Henry Gipson still presides over Gip's Place, a juke joint in Alabama. (Courtesy/Facebook) 

No visit to Alabama is complete without spending a Saturday night at Gip’s Place Juke Joint, in tiny Bessemer, near Birmingham. Henry “Gip” Gipson, who is soon to be 99 years old and still going strong, has opened his back yard to music lovers from all over the country. 

A former gravedigger by day and a blues man by night, Gipson presides over one of the last true juke joints in America. Gip and the music are the constants that for 60 years has kept Gip’s Place high on every blues lover’s bucket list.

When you see the strings of twinkling lights draped over a homemade scrap metal stage, you feel like you’ve entered another time. If Gip spies you, get ready for one of his famous hugs. … You are an instant friend.

During one of his  “jumpin’ juke nights,” you’ll fall under a blues spell. Don’t be surprised if Gip takes the stage and does a little preaching between the sets and plays a hymn or two on his harmonica. It’s all part of the magic.

At Gip’s Place, be ready to put your hands together and keep time with the blues under the Alabama stars.