Soul” explores the show that for 35 years showcased the best in soul and R&B music, from The Staple Singers to Michael Jackson. The 10-episode “American Soul” makes its debut Feb. I told Dick Clark no – I would not endorse his show.At age 20, Katlyn Nichol is a little too young to remember much about “Soul Train” - the last original episode of the classic music program aired more than a dozen years ago.īut the Fayetteville native is starring in a TV series that examines the influential long-running show and its creator, Don Cornelius. We had just gotten free enough to have something on TV. ‘If you do this, there’s no Don Cornelius,’ I told him. According to George, Clark invited Avant to meet and discuss “Soul Unlimited.” Avant told George, “Clark wanted my okay. 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.”Īlso 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. 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. ![]() Needless to say, Black political leaders were furious over Clark’s power move. ![]() 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. On this day 50 years ago, Dick Clark Productions launched “Soul Unlimited,” with popular voice actor Buster Jones as its host. 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. “Bandstand’s” Black guests were limited only to those R&B artists with crossover hits. ![]()
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