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Don Cornelius, host of Soul Train

Don Cornelius, the great host of Soul Train in the 1970s and 1980s, was found dead today in his Sherman Oaks home, apparently a suicide.

I loved Don Cornelius and watched him often. He had that cool style.

Above all, he was my introduction to one of the greatest periods of American pop music: soul music in the 1970s. I think Soul Train introduced black pop culture to a lot of folks that way.

 I remember seeing Billy Paul, O’Jays, Chi-Lites, Delfonics, Kool and the Gang, Roberta Flack, Barry White, and the best of them all, the Spinners with the late Phillipe Soul Wynne — all on Soul Train.

A great dude…..Sorry to see him go.

I’m hosting a chat at 2pm PSt today on Fire Dog Lake, with Sylvia Longmire, author of “Cartel: the Coming Invasion of Mexico’s Drug Wars.”

Check it out….

Sam

Hey there!

Welcome to my new blog.

It’s been a long time in conception, but something I think all reporters need to have these days — if only to offer a peek into how they work.

I hope it’s a vibrant thing, this blog. I’ll be posting a couple times a day, usually about stories I’m working on, where I find myself, and with whom I’ve been speaking. Could be a landscaper in Azusa, a cop in Hollywood, a taco truck operator in Florence, or a professor in Mexico. Could be a post about a story or interview I’ve done in the past.

Lots of photos, too, as I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.

Through some surprising storytelling, I hope you’ll get a feel for topics I find so vital these days.

Please comment on, critique, what I write.

A personal note: I now work for the LA Times. I’ve been a reporter for 25 years now (10 years in Mexico as a freelancer), written a couple books, and a lot of tales about immigration, gangs, drug trafficking.

I also edit the true storytelling website, Tell Your True Tale, which I invite you to visit and contribute to.

Anyway, here goes…. Hope you like it.

Sam