Introducing Charlie’s Place: A Cultural Haven That Brought People Together Through Music
Here’s a preview from a new podcast, Charlie’s Place. How did a Black man in the 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together? Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. Host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in Myrtle Beach. Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more. But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. Listen to Charlie’s Place wherever you get your podcasts. Binge the entire season early and ad-free by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Charlie's Place show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.
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Episode 233: Nan + Warren
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music
Jobs, Winter Memory, and Slow Flood by Dark Dark Dark
Carla et Roger aux sports l'hiver from the score to Le bel age by Georges Delareau
Mt Baker by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
All Creatures will Drink Joy by American Cream Band
Every High (Piano Solo) by Kyson
Vals Efter Lasse I Lyby by Lofoten Cello Duo
NotesYou can read The President's Daughter here.
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A White Horse
.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.This episode was originally released in 2016 in the days after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It is re-released every year on the anniversary of the incident.
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Episode 232: Oh, Herbert Morrison
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.On June 13th, 2025, I'll do a special, one-night-only live show at the Tribeca Audio Festival in New York City, joined by two of the audiobook's readers: Carrie Coon and Lili Taylor! www.thememorypalace.us/events.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music
Pale by Akira Koresuma
The Things Left Unsaid by Caleb Burhans
VIII. Juliet by Matthew Bourne
Dream House III: After Dust from Mary Ellen Child's beautiful album, Ethel.
Here I Am, Two Warships, by Spirituals
Notes
You can listen to the whole, original recording here, and an enhanced, speed corrected version, here.
One of the best places to learn about Herb's life is this documentary.
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Episode 231: On Dexter Avenue
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.During mid-May, 2025, I'm doing a Midwestern book tour, with stops in Minneapolis, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, and Chicago. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music
That Moment by Antonymes
Nocturne by Sololi
Watching it Unfold by Lawrence English
Notes
You can access the self-produced history of the Sophie Bibb Chapter of the UDC here.
The Alabama Encyclopedia site does a nice job with some of this stuff.
You might want to check out Caroline Janney's book, Burying the Dead but Not the Past: Ladies' Mermorial Associations and the Lost Cause.
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