There were no negotiations to be handled, no sound checks to be taken, no dancers to be costumed and choreographed. No James Brown, Barry White, The OвЂ™Jays, Aretha Franklin or Parliament-Funkadelic. It has proven to be an historic choice.вЂќДЄt Weddington, there was no вЂњSoul TrainвЂќ chugging by. It was different than anything else on TV. HeвЂ™d park his yellow Rolls Royce, saunter in wearing the same casual, black outfit, chitchat with the pros and the duffers, find an open stall and begin wailing away at buckets of dimpled spheres.Д«y allowing them to do their thing, he made the show special. HeвЂ™d stay there for two or three hours and enjoy the crap out of it.вЂќД¬ornelius arrived at the public driving range and par-3 course usually in the morning, sometimes alone or sometimes with his son Tony. And heвЂ™d pull his arms down like he was ringing a bell with no legs-and get it airborne one in eight shots. He would take the club halfway back, heвЂ™d stop, heвЂ™d look at his hands, look at his arms, turn his head back to the ball and finish his backswing and stop at the top. (And by the way, for readers who have never seen NBA great Barkley swing a golf club, thatвЂ™s not a compliment.) вЂњOh my God, he made Charles Barkley look like Tiger Woods,вЂќ says Ron del Barrio, his occasional instructor at Weddington Golf & Tennis on Whitsett Avenue in Studio City. This sent the crowd into a frenzy before she closed the 10-minute performance out with her iconic debut single, вЂњFoolish.For all his funky elegance, for all his suave sense of dignity, Don Cornelius-pioneer, entrepreneur and icon of the African-American musical landscape-had one hideous golf swing. After singing the sensual 2002 single вЂњBaby,вЂќ she brought on guests Fat Joe and Ja Rule to do their raps for вЂњWhatвЂ™s LuvвЂќ and вЂњAlways on TimeвЂќ respectively. She sang heartfelt, poignant anthems вЂњRain On MeвЂќ and вЂњThe Way That I Love You,вЂќ prompting the audience to sing back. Starting things off with вЂњHappy,вЂќ Ashanti, armed in a sexy Black corset dress and flanked by four female background dancers in white, sounded just as fresh as the original record. She thanked fans by performing a run-through of her most famous songs. Nineteen years to the day from winning the Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year Award at the Soul Train Awards, Ashanti was honored with the Lady of Soul Award. ItвЂ™s hard to believe that itвЂ™s been almost 20 years since Ashanti dropped her first album, especially considering how graceful time has treated both her physique and her vocals. The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter emerged on stage with a contingent of young singers performing an energetic performance of вЂњYahweh.вЂќ Then Hammond cried out, вЂњI need to take it back to the nineteen hundreds,вЂќ before kicking into вЂњLet The Praise Begin.вЂќ

So, itвЂ™s no surprise that one of the best moments of this yearвЂ™s ceremony was Fred Hammond bringing the Apollo audience some musical ministry.

One of the best things about the Soul Train Awards is that it offers a platform for all manners of Black music, particularly Gospel music. Here are theGrioвЂs top five performances from the 2021 Soul Train Awards: Whether it was Ari Lennox joining Summer Walker for their duet вЂњUnloyal,вЂќ El DeBarge singing вЂњRhythm of the NightвЂќ during the showвЂ™s opening, the delightful Soul Cypher, in which singers like Musiq Soulchild and Elle Varner sang over AaliyahвЂ™s вЂњRock The Boat,вЂќ or PJ Morton lending his wonderful vocals during an impromptu вЂњShowtime at the ApolloвЂќ segment with Campbell and Arnold hilariously imitating Steve Harvey and Kiki Shepard respectively, viewers were treated some amazing live music. (Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)

вЂњ2021 Soul Train AwardsвЂќ hosts Tichina Arnold (left) and Tisha Campbell (right) speak onstage at the Apollo Theater during the showвЂ™s recent taping in New York City.

Last soul train show