How a Howlin' Wolf cover topped the UK charts in 1964

In late 1964, the Rolling Stones released their version of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Little Red Rooster” as a single—a slow, slide-guitar-driven blues with no pop sheen, no obvious hook for the radio. It went straight to number one in the UK. That wasn’t just a surprise; it was a statement. No other blues song had ever topped the British charts, and the Stones were basically telling the pop world that raw Chicago blues could be a commercial force.

The choice of “Little Red Rooster” said everything about the band’s musical center. Brian Jones handled the slide guitar, mimicking the wolf-like moan of the original with a bottleneck, while Mick Jagger’s vocal stayed close to the phrasing of Howlin’ Wolf himself. It wasn’t a crossover reimagining—it was a direct, reverent cover. The fact that it became a number one hit proved that a sizable chunk of the British record-buying public was ready to accept authentic blues, not just sanitized pop versions.

For the Rolling Stones, “Little Red Rooster” cemented their identity as blues evangelists who happened to also be a rock band. They’d already done Chuck Berry and R&B covers, but putting a slow, menacing blues on the A-side of a single was a