Celebrities Remember "Soul Train" - NYTimes.com The children of "Soul Train," glued to the TV Saturday mornings, reminisce about what the show - its music, its fashion, its spirit - meant to them growing up. I watched "Soul Train" religiously every week and loved it from beginning to end. Even the Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen ads were heaven. "Soul Train" had the funkiest, most stylish, sexiest dancers. Everybody looked like they were having the best time, and the girls all looked gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to look like that? I was a just little kid living in the countryside in Virginia. I lived for it. Don Cornelius was a real maverick and one of television's truly coolest hosts. I always admired and respected his ability to create "Soul Train," as it became such an iconic show that stood the test of time. He introduced hundreds of stars to a national audience. He put across to the culture at large what was going on in the African-American community, which was both enlightening and inspiring. Watching my baby sitter get the opportunity to go on "Soul Train" was like a dream come true for her because "Soul Train" was the biggest thing then for the black community. It gave ordinary, everyday people an opportunity to express themselves. It showed us that we, too, have a place on TV. "Soul Train" was so innovative for its time. It really brought the funk and fun and soul of music into average American households. I admire and respect the show for all it stood for and for how it changed the perception of what soul music really is. He was family. When I heard, it was like losing a father twice. Don Cornelius helped me realize my creative potential. Growing up in Hanover Park, Ill., I was addicted to "Soul Train." I really loved the dancers. Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel were two of my favorites. They were both gorgeous, and Jeffrey was an amazing dancer who introduced the moonwalk on the show. Another one of my favorites was this guy Randy who was super handsome and muscle-y. I would pick up fashion tips from Randy and the other guys, like these crazy ankle boots I bought on Rush Street that I thought were so cool and would look so great going down the "Soul Train" line dance. The other kids just didn't get it. I remember being like 6 or 7, in the early 1990s, when "Soul Train" was playing. I used to try and imitate the dance moves. I got in trouble for it a lot because they were so sexual, but I didn't understand. My mom would catch me dancing with my aunt and then tell me not to do that. And then she would hit me. I grew up on the show, doing all the moves. There was a lot of self-expression. I remember seeing a lot of color, metallics, sequins; spandex was so acceptable. When I started styling in the "90s, it was a blueprint for me as a costume designer to do as I wished, because shows like "Soul Train" didn't hold back visually. There was an episode where the S.O.S. Band was on, along with an early Janet Jackson performance from her first album. That pretty much inspired my entire new album. My first wife's brother was Don Cornelius. He wanted black artists to have an outlet like Dick Clark. Don wanted to start his own show so that black artists would have the same opportunity that the white artists had, and he said he would die trying. It seemed like a whole other world to me. It was so flamboyant; there was such a bravado. And that's certainly something that resonates deeply with me, of course. I never missed it. Saturday morning. As a graduate student at Princeton, I would see it wherever I was. It made available to the world one of the great traditions in American history, which is a history of soul music. Soul music at its best taught America, especially young Americans, about color, how to be free and how to love in a deeper and better way. Interviews have been edited and condensed.