''Video Soul'' is a two–hour long

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

program that originally aired on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

(Black Entertainment Television) from June 26,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

to September 1996. The program was devoted to showcasing R&B and

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

recording artists and performers' music videos.

History

''Video Soul'' premiered on June 26, 1981 and was originally a half-hour show. The show was created after

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

refused to play videos by most African-American musicians, as MTV made the de facto color policy effective. Both

and ''Video Soul'' served as a place of refuge for new African-American musical talent. The expanded two-hour long primetime version premiered on June 26, 1983 and aired from 9 to 11p.m. E.T., Monday through Thursdays. A top 20 countdown aired Friday nights, 9–11p.m. E.T. as well. Throughout the early to mid-1990s, until the show ended, it aired from 8 to 10pm E.T. Virgil Hemphill was the original first host of the series, calling himself the "Reverend Eldorado". After Hemphill left the series,

Donnie Simpson Donnie Simpson (born January 30, 1954) is a longtime American radio DJ as well as a television and movie personality. He hosted ''The Donnie Simpson Morning Show'' on Washington, D.C. radio station WPGC-FM from March 1993 to January 29, 2010. C ...

became the show's most prominent VJ although he joined the show a few years after it premiered. Sherry Carter (who also hosted BET's ''

Video LP ''Video LP'' is a half-hour, live viewer call-in program that debuted in 1986 on BET (when ''Video Soul'' and '' Video Vibrations'' were expanded). It primarily showcased R&B/Soul and Hip-Hop music videos. The original hostess was Robin Breedo ...

'', a half-hour-long video program) and Sheila Banks were the other hosts. Throughout its run, it was responsible for surprise guests, bringing groups/bands back together, memorable interviews, etc. A number of up-and coming artists had their first interview on ''Video Soul''.

Other formats

''Video Soul Top-20'' aired on Fridays, and showcased the hottest top 20 videos of the week. It was also known as ''The

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Video Soul Top-20 Countdown'', as Coca-Cola became a sponsor of the show. ''Video Soul By Request'' was a two-hour long video block on Saturdays. This edition premiered in mid-1992. It showcased videos requested by viewers who called a 1-900 number. Throughout its run, Sherry Carter hosted unseen when she became a host for ''Video Soul'' in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Revival

Donnie Simpson planned to bring back the program in 2019. It was unclear if it would be filmed in Washington, D.C. like the original series. Two years later, the program eventually premiered on

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

Hosts

(1983–1996) *Sherry Carter (1992–1996) *Sheila Banks * Kenya Moore *Brett Walker (1994–1996) *Leslie "Big Lez" Segar (1994–1995)

References

External links

* {{Commons category, Video Soul 1981 American television series debuts 1980s American music television series 1990s American music television series 1996 American television series endings BET original programming African-American television Works about soul Rhythm and blues