The Vanishing of Harry Pace: Episode 4

Our Harlem Moon

In this spin-off tale, Ethel Waters hijacks a degrading song and makes the music her own.

The Vanishing of Harry Pace was created by Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee

It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded exactly 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, inadvertently invented the term rock n roll,played an important role in W.C. Handy becoming "Father of the Blues," inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared.  The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed the American music scene. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no other.

This series was produced in collaboration with author Kiese Laymon, scholar Imani Perry, writer Cord Jefferson, and WQXR’s Terrance McKnight. Jami Floyd is our consulting producer; our fact checker is Natalie Meade. Featuring interviews with Pace's descendants and over forty musicians, historians, writers, and musicologists, all of whom grapple with Pace’s enduring legacy.

Thank you to our podcast friends at Throughline for featuring our series on their show. Check out their feed for an exclusive behind-the-scenes interview about the series with Rund, Ramtin, Jad, and Shima.