What Soul to Soul Actually Is and Where to Find It
Karen Wheeler hosted Soul to Soul, a Canadian children's television series that ran on CBC from 1968 to 1973. It was essentially a folk music program aimed at kids, featuring original songs, guest musicians, and a very different tone from what children's TV looks like today. The show had a cult following because it didn't talk down to its audience. Karen Wheeler was the anchor — she wrote, performed, and co-created much of the material. The show was produced by Michael Johnson and became one of those quietly influential programs that people remember fondly but rarely discuss in detail. There isn't a single official "download" for the full series. Most episodes are held in the CBC Archives, and they haven't been officially digitized for public distribution in any comprehensive way. What you can find online are scattered clips, YouTube uploads from former viewers, and occasional DVD releases through third-party sellers. The complete series has never been commercially re-released, which is frustrating but not unusual for CBC productions from that era.
Karen Wheeler Soul To Soul: What You Need to Know Before You Start Looking
If you're trying to track down episodes, your best bet is the CBC Archives request system. You can file a formal viewing request, though turnaround time is measured in weeks, not days. I learned this the hard way when I spent about three months compiling a personal collection. I started by scouring eBay and Discogs for any DVD pressings — there was a limited run released around 2007 by a company called Priceland Home Entertainment, but it only covers a fraction of the series and the audio quality is mediocre at best. Those copies are now scarce and go for anything from forty to two hundred dollars depending on condition. The real workaround I ended up using involved a combination of sources. I found individual episodes uploaded by former students and teachers who had recorded the show off-air in the seventies using home VCR setups. The tape degradation on those is real — expect hiss, tracking issues, and color bleed — but they're often the only surviving copies of certain episodes. I cross-referenced episode listings from the National Film Board of Canada's archives with the CBC catalog to figure out which episodes were most likely to exist in any form. The NFB has some production documents and stills that help verify what aired when. Here's something most people don't realize: a number of the Soul to Soul songs were released as standalone singles and albums outside the TV context. Karen Wheeler released records on the Loma and Prestige labels. If your goal is just the music rather than the full episodes, those vinylpressings are easier to track down and sound significantly better than any tape recording. The album "Karen Wheeler Sings Soul to Soul" from 1970 is particularly representative of the show's sound.
I should mention a practical limitation that catches a lot of people off guard. The CBC has been progressively more accessible with its archive material in recent years, but Soul to Soul episodes are still restricted for copyright and format reasons. Even if you're a researcher or a former viewer trying to recover personal memories, the CBC won't simply hand over episode files. The process involves filling out their archive access form, stating your purpose, and waiting. I've seen legitimate requests take four to six months for a response. There's no expedited option. Another thing worth noting: the YouTube clips floating around are mostly low-quality captures from people's personal libraries. Some are acceptable for a quick nostalgia trip, but don't expect broadcast quality. I once tried to use a YouTube clip for a presentation and the audio was so compressed it was nearly unintelligible. Better to wait for the archive route even if it takes longer. If you're a parent or educator looking to use this material, there's also the option of reaching out to former crew members and musicians who worked on the show. Several have been interviewed over the years and some have personal copies of episode recordings. The community around this show is small but active on certain forums and Facebook groups. Joining one of those and asking specifically which episodes people have in their personal collections tends to yield results that no official source will give you. People are generally willing to share what they have, though you should respect that these are personal archives, not public domain materials.
Get the Full Details
The show itself ran for about five seasons with roughly ninety-six episodes total. Episodes were thirty minutes each and featured a mix of live-action segments, animated shorts, and musical performances. Guest musicians included notable Canadian folk artists of the period. The curriculum-adjacent content — songs about emotions, nature, cooperation — was ahead of its time in a way that still feels fresh. That's probably why people are still looking for it fifty years later.
