For over 35 years, Soul Train reigned as the "hippest trip in America," kicking down barriers and irrevocably changing the face of television.

From its 1971 premiere, the show offered a window into black culture, introducing a nation to music and dance, which they had never seen. An arbiter of taste and style from the start-if you were hot enough for the public to want to see you, then you earned a ticket on the Soul Train.