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Rolling Stones Songs: Everything Is Turning to Gold
THE STONES BECOME GOLD A hidden Some Girls gem, Everything Is Turning to Gold shows the Stones firing as a lean, mean unit. Funky, loose, and loaded with swagger, it’s got Ronnie Wood’s DNA all over it—even if his name wasn’t on the credits. Born from a personal moment and polished into a funk-rock jam, the track hit U.S. fans as the B-side to Shattered in ’78. Raw, groovy, and overlooked, it’s the Stones at their most playful.
I’m tired, I’m tired of doing what I’m told/ Things are moving way too slow…
Original title: Time To Go Written by: Jagger/Richards/Wood Recorded: EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Oct. 10-Dec. 1977 and Jan. 5-March 2 1978 Guest musicians: Mel Collins (sax), Sugar Blue (harmonica) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
More about Everything Is Turning to Gold by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Ronnie Wood’s Funky Spark: A Hidden Gem in the Stones’ Vault
By the time Some Girls was taking shape, The Rolling Stones had firmly shifted into gear as a tight, self-contained unit. Gone were the guest-heavy sessions of earlier albums—this time it was just the core five doing what they did best. With Jagger and Richards steering the songwriting, Everything Is Turning to Gold emerged as one of the standout outtakes, full of raw groove and unexpected charm. Although it wasn’t included on the album itself, the track surfaced in the U.S. as the B-side to Shattered in June 1978. And while Ronnie Wood wasn’t officially credited, his fingerprints are all over the song. As Ronnie later explained, the chorus came to him when his son Jesse was born—“I basically wrote the whole thing,” he said. Mick Jagger penned the few verses, but the real soul of the track lived in the chorus. It was a pure, personal moment disguised as a funk-rock jam.
A Session Rarity with Sax and Soul
The song featured a saxophone solo by the great Mel Collins, a King Crimson veteran and session player for the likes of Bad Company and Eric Clapton. Despite his contribution, Collins once again found his playing stashed away on a non-album release—much like what happened with I Think I’m Going Mad. For UK listeners, Everything Is Turning to Gold wouldn’t be officially available until its inclusion on Sucking in the Seventies. Interestingly, a longer version of the song titled Time to Go was also recorded during these sessions but never saw the light of day. Ronnie’s uncredited co-composer role (also seen with Hey Negrita from Black and Blue) was rare but revealing—proof of how deeply his creative energy was already shaping the Stones’ sound.
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