Out of the Past Records is a living archive of American music. We’re talking Funk, Soul, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, Latin, Reggae and more, housed in ten rooms on West Madison Street in Chicago.

The Henderson family started selling records in 1966. Charlie Joe Henderson, known to everyone as the Mayor of Maxwell Street, built something that outlasted every obstacle the West Side threw at him. Riots. Fires. Displacement. A city that tried to bulldoze the market he loved.

He kept showing up anyway. Practically blind in 2019, he was still at the market every Sunday.

His wife Marie, still at the store, says it best:

“I always knew records were going to come back. I got 10 rooms of records here.”

Now Annisa Gooden, Marie's granddaughter, is carrying the legacy forward and making sure the story doesn’t end.

A Lifetime of soul. We're celebrating all year.

Photo: Chicago Magazine, 2025