The Rolling Stones: All Number 1 Songs Ranked Worst To Best
11. It's All Over Now
UK #1, US #26, 1964
The Rolling Stones' greatest hits all seem devoid of a proper chorus - their hooks are usually reserved to a couple of verses only. So, it's interesting to see how the covers they started out with, which also had short and simple refrains, truly influenced their own material.
The Stones landed in New York in June 1964 for their first North American tour, around the time that the Bobby Womack-led Valentinos released their recording of It's All Over Now. The Stones did their own take on it, which ended up becoming their first number one in the UK. As the story goes, Womack told Sam Cooke he didn't want the Rolling Stones to record the track and that Mick Jagger should get his own song, but Cooke twisted his arm. Later, when Womack received the royalty check, he told Cooke that Jagger could have any song he wanted.
Much like the previous entry, the fact that this song isn't a Stones original is a deciding factor as to why it doesn't rank higher. It pales in comparison to their later work, though it's much more fun to listen to than Little Red Rooster.
Fun Fact: John Lennon criticised bassist Bill Wyman's solo in this track. Wyman agrees it wasn't great.