Marianne Faithfull: As Tears Go By

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Not my favourite. It is credited to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham, but according to Jagger biographer Philip Norman it was mainly created by Jagger with help from session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. It was released in 1964 by Marianne Faithfull, then 17, and it got to No 9 in Britain and No 22 in the US.

The Stones recorded it in 1965 for their US album December’s Children (And Everybody’s). In December 1965 it was released as a single in America where it reached No 6. It was released in the UK in 1966 as the B-side to 19th Nervous Breakdown.

Here is a live performance from 1966 on the Ed Sullivan Show.

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2 Replies to “Marianne Faithfull: As Tears Go By”

  1. Just wonderful – that IS one of my favourite songs.

    I love Marianne’s act, just sitting there pouting, and I love the gawky audience dancers behind her! This song has to be one of the progenitors of the baroque sound in pop and rock music, and the Stones’ own version must have inspired many to take up the 12-string guitar.

    Great live rendition too by Mick and Keith, looking like they’re just clowning around but actually creating magic.

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