"It's All Over Now" is a song written by
Bobby Womack and his sister-in-law
Shirley Womack.
It was first released by
The Valentinos, featuring Bobby Womack, in 1964.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
heard it on its release and quickly recorded a cover version, which became their first number one hit in the United Kingdom, in July 1964.
The Valentinos' Original version
The Valentinos recorded the song at United Recording in Hollywood on March 24, 1964, and released it two months later. It entered the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 on June 27, 1964, and stayed on the chart for two weeks, peaking at number 94.
Personnel
*
Bobby Womack – lead vocals, guitar, co-writer
*
Cecil Womack – background vocals
*
Harry Womack – background vocals
*Friendly Womack Jr. – background vocals
*Curtis Womack – background vocals
*
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
– producer
The Rolling Stones version
The Rolling Stones landed in New York on June 1, 1964, for their
first North American tour, around the time the Valentinos' recording was released. New York radio
DJ Murray the K played the song to the Rolling Stones. He also played the Stones' "
King Bee" (their
Slim Harpo cover) the same night and remarked on their ability to achieve an authentic blues sound. After hearing "It's All Over Now" on that
WINS show, the band recorded their version nine days later at
Chess Studios in Chicago. Years later, Bobby Womack said in an interview that he had told Sam Cooke he did not want the Rolling Stones to record their version of the song, and that he had told Mick Jagger to get his own song. Cooke convinced him to let the Rolling Stones record the song. Six months later, after receiving the royalty check for the song, Womack told Cooke that Mick Jagger could have any song he wanted.
The Rolling Stones' version of "It's All Over Now" is the most famous version of the song. It was first released as a single in the UK, where it peaked at number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart, giving the Rolling Stones their first number one hit.
It was the band's third single released in America, and stayed in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for ten weeks, peaking at number 26. Months later it appeared on their second American album ''
12 X 5''. The song was a big hit in Europe and was part of the band's live set in the 1960s. ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' described it as a "contagious cover of the Valentinos' click" and "an infectious thumper that should head right for chartsville."
In his 2010 autobiography, ''Life'', Keith Richards says that
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
criticized his guitar solo on this song and Richards agreed that it was not one of his best.
In 1964 Bill Wyman said, "We just liked the sound of it. We didn't think it sounded country and western until we read it somewhere. It's the 12-string guitar and harmonising that do it. Every one of our records has been different. We don't want to do the same old thing every time or people will get fed up with it."
Personnel
*
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
– lead vocals
*
Keith Richards – electric lead guitar, backing vocals
*
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
– 12-string electric rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*
Bill Wyman – bass
*
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...
– drums
*
Ian Stewart – piano
Charts
Other notable versions
*
John Anderson on the 1985 album ''
Tokyo, Oklahoma''. His version peaked at number 15 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
*
Crveni Koralji on ''Otiđi od nje''
*
Tunel on ''Do poslednje kapi...''
*
Molly Hatchet on the 1979 album ''
Flirtin' With Disaster''.
*
Grateful Dead played the song in concert 160 times, with
Bob Weir singing lead.
*
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
on his 1970 album ''
Gasoline Alley''.
See also
*
List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
References
External links
* Official lyric video to the Rolling Stones' version
The Rolling Stones - It's All Over Now (Official Lyric Video)
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Decca Records singles
London Records singles
1964 singles
1985 singles
Bobby Womack songs
The Rolling Stones songs
Sam Cooke songs
Rod Stewart songs
Ry Cooder songs
Feargal Sharkey songs
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes songs
John Anderson (musician) songs
UK singles chart number-one singles
Songs written by Bobby Womack
Song recordings produced by Andrew Loog Oldham
Warner Records singles
1964 songs