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Marianne Faithfull is being remembered across the music industry after her death at 78. The late British rock icon was crucial to the story of the Rolling Stones. Discovered by producer Andrew Loog Oldham at a party for the band, she later dated Mick Jagger from 1966 to 1970 and inspired him to write songs including “Wild Horses” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Jagger wrote on Instagram he was “saddened” by Faithfull’s death. “She was so much part of my life for so long,” he wrote. “She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer, and a great actress. She will always be remembered.”
Faithfull’s first single, “As Tears Go By,” was one of the first songs written by Jagger and bandmate Keith Richards. She went on to sing backup for the Stones on “Sympathy for the Devil” and co-wrote the 1971 song “Sister Morphine.” Richards also honored Faithfull on X, writing, “My heartfelt condolences to Marianne’s family! I’m so sad and will miss her!!” The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, posted a clip of Jagger and Richards performing “As Tears Go By,” simply writing, “For Marianne.”
Blur’s Damon Albarn told The Guardian that he had “quite a good banter” with Faithfull from the moment they met at a recording studio in the early 2000s. (Albarn said she told him to follow through on a declaration that he could write a “perfect song,” and he wrote “Green Fields” in one go.) “We always had a laugh,” he said of Faithfull, whom he described as an “authentic” singer. “She was always a bit cynical about how people were transformed into pillars of the establishment. But she was always true to her creed.” Singer Rufus Wainwright recalled partying with Faithfull and his mother, Kate McGarrigle, telling The Guardian that they would “talk about music, funny jokes, sex, the craziness of life.” To Wainwright, when Faithfull “was clear-eyed, and engaged artistically, she was such a rich judge of depth and meaning, and the true brilliance of what music can be. There was nothing cheap about her whatsoever.”
Below, more tributes to Faithfull from Metallica, Paul McCartney, and others who knew and loved her.
This post has been updated.
