By: Sam Kemp
The Rolling Stones symbolise a unique brand of rock ‘n’ roll. The band were at the very centre of the explosion of creativity that swept across the UK in the early 1960s, establishing themselves as pioneers in their field and one of the biggest bands on the planet. Only the Beatles rivalled them for their impact on the cultural landscape.
As you would expect of a band responsible for pushing a new genre into the mainstream, The Rolling Stones crafted numerous hit singles. Altogether, Mick Jagger and company released eight singles that landed the number one spot. In both the UK and the US, singles like ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ recieved an enormous amount of airplay and became instant classics.
Today, the Stones’ number one catalogue evokes an era in which rock music reigned supreme; when bands were given the freedom to experiment; and when the music industry was still so innocent that nobody had a firm grasp on what a hit single looked like. From ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ to ‘Honky Tonk Woman’, this roster of hits is incredibly diverse, featuring blues covers, gospel reworks and red-blooded rock ‘n’ roll anthems.
Here, we’ve pitched the Stones’ various hits against one another in an attempt to establish which is the ultimate number one single. With eight classic tracks to revisit, there’s everything to play for.
The Rolling Stones’ number one single ranked from worst to best:
8. It’s All Over Now (1964)
7. Honkey Tonk Woman (1969)
6. Little Red Rooster (1964)
5. ‘Get Off My Cloud’ (1965)
4. ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ (1965)
3. ‘The Last Time’ (1965)
2. ‘Jumpin Jack Flash’ (1968)
1. ‘Paint it Black’ (1966)
‘Paint It Black’ takes the top spot largely because it could only have been written by The Rolling Stones. It features every band member doing what they do best. While Keth Richards’ drone-based guitar arrangements evoke the colours of Spain, the middle east and India, Richards’ maudlin lyrics perfectly capture the strain of darkness underlying the countercultural age.
Explaining how the track came together, Richards once said: “We were in Fiji for about three days. They make sitars and all sorts of Indian stuff. Sitars are made out of watermelons or pumpkins or something smashed so they go hard. They’re very brittle and you have to be careful how you handle them. We had the sitars, we thought we’d try them out in the studio. To get the right sound on ‘Paint It Black’ we found the sitar fitted perfectly. We tried a guitar but you can’t bend it enough.”
The 1966 offering also features one of the most rhythmically interesting drum performances Charlie Watts ever recorded. For all these reasons and more, it sits proudly at the top of our list.