Faces and Places: Charlemagne Record Exchange Music lovers' haven still rocks

Emily Etheredge, Staff Writer
Published On: 11/30/2009

Amid the technological world of iPods and online radio sites like Pandora, there sits a shop nestled in the center of Five Points South that invites you to journey back in time through the world of music. Charlemagne Record Exchange has been a haven for music lovers for more than 32 years.

Opening a month after King of Rock ‘N’ Roll Elvis Presley died, Charlemagne offered a new concept to the Birmingham music scene as it was the first record exchange shop in the Magic City.

Founded by Marian Rosato and Gary Bourgeois in the summer of 1977, the idea for the shop was inspired by Rasputin Record store in Berkeley, California.

“There wasn’t a place where you could exchange your records in Birmingham, and we wanted to change that,” Rosato said.

While the pair was sitting in a 1970 Chevy listening to an eight-track of Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne,” the name for the store was born.

“We thought the name had a syncopation, phonetic alliteration, and we liked that it flowed, kind of like a song,” she happily recalled.

The business venture took flight, and shortly after, Charlemagne Record Exchange opened its doors to the Birmingham public.

“Not only were we excited to have people come and trade their music out, but we were stoked to meet the community and make friends with music lovers everywhere,” Rosato said.

The most popular albums at the time of the store opening were Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” and Eric Clapton’s “Slow Hand.”

“Those were really popular and hard for us to keep in the shop when we first opened,” Rosato said.

Now the shop sits in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Birmingham’s Southside with the doors leading in to the store always open.

The burgundy stairwell leads you up to walls covered with posters of bands that have played in the Birmingham community in the past and present and that will play here in the future.

Not only does the shop sell records, but it also carries new and collectible rock, jazz and blues LPs, new and older CDs, cassettes and DVDs.

Customers can browse around while listening to music on a record player in the corner of the store.

The employees greet everyone with a laid back, friendly approach and don’t mind helping people find whatever they might be seeking.

Longtime Charlemagne employee Jimmy Griffin has a vast knowledge of music and loves to talk with people about his passion for the art of sound.

Rosato now finds herself meeting kids in high school and college who have inherited their parents’ albums from when the shop first opened.

“I never thought I would see such a turnaround with kids listening to what their parents did growing up,” she said.
Rosato partially credits this to Charlemagne’s long-running success. She said she believes that it is a “meeting place for people who want to just chill out and look through the archives of musical history.”

Where is Charlemagne headed in 10 years?

“As long as people keep collecting music, we will have a space that is open to the community that is a haven for people who love music,” said Rosato.

Charlemagne is open from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. It’s located at 1924 11th Ave. S. next to Surin West in Southside.

Email: emilye@uab.edu