Marianne Faithfull, the storied English singer known for “As Tears Go By,” has died. She was 78.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull,” her spokesperson confirmed to the BBC on Thursday. “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.”
Faithfull was also famously the inspiration behind Rolling Stones songs like “Wild Horses” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” due to her highly publicized relationship with Mick Jagger in the late 1960s.
After debuting with both her self-titled album and its simultaneous follow-up “Come My Way” in 1965 at just 18 years old, Faithfull went on to release 21 studio albums throughout her career, ending with “She Walks in Beauty” in 2021. She was also credited with being one of the female faces of the British Invasion.
Notably, her signature song “As Tears Go By” was the first to be written by Jagger, Keith Richards and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham (the band’s version then came out a year later). She also boasted collaborations with artists like Beck, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Tom Waits and Metallica.
Primarily a singer/songwriter, Faithfull also appeared in 1967’s “I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname,” 1968’s “The Girl on a Motorcycle” and 1969’s “Hamlet.”
After overcoming some personal struggles in the ’70s, she was eventually the recipient of the Women’s World Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and is part of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
