Two of his most successful songs commune with the music that sam cooke was making just before his death. It's a miracle is Willie's personal favourite of all the records he released. Co-written by Willie and Bobby Robinson, it's a stately, gospel-tinged ballad that celebrates the redemptive power of love.

Time has brought about a change — released on fame and this time written by Willie alone — is perhaps the greatest of all Willie's compositions. It was conceived as a sequel to sam cooke's signature civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come". "I loved that song because I knew that a change was on its way. I believed in the lyrics. There was a big change back then. It was on its way anyway. Things are much better now for blacks. We can go any place we like. We have the opportunity to get good jobs if we want them. Things are so much better."

When Willie was playing live back then it would often be to segregated audiences, and even though he might be the featured artist his skin colour meant that he often had to enter clubs through the back door. Indeed it's hard to hear either of these willie hightower songs without reference to what was happening politically. Whilst not explicitly concerned with the civil rights movement they were undoubtedly touched by it. Back in the sixties Willie took part in civil rights demonstrations in his hometown in Alabama and the spirit of those marches can be heard in much of the music he recorded at the time. That spirit lends it much of the power it still has today.

Willie signed to capitol after releasing just three singles through imprints owned by Bobby Robinson — though he continued to work with Bobby at capitol, and his album for the label featured four of the six sides that he'd released with Bobby. When the capitol deal came to an end, Willie was picked up by the Alabama-based fame operation. 'With capitol I'd been closer to pop but with Rick it was very much rhythm and blues.'

willie hightower only released three singles whilst contracted to fame, but they're three of the greatest soul records ever made. They stand alongside anything to come out of Rick Hall's small studio, which is saying something when you count in classics by etta james, Otis Redding and aretha franklin (not even getting into the records that Rick released on his own fame imprint by artists like Candi Staton, Spencer Wiggins and George Jackson).

Willie has never stopped singing. "I play round Alabama, anywhere they want me really. I still sing the old songs, pretty much all of them in fact. I still do Walk a mile in my shoes." It's good that Willie's still out there because the world needs singers like Willie, singers with real grit and belief, and genuine soul in the way they sing.

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