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| Mattel's 1993 Soul Train Shani, Asha, Jamal, and Nichelle |
These dolls were not readily accessible when I posted my Don Cornelius tribute because they were stored in a Baby Crissy doll box that was inaccessible at the time. I gained access to the box yesterday to see if my Mego Diana Ross was also in it. Unfortunately, Ross was not. The only other doll in the box with Soul Train Shani, Asha, Jamal, and Nichelle was Party 'N Play Stacie.
I photographed the Soul Train dolls and returned them to the box along with several cloth dolls that had been on a built-in shelf in the doll room. I took precautions to remember where these are stored in the event they are needed in the future. Party 'N Play Stacie remained free to join my Skipper and Janet dolls.
If I could assign true identities to Mattel's Soul Train dolls based on popularity and gender, Shani would be Jody Watley, who began dancing on Soul Train at age 14 in the 1970s. Asha would be Rosie Perez (Soul Train dancer, late 1980s). Jamal would be Jeffrey Daniel (Jody Watley's Soul Train dance partner, also said to have pioneered Michael Jackson's moon walk). Nichelle would be dancer/choreographer Damita Jo Freeman (shown far right in the photo at the previous link with Jody Watley in center).
Prior to dancing on Soul Train, Damita Jo was one of the few African American dancers on American Bandstand and became a successful TV show choreographer and actor. Jody and Jeffrey transitioned from Soul Train dancers to becoming two of the original Shalamar members. Rosie made her acting debut in Spike Lee's 1989 Do The Right Thing.
See Damita Jo amaze James Brown and Joe Tex with her robotic dance moves in the following Soul Train video.
