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Marianne Faithfull, ‘As Tears Go By’ Singer, Dies at 78
Marianne Faithfull, whose 1960s turn as a swinging London pop star was succeeded by a striking punk-era artistic rebirth, died Thursday. She was 78.
The couple became a fixture of the tabs’ gossip columns, and in February 1967 they jumped to the front pages: Jagger and Richards were arrested in a drug possession bust at the latter’s Sussex estate Redlands, while Faithfull’s presence, clad in a fur rug, attracted scurrilous news coverage. Singing in a newly deep, razor-edged rasp, Faithfull essayed a caustic brace of songs that included the terrorism-themed title track, John Lennon’s biting “Working Class Hero,” Dr. Hook’s study of suburban anomie “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” and poet Heathcoate Williams’ profane, fire-spitting indictment of infidelity “Why’d Ya Do It?” Embraced by critics dazzled by its punk-edged spirit, the album peaked at No. Those a clash of temperaments and styles led to a swift parting of the aspiring Pygmalion and his discovery, Oldham gave her a brilliant piece of debut material with a song Jagger and Richards originally called “As Time Goes By.” The single “As Tears Go By” rocketed to No.
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