Chords for Soul Train Dancer Reggie Thornton Recalls How He Almost Didn't Make It On The Show! | American Soul

_ _ Hi, my name is Reggie T.
Thornton.
They [D] call me Reggie.
I was a Soul Train dancer
[G] from _ 1971 to [D] 1991.
[Gm] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
[D] _ [A] _ _ _ I started with Don
Cordillas [D] in Chicago.
[A] We had a group called Reggie
and [G] the Flamets, and we were
kind of known around Chicago,
and Don Cordillas happened to
hear about us, so he invited us
to come [A] over to the show.
So we made an appearance on
there every Tuesday or Wednesday,
and so all of a sudden, he had
the idea of making Soul Train
a national show, so we shot
the potty, and he said he was
going to shop it here in California.
It took him the time for me to
graduate [E] from college to move to California.
[D] I was working at USC, and it
was this Soul Train dancer
passed by, and I said, Hey man,
you're that guy on Soul Train.
When are you guys taping again?
And he told me when they were
going to tape, what have you.
I got up, got in line, [Em] because
there was this long line.
Everybody was going in.
After everybody had gone in,
[Gbm] they closed the gate, and I was
[D] standing on the outside, so I
was thinking, [Db] no, I came from
Gary and Ann.
I've got to be here on Soul Train.
So after the gate closed, I
climbed the fence, and I was
dancing, and I got over.
[D] I got into the studio, and I
just saw all these beautiful
people dancing, and so I got on
the floor and started dancing.
Chuck Johnson, he saw me, he
said, Hey man, what are you doing here?
I said, _ you know, I came from
Chicago, you know, I came to dance.
And he said, No, you're not
supposed to be in here.
So he made me sit down.
So I sat down for a while, and
then so the music was so
enticing, I got up and started dancing again.
So there was a young lady
there, Sheila Lewis.
She saw me dancing, and she
said, Hey, this guy can dance.
You need to let him dance.
[E] She convinced Chuck to let me
on the floor to dance.
So that's how I became kind of
[Cm] a regular soul train dancer.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
I think my look was funky.
[Bb] First of all, I used to wear a
lot of [Cm] rags and just torn up
things, things that basically I
thought that stood out.
I did a lot of shoulder [C] stuff, a
lot of kicking, I did a [Ab] lot of
athletic [Fm] moves, a lot of
soulfulness, a lot of
Africanistic, [Cm] jungle-type moves,
original things, things I tried
to create on my [G] own.
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ [Ab] _
[Bb] _ _ Some of my most memorable is
when Don Cornelius used to have
a show when he used to let one
particular artist have a whole hour.
And one of my favorite artists
was Miss Diana Ross.
I thought Diana Ross was always a superstar.
And he used to give us the
opportunity to ask them questions.
One of my biggest turn-ons, or
this is something I've always
wanted to do all my life, I've
always wanted to kiss you on nationwide television.
Is it possible that I can get a
[F] kiss from you, Diana? _
Are you ready?
Yes, I'm ready, Diana.
Oh yeah. _ _
_ _ [Ebm] He holds real tight, too. _
[Db] That was a memorable moment.
[Bb] I think being a Soul Train
dancer [Bm] was one of the [Dbm] most
exciting [Ebm] times of my life.
If I had the opportunity to [Db] do
Soul Train again, yes, [Bb] I would.
Soul Train is [B] part of [Eb] history.
Soul Train is part of things
that impacted people's [Db] lives.
Because I still meet people to
this day that say, [Bb] I used to
watch you on Soul [B] Train.
Man, you [Db] really helped me
through [Bbm] some things.
[Eb] So to me, [Dbm] knowing that I left an
impression on people, meaning
that, that changed a [Eb] lot, too.
_ _ [Bb] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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