Don Cornelius, the creator of “Soul Train” has died at the age of 75. Unfortunately, he chose to leave the world via a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to a report,

Officers responding to a report of a shooting found Cornelius at his Mulholland Drive home at around 4 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 4:56 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.

Sad.

It’s so hard to feel sorry for someone who didn’t want to be here and took himself out, but there obviously was a deep and dark depression going on that nobody knew about.

Of losing Don, Quincy Jones said, “I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague, and business partner Don Cornelius. Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Before MTV there was Soul Train, that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched. My heart goes out to Don’s family and loved ones.”

And Soul Train, as many may or may not know, was a stepping stone for many R&B artists back in the day who were trying to get noticed. Think of Soul Train as MTV’s TRL, just much cooler.