Arts & Entertainment
Guitars Stolen From Legendary Bessemer Juke Joint
Two guitars have been reported stolen from Gip's Place, the famous juke joint in Bessemer.
BESSEMER, AL - For more than 60 years, Gip's Place in Bessemer has been the scene for some of the best blues music in the country. Henry "Gip" Gipson's manager said two of Gipson's guitars were stolen from the backyard blues venue over the weekend.
The 98-year-old Gipson is a music icon in the state, and his tin-roofed garage has hosted the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and other music legends since 1952.This would make his guitars somewhat of a collector's item.
Gipson's manager, Diane Guyton, says a 1993 Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul Jr. went missing, but she had thought Gipson misplaced them. Guyton says she plans to report the guitars to police as stolen, according to a report by WVTM.
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"I was more hurt than anything, thinking who could take something from a sweet man that opens his home up," Guyton said. "He's opened this up since 1952."
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Photo via Alabama News Center
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