Soul Train
Bill Withers/ Al Green/ Viola Wills
TV Flash files “Bill Withers/ Al Green/ Viola Wills” as a desk essential hour — Soul Train (1971–2006) on Syndicated, season 1, episode 5, aired 1971-10-30, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E05: listed hour 5 of 1134 in the Soul Train guide, hour 5 of 30 in season 1. It aired 1971-10-30 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Staple Singers / Freda Payne” (S01E04). Next is “Lou Rawls/ The 100 Proof/ The Emotions” (S01E06). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Essential hour: “Bill Withers/ Al Green/ Viola Wills”. Bill Withers, Al Green, Viola Wills is early-run guest density as archive. The Line already the set; scrambleboard kids loading into fame; velvet-baritone hosting as cultural weather.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" Al Green "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Tired of Being Alone" Viola Wills "Sweetback"
Viewer FAQ
Where does Bill Withers/ Al Green/ Viola Wills sit in the Soul Train guide?
S01E05 is listed hour 5 of 1134 — hour 5 of 30 in season 1, season 1 episode 5.
When did Soul Train S01E05 air?
Bill Withers/ Al Green/ Viola Wills aired 1971-10-30 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I watch from 1971 in order?
No. It is a music-and-dance series, not a plot. Sample eras for the guests and the Line; Cornelius's classic hosting years are the brand center.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Don Cornelius promises the hippest trip in America and delivers the national dance party corporate TV had under-served: guests, fashion, the Line, scrambleboard kids who became famous. Syndicated Black music television as cultural archive from 1971 deep into the 2000s. Velvet baritone as the rope.
Chicago, 1971: Don Cornelius promises a hip trip across America and delivers the most important dance party in television history, then keeps delivering it until 2006. Soul Train began locally, went to national syndication, and ran thirty-five seasons, more than a thousand hours, putting Black music, fashion, and the Soul Train Line into living rooms corporate television had long under-served. Artists performed. Dancers — including scrambleboard kids who became famous — moved the culture forward. Cornelius…
Filed against
- Don Cornelius as Host
Don Cornelius promised the hippest trip in America on Soul Train — guests, fashion, the Line, scrambleboard kids who became famous, syndicated Black music television as cultural archive from 1971 deep into the 2000s. Velvet baritone as a…
Also in season 1
- S01E01 Gladys Knight & the Pips/ Eddie Kendricks/ The Honey Cone/ Bobby Hutton
- S01E02 Charlie Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Band/ Carla Thomas/ General Crook
- S01E03 Chairmen of the Board/ Rufus Thomas/ Laura Lee
- S01E04 The Staple Singers / Freda Payne
- S01E06 Lou Rawls/ The 100 Proof/ The Emotions
- S01E07 Martha & the Vandellas/ The Intruders/ G.C. Cameron