Jan 2014 Newsletter
Soul Train Cruise 411
Warm Up Your Winter Aboard the Soul Train Cruise 2014
The Soul Train Cruise sails in less than 60 days. Our staff is hard at work 
putting the finishing touches on what is shaping up to be the biggest Soul Train Cruise yet. We’ll be back in the Caribbean enjoying the crystal blue sea and pristine island beaches as well as an incredible lineup of R&B royalty performing in beautifully intimate venues.
From the inaugural sold-out cruise to the latest West Coast success, the Soul Train Cruise has become the “Homecoming” event for fans of classic R&B music. And the Soul Train Cruise 2014 will continue the tradition. In addition to 30 live nightly performances by 16 incredible Artists, imagine rubbing elbows with your favorite stars at more than 25 interactive celebrity experiences.
You should know by now that the only thing better than sailing on theSoul Train Cruise is sailing on it with your loved ones. Reconnect with old friends and the music you love and plan the vacation of a lifetime.
Our reservationists are ready to help you book. If you want to be part of The Hippest Trip at Sea, now is the time. Visit SoulTrainCruise.com or call us toll-free at 855.SOUL.TRAIN to get on board today.
As always, wishing you Love, Peace and Soul!
The Staff of Soul Train Cruise
Programming Details for 2014 Nearly Complete
We are finalizing our cruise program now, but some of the incredible events include a Men’s Health seminar with Charlie Wilson, a barbeque cooking demonstration with Ron Isley, a special panel discussion entitled,Remembering Don Cornelius. Plus wine tasting with Peabo Bryson, a drum seminar with Jeffrey Osborne, dance lessons by the original Soul Train dancers and more. Cruisers will be treated to more than 25 interactive celebrity experiences in all.
Love the Cruise? Tell Your Friends!
The only thing better than sailing on the Soul Train Cruise is sharing the experience with your friends and loved ones. And the best part: Our group leader program helps you get credit for sharing the love.
Gerald Alston of The Manhattans Answers Our Questions
It’s downright impossible to hear “Kiss and Say Goodbye” or “Shining Star” without singing along. Or any one of The Manhattans’ 33 Top 40 R&B hits, for that matter. Or 20 Top 20 R&B hits. Or 11 Top 10s. We’ve loved them for more than 51 years, making The Manhattans one of the most successful and popular groups in R&B history. And in February, they will join the Soul Train Cruise for the very first time. 
Gerald Alston, who joined the group in 1970 and has a slew of his own solo hits, recently spoke with the 411 about The Manhattans’ storied career, the impact of "Soul Train" on it and R&B culture, and how he is planning on seeing every single concert while on board the Soul Train Cruise.
What you are most looking forward to on the upcoming Soul Train Cruise? The fans? The trip itself? The other Artists?
All of it! I’ll get a chance to see some of the other Artists that I haven’t seen in a while — I’ve worked with most of the Artists before that are on the cruise. I’m hoping we might get to see each other casually, like at lunch, and just mingle together. It will be like a reunion. With the fans, it will be such an intimate experience because we’re on the ship together for so long, and it gives all of our fans the opportunity to get to see us a lot, and we get a chance to be a part of their trip as well. We just love it.
Are you planning on going to see any of the concerts during the cruise?
I want to see as many of them as I can! I’m going to have my fan outfit and am going to try to make as many concerts as I can. In fact, I want to see all of them. I have actually worked with so many of them. In fact, we did an album with Ray Goodman called "Soul Generation." It covers all the greatest hits of the ’70s, and we hope to release it in the spring of 2014.
Man, the Isleys, Roberta, Charlie, oh, my God, I go back with all of them. I can’t wait to see them again.
Will you be performing all of The Manhattans’ hits? Can they all fit into a single set? There are so many!
We’re going to try. Actually, since we’re performing two nights — what we miss one night, we’ll pick up the next night. We’re also doing a separate gospel performance. In fact, we just recorded a gospel album.
Do you have a favorite Manhattans song?
My favorite song is “There’s No Me Without You,” because that’s a true expression of us as a group. We realize that without our fans, our team, the support of the press and radio, we wouldn’t exist. And that’s a lot of people – in August, The Manhattans hit their 51st anniversary.
When you first started out, could you have ever imagined such a long and successful career?
I’ve been with the group for 43 years, replacing original member George Smith. When I first met The Manhattans, it felt right. I knew I was in the right place, and I just fit right in. And it’s been absolutely wonderful since then. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
What have been some of your career highlights?
There were three events during my career as a Manhattan that really stand out:
We performed at the inauguration for President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
In 1980 we won a Grammy.
And in 1996 we went to South Africa. I think that was the highlight of our career. We were supposed to do a four-day tour, and we ended up playing for 15 days, breaking all kinds of attendance records.
When we first arrived, we were supposed to have a press conference at the airport. But when we got there, there had to be at least two or three thousand people waiting for us. The promoter would add a concert, and it would be sold out by the next day. We found that during apartheid, our music was played a lot.
Our tour’s opening night was at Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg. The noise from the crowd was so loud that we could actually feel the building shaking. We recorded a live album that night, and the audience sang to every song. I found out later that South Africa is the second-biggest market for our CD sales, second only to the U.S.
What are your thoughts about “Soul Train” and the impact it has had on American culture?
We finally had a place for the whole world to see and hear our music. It was a chance for all the R&B Artists to have their face seen on television and around the world.
Don Cornelius was the same every time I was on his show. There was no ego with him, never an ego. I have run into him on the street in California, like at the cleaners, and he’d always ask about Blue and the others. I sat down with him and Barry White one day, and they were talking about the Soul Train kids and children in general, and they were saying they are our children and that if we don’t do something for them, then we are failing them. I remember sitting there, talking with them and being a part of it. And that was a perfect example of who Don Cornelius was. To do something for the kids, to give something back to the kids. "Soul Train" helped the artists and the young people, too.
I carried that conversation we had about children with me for a long time. I mentor kids now and am part of an organization that runs college bus tours for high school students. The J.C Hines College Bus Tour travels up and down the east coast to schools like Howard and Towson, Virginia State and Morgan and Virginia Union, and we eventually want to take it nationwide. We work with parents and with the schools. It’s run by the Shriners, Golconda Temple No. 24 in Newark, NJ.
The Latest Scoop on STC '14 Artists
Our Soul Train Cruise stars have been performing right through the holidays. They have been all around the world and back again, helping others and working hard. You may have seen Charlie Wilson on television lately, heard about Maxi Priest honoring Black History Month in the U.K., and have you heard Alonzo Bodden’s podcast? 
Charlie Wilson performed “I Still Have You” (from "The Best Man Holiday" soundtrack) on both Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in November. Watch them here:
See Charlie Wilson on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
See Charlie Wilson on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
The Commodores headlined a special pre-Thanksgiving concert with Bill Cosby in New Orleans on Nov. 22 to benefit Xavier University.
Stephanie Mills, Charlie Wilson and Soul Train Cruise 2013 alums The Whispers will perform together on one magical night in Los Angeles: Jan. 19 at the Nokia Theatre.
After spending November touring the world, including stops in Japan and Indonesia, Peabo Bryson joins the Colors of Christmas tour, performing throughout the United States with CeCe Winans, Melissa Manchesterand "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard.
Maxi Priest was invited to honor the U.K.’s Black History Month at the Royal Air Force Museum in England as it unveiled its brand-new exhibition, "Pilots of the Caribbean: Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force."
In between tour dates, comedian Alonzo Bodden hosts his hilarious weekly podcast, "Who’s Paying Attention?"
Biz Markie is making special appearances on the "A Very Awesome Yo Gabba Gabba Holiday Show" as it tours throughout the country.
The Isley Brothers Never Stop — Seven Decades of Hits
It just doesn’t get any bigger than The Isley Brothers. They are a family so blessed with talent and charisma that influenced R&B music for more than 60 years, and they show no signs of slowing down. When Ronald and Ernie board the Soul Train Cruise in February, they will bring with them more than 50 hits that span generations and take fans through soul, funk, disco and back to soul again.
The brothers always sang together while growing up in Cincinnati, but when they decided to make a career of it, the older boys moved to New York in 1958. “There was a lot of music in our home,” Ernie Isley said in an interview with Examiner.com. “Mom played piano in church and gave piano lessons. We also rehearsed at home before going in the studio.”
It didn’t take long for them to write and record their first hit song, a little tune you may have heard before called “Shout.” Released in 1959, it has remained one of the most popular songs in America ever since. “Shout” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and is widely considered the ultimate party song; people jump along to its signature dance moves on the dance floor, in stadiums, on television and in movies. Not a bad way to kick off a career.
By 1962, the Isleys returned to the charts with another gospel-tinged song, “Twist and Shout” (covered a year later by The Beatles), and became bonafide R&B stars. Hits like “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You),” “I Guess I’ll Always Love You,” and “Was It Good to You?” rolled out, one after the other. Along the way, they took a young guitarist under their wing, touring and recording with him before he branched out on his own, changing his name to Jimi Hendrix.
In 1969, the brothers found themselves launched into superstardom with the release of “It’s Your Thing.” The No. 1 R&B smash was a daring venture into funky soul for the group, who added it to their growing list of songs that have never gone out of style. The Isley Brothers took home a Grammy Award that year for the Best R&B Vocal Performance and marked the beginning of a whole new level for the group. 1969 also marked the year younger brother Ernie joined the group, expanding and updating their style to fit the quickly changing musical landscape of the '60s and '70s.
The Isleys continued their domination of the airwaves with an unrelenting slew of hits: “I Turned You On,” “Keep on Doin’," “Warpath,” covers of “Spill The Wine,” “Love the One You’re With,” and Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay.” And that was just the beginning of the 1970s. The decade brought only bigger and bigger success as their iconic songs came to define the era. “Work To Do.” “Pop That Thang.” “Lay-Away.” It couldn’t possibly get bigger. And then came “That Lady.” In 1973, the song grooved its way up into the Top 10 of the pop charts to become yet another of their iconic signature songs.
But there were still a lot of years left in the’70s, and The Isley Brothers filled them with more and more Top 10 R&B hits: “What It Comes Down To,” “Summer Breeze,” “Live It Up (Part 1),” “Midnight Sky.” It seemed impossible to stop their reign over the charts. Instead, the opposite happened. The Isley Brothers got even bigger.
One of the most romantic songs ever to land on the R&B charts was released. Couples fall in love to, get married to, celebrate anniversaries to “For the Love of You” to this very day. After it swept the nation in 1975, the Isleys surprisingly followed it with the fiery — and funky — political anthem “Fight the Power,” which resonated deeply with the restless American public, who drove it all the way to No. 1 on the R&B chart.
Their creative renaissance during the 1970s drew from funk, gospel, R&B and disco, and all that they touched turned to gold. Fans couldn’t get enough of The Isley Brothers — their songs dominated the R&B, pop and disco charts throughout the decade. Classics like “Who Loves You Better?”, “People of Today,” “Harvest for the World,” “Here We Go Again (Part 1),” the No. 1 R&B smashes “The Pride,” “Take Me to the Next Phase (Part 1)” and “I Wanna Be With You (Part 1)” and the ubiquitous “It’s a Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop).”
Few artists can claim hit singles that span four decades. The Isleys did it with ease. The 1980s saw the release of their No. 1 R&B soulful ballad “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time for Love),” followed by yet another string of Top 20 R&B hits, which included their fan-favorite “Between the Sheets.” The 1990s brought “Floatin’ on Your Love” and “Tears,” and the new millennium saw “Contagious” and “What Would You Do” and collaborations with some of the most talented and creative artists of the era: Jill Scott, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Raphael Saadiq. Ronald Isley went on to work with R. Kelly, Snoop, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Nelly, Patti LaBelle, Quincy Jones, Trey Songz and even Rod Stewart.
It was during this time that the Isleys noticed their classic hits were being played on the radio as much as their new songs. Rap artists had begun to mine the deep archives of Isleys' records and sampled liberally. “One of my favorites is Ice Cube’s ‘It Was a Good Day,’ that sampled ‘Footsteps in the Dark,’"Ronald Isley told Ebony magazine. “That record knocked me out, as did the 'Big Poppa' song Biggie did. The Isley Brothers are the most sampled artists in the business; I think James Brown is second. Maybe the Funkadelics are third. Hey, man, I’m just glad we influenced the rappers that much.”
It seemed as if the only time the Isleys stopped recording hit songs was when they dropped by awards shows to pick up trophies. In 2002, they took home two Soul Train Music Awards for the track “Contagious” and their album "Eternal." Ronald Isley returned in 2010 when the Soul Train Music Awards honored him with a Legends award and a tribute performance featuring Jeffrey Osborne, Freddy Jackson, DeBarge, Tank, Eric Benet, Bilal and Peabo Bryson. Ron took to the stage himself that night, too, singing a medley of his hits with Chante Moore and R. Kelly.
BET delivered a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, and, in 1992, The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In February 2014, The Isley Brothers will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Well into their 60th year as one of the most successful and popular groups in all of music, Ronald Isley summed up the secret to their success in a recent interview with Vibe magazine. “I’ll sing as long as I can because I enjoy doing that,” he said. “I enjoy the fans and what I do. I love the traveling and the hotels and just seeing the world over and over again. The places I’ve been before—to go back to them and the people. I just enjoy the whole nine.”
How Soul Train Cruise Artists Rang in 2014
Our Soul Train Cruise stars are every bit as excited about the New Year as you are. Find out who counted down to 2014 with their fans and what their New Year’s resolutions are.
Resolutions From the Performers
Maxi Priest declares: "My New Year’s resolution is to spread more love and keep the values of Nelson Mandela alive."
Stephanie Mills wishes “For black-on-black killings to stop and for us to live in peace and stress less.”
Biz Markie says, “I want to celebrate my 30-year anniversary in the music business by catching up with all of my friends that have been a part of this magical ride for the past 30 years.”
Alonzo Bodden says, “I resolve to lose any regrets I might have. No matter how hard I try, I can’t improve my past.”
Edna Wright of Honey Cone promises to “Be even more giving and blessing as many people as I can.”
And The Commodores plan to ...
“To finish at least one project, instead of fumbling with twelve” (William “WAK” King) ...
“Limit myself to only six Krispy Kreme doughnuts a week instead of the usual dozen” (James Dean “J.D.” Nicholas) ...
“Promise myself to drink less coffee and to use less cream when I do drink it” (Walter “Clyde” Orange)
Where the Artists Spent New Year's Eve
Charlie Wilson hosted the “New Year's Eve Countdown 2013-2014” in Detroit.
Morris Day and The Time performed at the luxurious, Four Diamond-rated Choctaw Casino Resort outside of Dallas.
The Manhattans was on stage at the Mardi Gras Casino in Hollywood, Fla..
Alonzo Bodden headed up to Tacoma, Wash., to perform at the Tacoma Comedy Club
And Biz Markie was a special guest at the Famously Hot New Year festival in Columbia, S.C.