Original title
Soul!
Released
9/12/1968
Origin country
US
Production companies
Thirteen
Status
In production
Number of seasons
6
Number of episodes
23
Soul! or SOUL! (1968–1973) was a pioneering performance/variety television program in the late 1960s and early 1970s produced by New York City PBS affiliate, WNET. It showcased African American music, dance and literature. The program was created and often hosted by Ellis Haizlip, an openly gay African American closely associated with the Black Arts Movement. Poet Nikki Giovanni was also a frequent host. Among the musical performers who appeared on the show were Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Dells, Labelle, Ashford and Simpson, Al Green, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, and Gladys Knight, as well as African performers Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. Others who appeared on the program included boxer Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, minister (later politician) Jesse Jackson, actor / singer Harry Belafonte, actor Sidney Poitier, and Kathleen Cleaver, wife of Eldridge Cleaver.
Guests include: Barbara Acklin, Patti LaBelle, Betty Shabazz, Sam & Dave, Redd Foxx, The Last Poets, The Manhattans, Billy Taylor, Jimmy McGriff, Mary Wells, Maxine Brown, Hal Jackson, Señorita Carla Pinza, Chuck Jackson, and others.
Guests: Barbara Acklin, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Novella Nelson, Billy Taylor, The Vibrations and Pearl Williams Jones, and Irwin C. Watson Hosts: Alvin Poussaint and Loretta Long
Guests: Betty Shabazz (widow of Malcolm X), author Julius Lester, comedian Arnold Dover, vocalist Tiny Irvin, vocal quintet Popular Five, vocal quartet Sweet Inspirations Hosts: Alvin Poussaint and Loretta Long
Guests include Ben E. King, James Baldwin, Mario Van Peebles, Jerry Butler, Eddie Floyd, The Last Poets, Shirley Chisholm, Joe Tex, King Curtis, Roberta Flack, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Bell & the Drells, Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, and others.
Guests: Ben E. King, The Mamseilles*, Brad Lundy*, Rita Lamont* Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests include: James Earl Jones, Curtis Mayfield, Eddie Floyd, Patti LaBelle, Muhammad Ali, LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Pharoah Sanders, Candi Staton, Kool and the Gang, The Emotions, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Marion Williams, The Delfonics, Len Chandler, The Manhattans, Kim Weston, Bobby Hebb, Cissy Houston, Herbie Hancock, Nikki Giovanni, and others.
Guests include: Nikki Giovanni, The Sweet Inspirations, The Black Dance Union, Leon Thomas, The Staple Singers, The Three Degrees, Esther Phillips, Andrew Hill, Thelma Houston, Billy Paul, Junior Walker, Clayton Riley, Buddy Miles, Odetta, Betty Carter, Valerie Simpson, Nick Ashford, Roy Haynes, Betty Shabazz, The Reverend Louis Farrakhan, Rufus Thomas, Richie Havens, Herbie Hancock, Mandrill, Max Roach, Hugh Masekela, Ron Carter/M'Boom, Wilson Pickett, Melvin Van Peebles, James Baldwin, Bill Withers, and others.
Then 47-year-old novelist James Baldwin is interviewed by 28-year-old poet Nikki Giovanni in a two-part presentation of WNET’s “SOUL!" Taped in London in 1971, the wide-ranging conversation explores Black life in America, the struggle for racial justice and evolving gender roles, while also offering insight into the work and artistic process of two literary icons.
Then 47-year-old novelist James Baldwin is interviewed by 28-year-old poet Nikki Giovanni in a two-part presentation of WNET’s “SOUL!" Taped in London in 1971, the wide-ranging conversation explores Black life in America, the struggle for racial justice and evolving gender roles, while also offering insight into the work and artistic process of two literary icons.
Guests: Singer Bill Withers, poet Mae Jackson, and the McCoy Tyner Quartet Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests include: Muhammad Ali, Miriam Makeba, Nikki Giovanni, Jerry Butler, Horace Silver, Bobbi Humphrey, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Al Green, Vertamae Grosvenor, Merry Clayton, The Reverend Jesse Jackson, The Dells, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gerry Bledsoe, Amiri Baraka, Tito Puente, Willie Colon, Ron O'Neal, Carmen McRae, Cicely Tyson, Stevie Wonder, and others.
Guests: Muhammad Ali, singer Miriam Makeba, and vocal group the Delfonics Host: Nikki Giovanni
Guests: Jerry Butler, Peaches, Anna Horsford, and dentist Dr. Stanley Nelson
Guests: Lynn Brown (wife of Black activist H. Rap Brown); gospel group the Shirley Caesar Singers, and musical group The Main Ingredient Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests: Keyboardist Horace Silver with vocalists Andy and Salome Bey, trumpeter Lee Morgan, flutist Bobbi Humphrey Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests: Actor/singer Ronnie Dyson, singer Cissy Houston and poets China Clark and Quincy Troupe
Guests: Gladys Knight and the Pips, and poets Carolyn Rodgers and Norman Jordan
Guests: Singer Al Green, author Vertamae Grosvenor, the Isaac Douglas Singers, writer Alice Childress, and poet Camille Yarbrough
Guests: Jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk & the Vibration Society Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests: Stevie Wonder and Wonderlove Setlist... 01. For Once In My Life 02. If You Really Love Me 03. Superwoman 04. You And I 05. Interview 06. What's Going On/My Cherie Amour 07. Blowing In The Wind 08. With A Chid's Heart 09. Love Having You Around 10. Signed Sealed Delivered/Papa Was A Rolling Stone 11. Superstition 12. Maybe Your Baby/Superstition Outro 13. Uptight Everything's Alright
Guests include: Al Green, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Spinners, Stokely Carmichael, Esther Phillips, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Preston, and others.
Guest: an evening with singer Al Green Host: Ellis Haizlip
Guests: Tony Award-winning singer Linda Hopkins & the Soul Quintet, and musical group Earth, Wind & Fire Hosts: Gerry Bledsoe and Ellis Haizlip
Guests: The Spinners and the Jimmy Castor Bunch
Guest: Stokely Carmichael
Guest: singer Esther Phillips, and a performance of “The Johnson Girls,” which centers around six young Southern ladies.
Guests: vocal group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, singer Esther Marrow, and Encore magazine editor Ida Lewis
Guest: performer/composer/keyboard artist Billy Preston and his musical group.
Soul! staff: Ellis Haizlip, Alonzo Brown Jr., Anna Horsford, Sherri Santifer, Loretta Green and Leslie Demus read poetry – and letters from viewers throughout the country, and share clips of LaBelle (from the first episode of Soul!), and King Curtis (musical director of Soul!, who passed away during the show’s run). Host: Ellis Haizlip
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