Similarities And Differences Between Soul Train Lines & Spirit Tunnels

jimmiekaggs, Nov 12, 2010

Soul Train Line to the O'Jays Love Train

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Edited by Azizi Powell

A number of YouTube comments wrote that the Jennifer Hudson Show's Spirit Tunnels are modern day Soul Train lines.
  
This pancocojams post showcases one video of the Soul Train television series "Soul Train line", and one video of the Jennifer Hudson Show's Spirit Tunnel.

This post also lists the differences between the Soul Train Line and the Spirit Tunnel. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to Don Cornelius for his conceptualization and promotion of The Soul Train Line and thanks to the Soul Train dancers for their performances of Soul Train Lines. Thanks to Jennifer Hudson's staff for the concept of the Jennifer Hudson Show's Spirit Tunnels and thanks to that staff and celebrities for their Spirit Tunnels performances. In addition, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these embedded videos on YouTube. 
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/01/jennifer-hudson-talk-shows-spirit.html for the first post in this pancocojams series on The Jennifer Hudson Show's "Spirit Tunnels".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/01/how-jennifer-hudson-talk-shows-spirit.html for the second post in this pancocojams series. The title of that post is "How The Jennifer Hudson Talk Show’s Spirit Tunnels Became a Fan Favorite (YouTube Video & Comments)".

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ Spirit Tunnels

Jennifer Hudson Show, Jan 1, 2025

Michelle Obama, Halle Bailey, Naturi Naughton-Lewis, and more — oh, my! Don’t miss the latest stars stepping into the “Jennifer Hudson Show” Spirit Tunnels. Watch D-Nice, Smokey Robinson, the cast of “No Good Deed,” and Lucky Daye. Plus, see Kerry Washington and the cast of “The Six Triple Eight” bring their moves to the hallway!

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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SOUL TRAIN LINES AND SPIRIT TUNNELS

1.Both the Soul Train Lines and the Spirit Tunnels were conceptualized by and are largely associated with African Americans.

2. Both the Soul Train Lines and the Spirit Tunnels are two types of line formations for group dancing and/or rhythmical performances.

3. The Soul Train Line and The Spirit Tunnel are variants of the 1950s Rhythm & Blues dance "The Stroll".  Soul Train Lines and Spirit Tunnels have the same formation of two lines of people facing each other with a space in the middle (that creates a center row).

In Soul Train Lines the top person in their rows take their turns dancing down the center row.

In Spirit Tunnels a designated person or designated people (the guest celebrity/celebrities) dance/s down or strut/s down that center row.

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SOUL TRAIN LINES AND THE SPIRIT TUNNELS

1. The purpose of Soul Train Lines is to showcase the participants' dancing ability and to showcase the specific music that the participants dance to.

In contrast, the purpose of the Spirit Tunnels is to welcome and hype up a specific celebrity/celebrities who is/are the guest/guests that day on that Jennifer Hudson television show.

In addition, secondary purposes of the Spirit Tunnels are to showcase the dance moves of the honored celebrity/celebrities and to showcase the creativity of the Jennifer Hudson staff who create and perform a personalized song or chant for each honored celebrity/celebrities who dances (moves) down the Spirit Tunnel. The staff repeats that song or chant for each person or persons while those guest/s move down the center row.      

2. Soul Train lines can occur within any specific large space, either indoor or outdoor.

In contrast, Spirit Tunnels (as they are originally performed on the Jennifer Hudson television show) are only performed within the hallway that directly leads to that show's studio. 

3. In Soul Train lines, everyone dances to a specific record (almost always from the R&B genre or Hip- Hop genre).  

In contrast, in Spirit Tunnels, there's no recorded music and there are no live instruments.. Instead, people stand in the two lines that are facing each other and sing or chant specific pre-determined lyrics or words. They accompany their personalized shirt song or short chant for the guest/s celebrity/celebrities by rhythmically clapping their hands. In addition, they usually make percussive foot stomps along with their hand claps. These hand claps and foot stomps have their source in historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities stepping.

4. In Soul Train lines the people forming the two vertical lines move while they dance, traveling in their lines until they get to the top of the line. When they reach that spot, they take their turn moving down the center row.

In contrast, for Spirit Tunnels, the people forming the two vertical lines don't move from their place in their line. Instead, they remain where they are standing while they sing (or chant), clap their hands, and perform syncopated, percussive foot stomps.

5. In Soul Train lines, the two people who are at the top of the line dance down that center row to the bottom of the line and may then rejoin that line.

In contrast, in Spirit Tunnels, a specific person or specific persons (celebrity/celebrities) who isn't/aren't part of those two vertical lines dances (moves) down the center row.  Usually, that person or persons is/are silent while they are moving down that line and usually their movements are continual (i.e. they don't stop while they are moving, but they may switch up what movements they are making). 

It has become somewhat traditional for the celebrity/celebrities to face the two rows of people and silently, or verbally with or without gestures thank them for their creation of their Spirit Tunnel.

6. Soul Train Lines can continue for an open ended amount of time.

In contrast, Spirit Tunnels end when the specific person/persons reaches the end of that line (the end of the hallway) and enters the show's studio.

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For the historical and cultural record, please add to or correct these statements about the similarities and differences between Soul Train Lines and Spirit Tunnels. Thanks!

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