Introducing Charlie’s Place: A Cultural Haven That Brought People Together Through Music

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Pushkin Industries

Music, Society & Culture

4.5 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Here’s a preview from a new podcast, Charlie’s Place. How did a Black man in 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 1940s 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.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.1	Hey, it's Justin.
0:05.5	Did you know you can listen to Broken Record on Amazon Music?
0:08.2	And you can listen to your favorite podcasts in the app so you can do all your listening in one place.
0:13.6	Plus, Amazon Prime members get access to the largest catalog of ad-free top podcasts.
0:19.0	Start listening.
0:20.0	Download the Amazon Music app,
0:21.6	search for Broken Record,
0:22.9	and click Follow to keep up with the new episodes.
0:26.0	You can also ask Alexa to play Broken Record on Amazon Music.
0:36.2	Pushkin.
0:38.6	Hey, it's Justin.
0:39.9	Today we're bringing you an episode of Charlie's Place,
0:42.6	a new podcast that tells a story of an iconic music venue
0:45.4	that united a community divided by racial segregation.
0:48.9	In the 1950s, Charlie's Place was the spot for black musicians in Myrtle Beach,
0:53.0	South Carolina.
0:54.4	Legends like Ray Charles, Little Richard, and Dizzy Gillespie performed there.
0:59.2	Charlie's Place allowed integrated dancing, breaking the rules at a time when infractions
1:03.2	like that could come at a high cost. It was a cultural hub that defied the racial barriers of
1:08.7	the Jim Crow South. Charlie's Place explores how the club,
1:12.3	founded by Charlie Fitzgerald, managed to exist when it did, and who the mysterious man behind
	...

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