Charlie’s Place, a legendary nightclub in Myrtle Beach, was more than a venue—it was a sanctuary where music broke boundaries and secrets flourished in the shadows of segregation.
Owned by the mysterious and resourceful Charlie Fitzgerald and his wife, Sarah, the club’s true magic lay just beneath the surface, hidden from all but those who knew where to look.
On Carver Street, at the edge of the Booker T. Washington neighborhood known as “The Hill,” Charlie’s Place was alive every night with the sounds of jazz and rhythm & blues. Iconic performers like Ray Charles, Little Richard, Billie Holiday, and Otis Redding played to packed rooms, the air thick with anticipation and cigarette smoke.
Amid the laughter and dancing, Black and white patrons mingled, an extraordinary act defying the era’s strict segregation laws…