A plea from DJ Riz:

I was in boston over the weekend for the marathon, and because of the early start time I hadda get up at 4 in the morning to help my friend prepare. I turned on the t.v. in the hotel and stumbled into a repeat of a Soul Train show…an old old show. The segment featured the Modulations, Betty Wright, Wilson Pickett and was hosted by Don Cornelius himself. The show was so old it had the theme they used before the one most people know by MFSB called “T.S.O.P.”

I’m an old negro and watched the series religiously when I was a youngun, but three quarters of the music on the repeat I don’t recall having heard in any other context than recent soul compilations, cuts like Ramsey Lewis’s “Spiderman” (did you know he had a song called “Spiderman”?) and a Barry White song that I don’t remember the name of—it was 4am after all. The Soul Train scramble was Leon Haywood. Even though the featured artists lip synched (and not all artists did in those days) it was absolutely glorious.

After searching on the internet for more information of the syndicated series returning to television, something i’v waited my whole life for, I’ve discovered that the Boston CW is the only place in the nation that is showing repeats of the old shows…and this only at 4am on monday mornings. Perhaps you know folks in boston with Tivo and tape capacity who can spread the wealth. It would be an absolute and dirty shame—no, it would be a national disgrace—if this didn’t develop into national syndication. As of now none of these shows are available on dvd (and don’t count for any info at all on the official soul train site).

ANYdangways…I though you should know..
Love, Peace, and Soul,
always,
Riz

It doesn’t look like this stuff is up on Youtube either. So is there anybody in Boston that can help a soul brother out?