Soul Train
Tribute to Smokey Robinson/ Bettye Lavette
TV Flash files “Tribute to Smokey Robinson/ Bettye Lavette” as hour 387 of 1134 in the TV Flash guide — Soul Train (1971–2006) on Syndicated, season 11, episode 21, aired 1982-04-24, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S11E21: listed hour 387 of 1134 in the Soul Train guide, hour 21 of 32 in season 11. It aired 1982-04-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Chi-Lites/ Bill Summers & Summers Heat” (S11E20). Next is “Sister Sledge/ Ray Parker, Jr.” (S11E22). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Opening titles "Up on Soul Train" by The Whispers Dancers, Two Song Segment: record: "Destiny" Smokey Robinson record: "It's You, Lady" Smokey Robinson Performance: Bettye Lavette - "Right In The Middle Of Falling in Love" +Interview with Don Cornelius. (It's revealed that Bettye did indeed perform on the Chicago version of Soul Train as well.) Scrambleboard: Elanda + Craig (CHARLIE PARKER) "International Baby" Smokey Robinson Performance: Smokey Robinson - "Old Fashioned Love" + (after this performance, Don jumps on stage, jokes around with Smokey and back sells the rest of the episode - thusly, not sure if this qualifies as an interview) Midpoint song: "Tell Me Tomorrow" Smokey Robinson Smokey Robinson, Question and Answer interview with dancers. Performance: Smokey Robinson "Tell Me Tomorrow" Dancers, record: "I'll Try Something New (1982 Version)" Smokey Robinson Performance: Bettye Lavette - "I Can't Stop" Soul Train Line: "The Only Game In Town" Smokey Robinson Performance: Smokey Robinson "Cruisin'"
Viewer FAQ
Where does Tribute to Smokey Robinson/ Bettye Lavette sit in the Soul Train guide?
S11E21 is listed hour 387 of 1134 — hour 21 of 32 in season 11, season 11 episode 21.
When did Soul Train S11E21 air?
Tribute to Smokey Robinson/ Bettye Lavette aired 1982-04-24 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…