Previously on American Soul
- In our place, man? - You stay the hell
- away from my building, you hear me?! - Who died
- and made you the boss? - Your junkie-ass mama, bitch.
I ain't got the money to give you,
but you can take that storeroom out back.
You sold us a Bandstand for coloreds.
- This is certainly not that. - I will get you the right list.
How can I get your label back on Soul Train?
- Impress me. - Guess I need to bring my A-game.
We are working for free.
There you go, talking
that union stuff again, boy.
...Fresh, you all right?
Fresh got injured today.
Are you incompetent He or just plain stupid?ital.
Command, this is Mongoose. Do you copy?
Command, do you copy?
Frankie, get me a damn signal.
I'm trying, Lieutenant, I'm trying.
Get down, get down.
...Here they come.
It's Charlie. I count five or six?
Barker, stay cool. Hey. They'll pass us.
Stay cool, Barker. Stay cool.
- Damn it, Barker.
I got you, Barker!
So, my son peed his pants last night.
He ran into the closet, didn't want to come out.
I said, "Nah, we don't hide from lights in this house."
There's nothing to be afraid of, L.A.
Are you brave enough to share your secret?
Hit us up. Don't hide. Come clean.
Excuse me?
I'm looking for Jeffrey Tucker.
Don't know anybody by that name, sweetheart.
When did the tenants move out?
The place been vacant for three weeks.
Got new tenants moving in tomorrow.
Thanks.
Ooh. Uh...
Good morning, Mr. Cornelius.
Fashionably late, Ms. DeJarnette?
You called, I came.
Now, what can I do for you, Don?
Soul Train bus tour.
I'm taking the show across country.
Ten stops, two weeks.
National dance competition.
It's gonna be massive.
And you want our permission or our money?
I want the label to join me.
Different act every city.
We'll join the tour... for 25% of the take.
This isn't a negotiation, Ilsa.
I've got three other labels already interested,
but I came to you
out of respect.
Fine.
I'll play.
Buy me dinner tonight.
Let's discuss it.
No can do.
We're filming tonight.
If you want the professional part
of this relationship to continue,
you really need to work on those commitment issues.
And now he's running away.
I am allergic...
to wasting my time.
Call me when you want to talk.
Here you go.
What's that?
Sergeant Clarke's belongings.
We thought you'd like to have them.
What I need is our benefits check.
It's been ten weeks.
I know. We're working on it.
My husband gave you 18 years and his life,
and all you can say is, you're working on it?
We're doing the best we can, ma'am.
Well, God bless America.
Next.
What happened to your wheels?
My mom pulled rank. Errands.
Well, there's room for two. Hop on.
I think I can make it.
Son of a bitch.
Fresh actually did it.
Shit.
I can't cross. My granddad was union.
Got stabbed on the picket line.
I respect that, Kendall, but you do you.
I'm here to dance.
Wait.
Do me a solid?
Slip this to Martha Reeves?
- It's a demo for my group. - Are you crazy?
Don would blow his 'fro if he found out.
You on your own with that.
Don is a con! Don is a con!
Don is a con!
Hey, Ma, I'm gonna step out back.
Don't be too long.
Don is a con! Don is a con!
- Don is a con! Don is a con! - Oh, man, here we go.
Don is a con! Don is a con!
That's "Back Stabbers"
by the O'Jays.
Down to the phone lines and your first secret.
Simone, what you doing in here?
I was just at your apartment.
- Why didn't you tell me you moved? - It's a long story.
Can we talk about this later? I'm on the clock.
- No.
Either talk to me now or we don't talk at all...
Ma'am.
I'm Private Barker. I'm looking for Sergeant Clarke?
What do you want with Joe?
I served with him in Vietnam.
I was in town, thought I'd stop by.
Please come in.
- How do you like your coffee? - Oh, no coffee for me, thanks.
I'll get you some lemonade, then.
Don is a con! Don is a con!
- What do they want? - They want to talk about pay.
Don is a con! Don is a con!
- Are you in charge of this? - Ryan Moynihan.
I'm here on behalf of the Association of Film,
Television and Radio Artists.
I represent these fine young people.
- Get the hell off my lot!
- Why you do that, man?! - Get them back to work.
- That ain't right! - Now come on!
- Don is a con! - Don is a con!
Don is a con! Don is a con!
Don is a con!
Thank you.
You want to talk to Joe?
Yes, ma'am. If he's not here, I can come by later.
The day before Joe was supposed
to walk through that door, his convoy was attacked.
He's not coming home.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you.
...Oh, JT!
- Get down. Get down!
Get away from the window!
Get down.
The safest place is right here
in the doorway.
I'm okay.
You see what's blocking it?
Looks like a telephone pole.
Open that door, JT. I can't be stuck in here. I can't...
Help! Help us!
Help! Help!
- Someone help us! - Help us!
Don.
How was your first earthquake?
Riveting. Looks like we're done for today.
Yeah, most people make plans after an emergency hits, but...
I've always preferred to do so in advance.
You, sir, are the proud owner of three backup generators.
What? Enough to power the set?
Enough to power the whole lot.
So why the hell are you still standing here?
And go check on Ms. Reeves.
Make sure she's okay.
Yes, sir.
- Everyone okay? - Yeah.
All right, we got to stick together.
- Don, this one's dead, too.
Is everyone all right?
Don't act like you care. Don is a con!
- Don is a con! Don is a con! - Don is a con!
Don is a con! Don is a con!
Ma Mable knows you're down here.
She'll come looking for you soon,
and we'll all get out of here.
But, for now, you don't have any excuse
not to talk to me.
What you want me to say?
Why are you staying here, JT?
We got evicted.
Are you living here?
No, we're staying in a building on Lamar.
There's no running water, so we come here to wash up sometimes.
Hold her, please. Just t-take her.
Take her, please. Take her.
- Hey, little mama. - Oh, God.
How you doing?
Jerry.
My man, you... you look beat.
It might just be indigestion.
But it's probably a heart attack.
- Whoa. Heart attack? - Yeah.
Been happening since I was a kid.
- I've had 12 of 'em. - 12?
- Oh, this feels like 13. - Oh!
Bob. Bob, Bob, Bob. Come on, truck it.
Jerry's having trouble. Let's get him to my office.
- Okay. - We got you.
- You all right, Jerry? -Thank you. - L-Let's go this way.
I got you, Jerry.
- Jeffrey, you in there? - Ma!
There's a phone pole out here!
And the wire's live!
The roads are a mess! I don't know how long
it's gonna be 'fore I can get somebody
- to-to help. - Okay, Ma,
- we'll be fine. - Someone in there
- with you? - Yeah. Simone.
Well, y'all help yourself to those canned goods in there.
- You'll be out in no time. - All right.
That was beautiful.
What was that?
It's the lyrics to "Taps."
My dad taught it to me.
Thanks. I just need to rest
and-and keep my temperature down till I can see a doctor.
- Got you. We got you, all right? - Okay.
Don, we got a problem.
Uh... Martha's spooked.
There's a crack in the wall of the greenroom, so,
naturally, she assumes the whole building's falling down.
...Come in.
Ms. Reeves.
It is such an honor.
You seem to know me, but I don't know you.
Uh, my name is Kendall Clarke.
I dance on Soul Train.
Hello, Kendall Clarke.
Why are you in my dressing room?
Sorry. It's just that I'm a part of this group called Encore.
And you've been a real inspiration to us.
And, well, I'd like to give you a sample of our music.
Honey, a reel-to-reel?
It's all I can afford.
All right, Brooks, you're with Jerry.
Bob, come with me.
Um, you're a building inspector.
- What's wrong with Jerry? - He had a heart attack.
Don't worry about me, Don.
A heart attack?
All right, well,
since you're here, in the middle of an earthquake,
give it a shot. Show me what you got.
Thank you. Thank you.
- You can sing!
But even so, you can't be
walking up to Grammy Award-winning artists,
handing 'em your tape.
Sorry.
Hey. I'm just kidding.
I was actually just Grammy-nominated.
But I'm-a listen to it.
So, you're a fire marshal. Hey. No. Thank you.
- Um... - You're a fire marshal.
- Okay. - The roads are closed.
Nobody can leave the building. Take that.
I would tell you I was gonna see you out here on the dance floor,
but your boss is nuts to be filming today.
I got to go.
Great, Bob, if you could just
take a quick look at this crack on the wall here.
- Oh. Sorry to intrude, Martha. - Hi.
This is Bob. He's the studio fire marshal.
- Hi. - Hello.
Bad news?
Should we evacuate?
Mm, no.
Uh, you see how this crack zigzags all the way
up to the top of the ceiling?
You see, if it was a support beam,
it would go horizontally all the way to the ceiling.
Still, if the building is at all compromised...
Uh, no, no, no.
The, uh, real danger right now are the roads.
Carry on as normal if you can. That's gonna be
the best way to keep your team calm and everybody safe.
- Thanks, Bob. - Martha, if it's all right
with you, we'd like to clear the stage
and finish your sound check.
- It's your ship. - I'm not trying to sink it.
Did you know Kendall was in a singing group called Encore?
Kendall.
Hi.
Your dancers are so talented.
Yes, they are.
Thank you, Ms. Reeves.
Mr. Cornelius.
Mm.
Fire Marshal Bob.
You got any kids, Private Barker?
No, ma'am.
I wouldn't wish children on anyone at a time like this.
I'm sure they're doing fine, ma'am.
Kids are resilient these days.
Please tell me something about yourself,
or I'm gonna lose my mind.
Where are you from?
Flagstaff, ma'am.
You came all the way from Arizona to see Joe?
I was invited for a medal ceremony.
Purple Heart?
Not just me. There's a few of us in the region
they... wanted to honor.
Anyway, I... decided not to go.
Why not?
On my way up, I started thinking
of Ms. Simms.
She was my first grade teacher.
She loved purple.
She would always talk about how it was the...
rarest color found in nature,
how, in ancient times,
purple dye was worth its weight in gold.
Royal children were swaddled in it
and Roman emperors buried in it.
Solomon, in all his wisdom,
he loved it.
Guess I believed her.
So, if this color were fit for kings and queens,
why would a common soldier be worthy of wearing it?
But you're not a common soldier...
You're a hero.
Damn it, Barker.
None of us are heroes.
Seven fatalities have been reported,
- most of them situated in the San Fernando Valley.
Aftershocks are expected throughout the day.
...figure out what to do, okay?
So we have to stay focused, all right? It could be hours.
It could be weeks. It could be months, okay?
But it's important to know that we cannot stop.
- Patrick, can you hear me? - We cannot stop
letting them hear our voice, okay?
- 'Cause what you are about to do... - Patrick.
My nose stings a little bit, but we're gonna do okay.
All right? So, listen...
We're gonna need to roll with the dancers we have.
We'll shoot everything twice, move 'em each take,
and fix it in editing.
That's gonna be a lot of man-hours.
- Won't be cheap. - And there's no end in sight.
Moynihan said if we keep filming, they keep picketing.
Come on, let's pick the pace up, people! Let's go!
- Don. - Come on!
Don, maybe we should just hear them out.
It could be that easy.
It could save us a lot of money, Don.
Find a place to meet.
I'll let them know.
All right, first things first,
I'm glad that none of you are hurt.
It's been a rough day, but if you're ready to quit
this nonsense, we'll still allow you to film with us.
And these artists would be happy to do that for union scale.
We can make more flipping burgers.
And at least then they'd pay something.
So why don't you and Encore go flip some damn burgers, then?
If you want to resolve this, Mr. Cornelius,
it's a simple matter of dollars and cents.
The chance to be on TV and a square meal every day
is worth more to my Gang than you understand.
You don't know these kids well enough to speak for them.
He speaks for us because we asked him to.
Look, we bust our asses every day.
When wwith new routines, ting, inventing new moves.
We make Soul Train, not you.
Um...
Bandstand pays their dancers.
Bandstand has been on Youfor 20 years.
Was the union all up in Dick Clark's ass
when he was first starting out? No.
And now there is money for everyone.
Extend me the same courtesy!
It'll take more than promises and a two-piece box
of Kentucky Fried Chicken to stop this.
Oh, what, you want three pieces instead?
Because that I will negotiate.
The dining arrangements are picayune.
What's important is compensation.
"Picayune"?
Yes.
Picayune. It means... "trivial."
It's not what we're here to discuss.
I know what "picayune" means, you little shit.
Now get the hell off my set!
That's two assaults today, Mr. Cornelius.
Wow.
You're going to jail.
Man, you can take a punch.
Remind me not to negotiate with you.
Fresh has a point.
The Soul Train Gang is what makes us special.
And you think I should pay them?
I think you should consider it.
Okay, fine. How about this?
Give back half your salary and I'll match it,
and we can pay the dancers out of that pot.
You're on the corporate side now, Tessa, not the labor side.
Do yourself a favor and act like it.
Did you have to hit him?
Yes!
- Oh, come on! - Hey, Mama.
- Come on, open the door! - Mama, Mama, Mama, be cool.
All right, you-you're gonna wake Aiya.
I can't.
Don't worry. Help is on the way. Relax.
- Ain't nobody coming for me.
- Don't nobody give a damn about me! - Mama, stop it.
Just give me what I need, baby.
Give Mama her medicine.
- It's not happening. - Please.
It's not happening. Not here, Mama.
Who the hell you think you is, boy?
- I raised your snotty-nose ass! - Mama, sit down.
- You need to rest. - Now give me my damn medicine!
Sit down.
- Give it to me! - Sit down.
You need to rest.
JT, everyone's on edge, maybe we...
Shut up! Didn't nobody tell you to talk!
This... this ain't your family.
Give me my... just give me my medicine, please.
I'll be good, I promise. I promise.
- Please, just give it... - All right, just-just-just take a seat.
Take a... have a seat, Mama.
Please.
Oh, God. Please.
You wanted to know what my life was like.
This is it.
Well, what can I do?
Just watch Aiya and forget that you saw this.
All right. Here we go.
Here it comes.
Shh. Shh, shh.
It's okay.
She used to be afraid of needles.
When I was ten, she taught me how to cook it up,
measure it out, heat it up, the whole deal.
It was kind of my job.
Her mom had overdosed when she was a little kid, and she...
was always afraid she'd die the same way, so...
I made sure the dose was right.
And that she was here, not getting wasted in the street.
When I was, uh...
15, I said...
"I'm not doing this no more, Mama.
"You want to be a burnout?
"You want to keep taking this poison...
you do it yourself."
A couple days later, I, uh...
...found her in the bathtub.
She had overdosed just like her mama.
So now, I just...
...just give her just enough.
Just enough, you know, maybe she's stressed or sad.
I just give her just enough.
I'm trying to get her clean.
I was meant to be home hours ago,
but like many of you,
I'm waiting anxiously for the roads to clear.
Praying that my son is safe.
You guys all right?
So, tell me your first name.
Most people call me Nate.
And how well did you know Joe?
I didn't, ma'am.
I only met him once.
When I first saw you at the door,
I thought you were him.
Sometimes I still believe he's coming home.
So Joe saved your life? How?
My platoon was ambushed.
A mortar took me out.
When I came to, I...
saw the windows of heaven open.
I knew I was dying.
It's the most peace I've ever felt.
That's when Sergeant Clarke appeared out of nowhere.
God.
You really do remind me of him
when he first joined the army.
I should get going.
What was that?
Hey! Stop!
Come on, man.
Oh, my God.
You should've let him take what he wanted.
Don't put yourself in danger.
Don is a con! Don is a con! Don is a con!
- Louder! - Don is a con!
Don is a con!
- Don is a con! - Okay. Okay.
Don is a con!
You were right, Fresh.
You all are what make Soul Train special.
- Don't tell us, tell your boss. - Yeah!
- Yeah. Right on. - He knows, trust me.
But he also knows there are talented kids all over this city
who would do anything to be in your place.
Then I guess y'all have to decide:
you want the best dancers you can get
or the best dancers you can get for free?
...I know.
You deserve better.
But today, of all days,
don't take for granted what you already have.
'Cause in a split second, it could be gone.
What you're about to give away can't be replaced.
If you dance today, I will make sure you get paid.
Trust me.
All right, move it out!
Jeffrey, kick open the door!
Thank God.
- My sister needed to take a bath. - It's okay, baby.
I'm gonna get you and that baby girl
some food for your stomachs.
- Come on. - Hey.
You should probably head home.
Your mom's worried about you.
I'll call her.
But right now... I want to see where you live.
Pic-a-yune.
Ah, the lights are up.
The show is on. I guess I earn my keep.
Did Coke agree to sponsor the bus tour?
Didn't think so.
- I checked on Jerry. - He's looking good.
- The ambulance is on the way. - Great.
So I guess they came to their senses.
Mm. I asked Brooks to crunch the numbers.
We found a way to pay 'em.
Have you both lost your damn minds?
You're not gonna lose a dime. Relax.
Look, it's been hard to find time in your schedule
to film all your commercials,
so we use the dancers to shoot the ones you can't
and they get paid as actors.
It's a win-win.
Tessa, this was your idea?
Mm-hmm.
Damn good idea.
Mm-hmm.
All right, let's go, guys.
Tessa?
Patrick.
You all right?
Yes. How are you?
It's been a crazy day, but I'm good.
Stuck at work?
Yeah. You busy?
Kinda.
Well, I just wanted to hear your voice.
I'll talk to you tonight.
Sounds like a plan.
Be safe, baby.
All right, ten minutes to Scramble Board.
Uh, hey, Flo.
Uh, you-you looked great up there.
Can you even see me through all that fog?
Sorry.
Hey, Clarke, this yours?
Where'd you get this?
Don found it in the greenroom, told me to trash it.
You're welcome.
Weren't you gonna give that to Martha Reeves?
Uh, yeah.
- I decided not to. - Hey.
I've heard you sing. You're good.
Even if no one else knows it, I do.
- Kendall, I like you, but... - No.
No, I-I get it.
It's cool.
I may have underestimated you.
Thanks.
And you're slightly less terrible
- than I thought you were. - Stop that.
You know, if you make me blush,
I'll never forgive you.
Oh, I'll take my chances.
Jerry's up in my office.
Yes, sir.
Right through that door.
- Thank you. - Hands behind your back.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
Okay. Gentlemen, why don't we just take this
around the corner, all right?
The last thing I need for my employees
- to see is me... - Don Cornelius,
you're under arrest for assault and battery.
What, is Jerry okay?
This ain't right.
Bye, Don.
Aw, man, he ain't even hit him that hard.
Cornelius, you made bail.
Looks like we're having that dinner after all.
Thank you for keeping me company.
I know you wanted to go.
First voice I heard when I came to in the hospital
was your husband.
He didn't want me waking up alone.
It was my honor, ma'am.
So... where are you gonna go?
You can stay here if you like. I can make room in the garage.
- I'm not who you think I am, all right?
I'm not who you think I am, either.
But I know Joe wouldn't want you going off alone.
Kendall.
Oh, God, baby.
You're safe. Oh.
And Simone's with Ma Mable. She's fine.
And, Kendall,
this is Private Barker. He served with your dad.
He'll be staying with us a few days in the garage.
Nice to meet you, Kendall.
I don't move around so well,
but I'll, uh, try to stay out of your way.
I'm going to clean up.
Mom?
- Yes, baby? - Who is this guy?
- Your dad saved his life in Vietnam.
- Nate... he's been such a big help today. - Oh, that's great.
We should give him money for a hotel if he needs help.
- He's our guest, Kendall. - He's not my guest.
All right, and we got a teenage girl here.
We shouldn't be putting up some man we don't know.
You've got to stop thinking the worst of everybody, okay?
I've got this under control.
- Dad would never do this. - You don't know that.
When did he ever let his army buddies stay over?
- Separate worlds. He said so himself. - Lower your voice.
If Dad was here, he wouldn't do
- something so stupid. - He's not here, okay?!
He's not here. He's dead.
Your father is dead.
Look, I know you think you're doing the right thing,
but this is my decision.
And I've made it.
- Tessa. - On the patio.
How are things out there?
Crazy. But headed back to normal.
Hmm. Not too bad.
Just a little glass.
How are you doing?
Patrick, today I realized that I'm running out of time.
Don't talk like that.
Baby, we have plenty of time to start a family.
No, I'm running out of time.
- I want another shot. I want to dance. - What?
Where is this coming from?
'Cause you told me yourself that a dancer's career
- doesn't last past 30. - Yeah,
but there's a whole world beyond ballet. Jazz.
- Modern. - You want to relive the pain of Germany?
- At least I was alive and it meant something. - No.
This wasn't the plan.
Okay, I don't want to be a first-time father at 40.
- Is that what we're talking about? - I don't know.
But I know if I have to choose today, I choose dance.
What about what I want?
It's been a really long day,
and... I need to wash it off.
I'm glad you're safe.
That's the guy who killed that cop.
Why do you have these?
To remind myself that some people
have it worse than I do.
Thanks for letting me visit.
I would offer you a glass of water, but...
Can I tell you something?
My dad asked for another tour so he could send me to college.
It's all he used to say,
how his kids would be the first in the family to get a degree.
I'm the reason he went back to Vietnam.
- I'm the reason he's... - Hey. Hey.
It's not your fault.
All right?
I don't want
any secrets between us.
Ever.
This isn't real.
Love like this isn't real.
It's real.
I'm not going anywhere.
- Hello. - Red.
Red, it's me.
Praise God.
Don, are you okay?
I'm fine. You know it'll take more than an earthquake
- to put me down.
Well, look, I just put the boys to sleep.
And, you know, we've been calling you...
Hello? Delores.
Delores, I can barely hear you.
Really? Well, I can hear you just fine.
Baby, you sound a million miles away.
And it seems like even further than that.
Well, I'm right here.
And I miss you terribly.
We all do.
I'll be home for Christmas, all right?
We'll get to spend some real time together.
Well, I can't wait.
I love you, baby.
I love you, too.
I'll call the boys in the morning.
Sleep well.
Well, a lot of people loving Don tonight.
I'm running out of closet space.
It's time...
...that the hippest host in America
to get his own house.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
I like it just fine where I am.
Mmm.
I understand my duty
and am honor bound to remain at this post.
Your family will be protected.
I will not let you down.
Next time on American Soul...
I'm an investigator. I'm looking for some answers.
...Who the hell sent you?!
And I'm the newest member of the Soul Train Gang, baby.
Shake that thang, girl.
- This is Don. - Don, I've got a P-R-O-B-L-E-M problem, baby.
- You a lying son of a bitch.
She's wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop cuckoo.
Yo. Why are you wearing my dad's shirt?
No! Stop it!
I want to buy Soul Train.