Jackson Free Press

It's another sultry Wednesday night on Northside Drive. Women dressed to the nines and men wearing slick suits and hats sit casually at bistro tables drinking fancy, colorful drinks. Red lights filtered through cigarette smoke create a ruby haze under which people eat, drink, dance, mingle and tap their toes to the sounds of Henry Rhodes and the Mo' Money Band.

Appropriately located next to Malaco Records on West Northside Drive, Hamp's is the place and Wednesday is the night for an authentic and soulful R&B experience. But this standing-room-only night isn't just about the atmosphere; the real reason is singer Henry Rhodes.

Henry Rhodes and the Mo' Money Band have been packing in fans at Hamp's as the house band for five years. Band members are John Alford, Forest Garden, Dale Morris, Mike Russell, James Lewis and Lamond Jamison.

Club owner Callop Hampton attributes the dedicated crowd to "good atmosphere, good company and good music." The crowd at Hamp's looks more like a family than a crowd. It is obvious that most of the crowd is comprised of regulars. It is also obvious I am a first-timer, but I am quickly welcomed into the "Cheers"-like family at Hamp's and made feel right at home.

And, of course, there's the music.

When Rhodes and the Mo' Money band crank up Wednesday night's set, there is not an untapped toe or unclapped hand in the joint. Couples are dancing and swaying to the music as Rhodes and his band cast their spell with mostly covers of some of the best songs every written—by Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross, to name a few. The music is a mix of R&B, blues and love ballads, which, Rhodes says is a fair sampling of the kind of music he performs. But he admits an affinity to classic rhythm and blues. "R&B is a lifeline to music," says Rhodes, who was honored last fall by the Jackson City Council as one of the musical jewels of the city.

Straight blues music is typically about life's circumstances, whereas R&B is about the feelings and emotions associated with life and love, Rhodes explains.

"I feel all music," he says, "but I especially feel R&B."

To an observer, it is apparent that Rhodes "feels the music." And he puts his audience in that place with him. In fact, most of the time, I felt as if Rhodes and I were alone in that room and that he was singing directly to me. (I developed a bit of a crush as a result. I suspect I'm not the only one.)

His secret?

"I sing every song like it's my last song," Rhodes says.

But Rhodes is far from being finished. Originally from St. Louis, Rhodes came to Jackson to attend Jackson State University, where he played football with Walter Payton. He then decided to stay here.

His almost 25-year music career began in Jackson in the late 1970s, when he taught himself to sing and began working with Natural High. In 1979, the band signed with Malaco and performed throughout the world. But Rhodes always came home to Jackson.

Rhodes is a two-time recipient of the Jackson Music Awards Male Vocalist of the Year and was named Entertainer of the Year in 2002.

Besides singing at Hamp's, Rhodes performs at casinos throughout the state (he will perform at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg March 21-22) and works as a car salesman at Herrin-Gear. He is also working on his upcoming album, which will be released this summer.