For over 35 years, Soul Train reigned as the "hippest trip in America," kicking down barriers and irrevocably changing the face of television. From its 1971 premiere, the show offered a window into black culture, introducing a nation to music and dance, which they had never seen. An arbiter of taste and style from the start—if you were hot enough for the public to want to see you, then you earned a ticket on the Soul Train.