Willie Hightower:Willie Hightower

Title: Willie Hightower

Label: Honest Jons

Genre: southern soul

You have to give props to Honest Jons Records, the London based label drops everything from overlooked soul records like this one and Bettye Swan to the amazing The Hour of Two Lights, a collaboration between Terry Hall and Mushtaq. Their latest release, Willie Hightower, is a compilation of his songs recorded in the late 60s to only mediocre success. His voice is a combination of Sam Cooke and a toned-down Little Richard, sometimes singing, sometimes preaching but always soulful. Out of Alabama, he sang throughout the 50s, signing a contract with Capitol Records in the 60s. They only released three singles before they gave up on poor Willie. He also had stints with Fame and Mercury, but dropped off the scene after that. The amazing part is he is still singing today and planning his long-awaited second album. Willie never found commercial success, though he the talent to do so, which is a damn shame. So give him the respect he deserves, though it is a few years late.

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