60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
1/31/65 – Lesley Gore appears on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
2025:
Marianne Faithfull passed away yesterday at the age of 78.
Faithfull was one of the "It" Girls of the Swingin' '60's ... and when she hooked up with Mick Jagger, front man for The Rolling Stones, she became an international celebrity and sex symbol. (She can best be described as an actress, a model, a muse and a singer ... but was probably MOST famous as "Mick Jagger's hot-looking girlfriend.") HER version of The Rolling Stones' tune "As Tears Go By" was released first ... and became a #22 hit in late 1964. (The Stones wouldn't release their version of this tune for another year.). "As Tears Go By" was the first song that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ever wrote together, after being locked in a room by their manager Andrew Loog Oldham. (In fact, it was Oldham who decided to give Marianne a shot in the recording studio to see what she could do.) That was a big part of his role back then ... pushing his artists out of their comfort zones to see what else they could accomplish. With Mick and Keith, Andrew needed to see if they could write their own original material, which was the only way he felt the band could sustain and compete amongst all the British Invasion acts that were soon invading our shores. (They couldn't just keep cutting old blues records!) 60 years later, The Stones are STILL writing hit music, selling out stadiums worldwide and releasing platinum albums of new material.
Faithfull would hit The National Top 40 three more times over the course of the next ten months ... "Come And Stay With Me" (#26, 1965), "This Little Bird" (#32, 1965) and "Summer Nights" (#24, 1965 kept her on the charts.
Meanwhile, while all of this was going on, she married artist / British socialite John Dunbar and had his baby before taking off with Jagger. She soon adopted The Stones' druggie lifestyle and was famously busted at the home of Keith Richards wearing only a bear-skin rug. (Faithfull and Richards also had a fling or two along the way, just one of the many women Keith, Mick and their other bandmates shared over the years.)
But Marianne was also Jagger's muse, inspiring Stones classics like "Wild Horses," "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Sympathy For The Devil." She also co-wrote (and was the subject matter) of "Sister Morphine" from The Stones' "Sticky Fingers" album. (One could make a case for her inspiring The Hollies' hit "Carrie Anne" as well, as they have hinted a time or two over the years! They were just too shy to title it Marianne so used Carrie Anne as a thinly veiled disguise.)
Her drug dependency increased after she and Jagger split in 1970 ... at various time she was strung out and homeless ... and even attempted suicide at one point.
And then, in 1979 she bounced back with a critically acclaimed and award-winning album titled "Broken English" ... and suddenly people knew who Marianne Faithfull was again. Relapses and trips to rehab followed ... but she reportedly cleaned up for good in 1985 ... and had remained sober ever since.
There were rumors of her death a few years ago when the Covid Virus first stuck. (Marianne got a very serious case and was in a coma for about three weeks)
For whatever reason you choose to remember her, she was a '60's icon.
I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull,
She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered.
-- Mick Jagger
My heartfelt condolences to Marianne’s family!
I'm so sad and will miss her.
-- Keith Richards
From Harvey Kubernik ...
https://www.musicconnection.com/kubernik-r-i-p-marianne-faithfull/
