Soul Train Cruise Salutes Dads and Grads
Soul Train Cruise Executive Producer, Michael Mitchell with his daughter Ali Mitchell on her graduation day
We here at the 411 absolutely love the month of June. Not only is it the official start of summer, it’s filled with all kinds of celebrations, including our very own salute to the Dads and Grads of the 2016 Soul Train Cruise.
Did you know that Smokey Robinson has received two honorary degrees – one from Howard University and the other from the Berklee College of Music in Boston? Billy Ocean also holds an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Westminster in London and was named a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in Liverpool (UK), an award presented to him by none other than the great Sir Paul McCartney himself. Sheila E was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, and Tony Cornelius prepared himself well for his role as Soul Train producer by studying film and communications in college.
The 2016 Soul Train Cruise will also host a lot of proud papas, including Eddie Levert of The O’Jays who recorded the hit song “Baby Hold on to Me” with his late son Gerald and an entire album, Father & Son, in 1995. The album was a testament of their relationship, "We wanted to express some of our feelings for each other," Gerald told the Los Angeles Times in 1995.
We can thank Billy Ocean’s musician father for introducing him to music at a very young age as well as Sheila E’s legendary father, percussionist Pete Escovedo.
Impeccable musical genes were also passed down to Deniece Williams, who credits her father’s powerful voice (and mother’s, too) - honed in the pulpit of the church he pastored - with much of her success. And the patriarch of the talented Tavares family, Feliciano “Flash” Vierra Tavares, shaped the sound of the R&B legends.
And no Soul Train Cruise Father’s Day tribute would be complete without honoring the great Don Cornelius, whose son Tony carries on his treasured legacy with an elegance and passion that would make his dad proud.
Join us in celebrating our fathers, father figures and all the fathers who we love dearly while listening to “A Child’s Love, Amanda’s Song” featuring Howard Hewett:
