Rolling Stones songs: It’s All Over Now
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

Well, I used to walk in the morning, get my breakfast in bed/ When I’d gotten worried she’d ease my aching head…

Written by: Bobby Womack/Shirley Womack
Recorded: Chess Studios, Chicago, USA, June 10-11 1964
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From Songfacts:
This was originally recorded by an American R&B band called The Valentinos. Like many songs by black artists The Stones covered, this had been overlooked by white audiences until they released their version. Bobby Womack co-wrote the song with his sister-in-law and sang lead on the original.

New York disc jockey Murray the K gave The Stones a copy of The Valentinos’ version and suggested they record it. Murray was important enough to have the ear of The Rolling Stones and even The Beatles: Even before the British Invasion, Murray had been at the top of the rock station ratings for years. He survived and thrived on his ability to pick hits, and did so for artists like Dionne Warwick, Tony Orlando, Jay & the Americans, Little Anthony, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Bobby Vinton, Wayne Newton and many others.

The Stones recorded this during their first US tour at Chess Studios in Chicago, where Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters also recorded. During these sessions, they also recorded “Time Is On My Side.”

Bobby Womack, who wrote the song, hated what the Stones did with it, but when he got his royalty checks, he lightened up and tried to get the Stones to do more of his songs. 20 years later, he was a guest musician on their Dirty Work album.

Keith Richards: “We cut that in Chess Studios the first time in Chicago. 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. American studios at that time were so much more together than in England. I mean, they had some good stuff in England but they didn’t have knowledge of how to record it. We were lucky…

…There were a couple of guys like Glyn Johns in England who had a rough idea of recording. But 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. 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 were becoming very popular, especially in England, when this was recorded. In order to feed the hunger for more songs, this was put together very quickly. Since they were touring the US at the time, they worked on the arrangement during soundchecks. It was recorded and released very quickly. Only 3 weeks went by from when Murray the K played it for them to when they released their version.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sing the first chorus together.

This was the Stones’ first #1 hit in England.

This was the first song Bruce Springsteen learned to play on guitar.
(Ref. it’s all over now)

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book:
In the mid-sixties, Murray the K was one of the most famous disc jockeys
on the East Coast of the United States. Hosting a show on the New York
radio station WINS (Ten-Ten WINS), he played a major role in the British
Invasion. While referring to himself somewhat self-flatteringly as the “fifth
Beatle,” he was also a fan of the Rolling Stones. Thus on June 1, the day the
group arrived in New York, he played the five Londoners “It’s All Over
Now,” which had been recorded some time previously by Bobby Womack’s
group the Valentinos for SAR Records, the label founded by Sam Cooke (a
producer as well as a singer-songwriter). Furthermore, Murray the K
convinced the group to record the song themselves in order to widen their
repertoire. It tells of a man who has stopped loving a woman because she
has made him cry, a woman who has run around with every man in town.
“It’s All Over Now” was released in the United Kingdom (with “Good
Times, Bad Times” as the B-side) on June 26, 1964, and reached number 1
on the charts on July 2. It was the Londoners’ first number 1 in their native
country. The single was released in the United States on July 25, a little
more than a month after they completed their first tour. “It’s All Over Now”
peaked at number 26 on the Billboard charts on September 19.
(Ref. it’s all over now)