Special thanks to ThisDayinMusic.com.
By the summer of 1964, The Rolling Stones were just finding their footing. Barely two years old, the band were still in their infancy, best-known for their cover versions of American blues and rock and roll songs. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had yet to really explore what would be a legendary songwriting partnership and their early British hits were all penned by others – Chuck Berry (“Come On”), Buddy Holly (“Not Fade Away”) and John Lennon and Paul McCartney (“I Wanna Be Your Man”).
After The Beatles had conquered America earlier in the year, the Stones embarked on their first U.S. tour in June of 1964. Bassist Bill Wyman would later remember the trek as a “disaster,” because the band had yet to score a big hit in the States. The band got mocked by Dean Martin for their performance and appearance on The Hollywood Palace – it was miles away from what the Fab Four had experienced on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Yet, the tour proved quite fruitful in other areas. During the Stones’ time as guests on Murray the K’s WINS Swinging Soiree radio show in New York, the influential DJ played them a new R&B recording credited to The Valentinos, called “It’s All Over Now.” The boys loved the song, saying that it was exactly the type of American music they were into. “It’s All Over Now” was actually co-written and sung by future soul legend Bobby Womack – The Valentinos were really The Womacks, a vocal group consisting of Bobby and his brothers. The single, which had just been released, was produced by Sam Cooke.
While on tour, the Stones were being pressured by their label to record and release new material to capitalize on their rising profile on both sides of the Atlantic. “It’s All Over Now” quickly became a contender to be the band’s next cover. Nine days after first hearing it on Murray the K’s radio show, the boys recorded their version at a very special place.
“We cut that in Chess Studios the first time in Chicago,” Richards later remembered. “The year before we were playing bars in England, you know. And then we’re walking into Chess Studios which was where all of these records that had been made that were so important to us. Now and again in life you get this feeling that you’ve died and gone to heaven. Luckily, neither was true.”
The Stones got to meet heroes such as Muddy Waters, and make their first American recordings in the same place as Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. Richards felt the experience brought a rawness to the recording.
“The way you’d get a sound in an American studio in those days was the difference between day and night, compared to working in England or Europe,” he said. “I mean these cats, in America, they’d done it already. So to work in Chess was our first taste of American record.”
The Stones would record both “The Last Time” and “It’s All Over Now” (both destined to be hits) during their visit to Chess – although it was deemed that the latter would be released first. Just to keep things straight: on June 1, the band first heard the song; on June 10, they recorded their cover; on June 26, it was released as their newest single in England.
But Womack was not happy with the situation and told his manager that Jagger “should get his own song.” He probably was less than thrilled that his group’s version now had to compete with the one done by these British invaders. Of course, his attitude changed when the Stones’ “It’s All Over Now” became a monster hit. When Womack got the royalty check in late ’64, he let his manager know that the band could record any song of his that they wanted. Decades later, Womack would even appear on a Stones album – 1986’s Dirty Work.
Bobby had plenty of reason to change his tune. The third Stones single ever put out in America, “It’s All Over Now” gained a lot of airplay and rose to a respectable #26 on the charts. Although Lennon criticized Richards’ guitar playing on the song as sloppy, a young man in New Jersey named Bruce Springsteen was taken by the tune’s rough energy. It was the first song he learned on guitar.
“It’s All Over Now” performed even better in Britain. On this day in 1964, the single became the band’s first song to hit #1 on the U.K. charts. It certainly wouldn’t be the Stones’ last. That other song they recorded at Chess, the Jagger/Richards original “The Last Time,” would hit #1 in the fall (and rise to #9 in the States). For the rest of the ’60s, absolutely every Stones single release in the U.K. would hit the Top 10, with another five topping the charts. They would score five #1s in the States, too.
“It’s All Over Now” proved The Rolling Stones were just getting started.
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