Don Cornelius owned Soul Train 100%
Unlike most TV show creators, Don Cornelius retained 100% ownership of Soul Train — a fact that astonished even James Brown when he appeared on the show.
Where this was said
Mid-Roll Ads: Show Jingle and Network Promos
At 10:24 · chapter starts 5:12
The mid-roll break opens with the Stuff You Should Know jingle — a playful sung summary of the show's brand — before rolling into a second round of network promos. First America returns with its pitch about the dark history behind the Declaration of Independence. Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin spotlights conversations with composer Marc Shaiman, lawyer Roberta Kaplan on marriage equality, and documentary director Morgan Neville. Last But Not Least with MC Jin features a charming anecdote about freestyling at the gates of Hit Factory to get Ruff Ryders' attention. After the break, Chuck reads two defining quotes about Soul Train: Cornel West on how soul music taught America to love and be free, and rapper Common on what it meant for ordinary Black people to see themselves on TV.
The Moonwalk Was Born on Soul Train
Long before Michael Jackson made it famous, the moonwalk was invented on Soul Train — where it was known as the Backslide. Soul Train was essentially a weekly showcase for new moves, and whatever you saw on Saturday morning, you'd be doing at the club that same night.
Moonwalk originated on Soul Train as 'The Backslide'
The moonwalk dance move was originally called the Backslide and was created on Soul Train, not by Michael Jackson.
Soul Train comparing to Bandstand like champagne to seltzer
A TV critic wrote in the New York Times in 1973 that comparing Soul Train to American Bandstand was like comparing champagne to seltzer.
Similar snapshots
$13K MRR with $0 marketing spend
Bhanu grew SiteGPT to $13,000 monthly recurring revenue entirely through organic channels, spending nothing on paid marketing.
1 million website visitors total
More than 1 million people have visited SiteGPT's website since launch in March 2023, all through organic channels.
90% of Google traffic from free tools
Approximately 90% of SiteGPT's Google search traffic comes from the free tools Bhanu built, not the main product pages.
Sold first SaaS for $250,000
Bhanu sold his first SaaS product, Feather, for $250,000 so he could focus fully on the faster-growing SiteGPT.
$500K total revenue since launch
SiteGPT has generated approximately $500,000 in total revenue since its launch in March 2023.
SiteGPT LTV ~$1,700–$1,800
The average customer lifetime value for SiteGPT is approximately $1,700 to $1,800, which Bhanu considers unusually high.
50,000 monthly visitors
SiteGPT receives around 50,000 visitors per month, of which about 200 convert to leads and 60 start free trials.
SiteGPT reached $10K MRR in month 1
SiteGPT hit $10,000 MRR within its very first month of launch, driven largely by early traction in the AI chatbot space.
US sports betting revenue: $17B in 2025
Sports betting raked in nearly $17 billion in gross gaming revenue in the US in 2025, up 23% from 2024, more than double the $8 billion recorded in 2022.
