The music world is mourning the loss of innovator Don Cornelius, who died of an apparent suicide this morning.

From the NY Daily News:

“Soul Train” creator and host Don Cornelius, who brought R&B into America’s living rooms with his long-running television show, committed suicide Wednesday, according to TMZ.com

The 75-year-old Cornelius was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head around 4 a.m. inside his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home, the celebrity web site reported.

His show, dubbed “The Hippest Trip in America,” presented stars like Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin and Barry White to a national television audience.

Cornelius, with his deep voice, stylish clothes and Afro, provided a hipper alternative to Dick Clark and “American Bandstand” when his show debuted on Aug. 17, 1970.