MARIANNE FAITHFULL (1946 - 2025)

Marianne Faithfull, the British pop chanteuse who found fame in the 1960's before succumbing to drug addiction then recovering and making a comeback in the late '70's, has passed away on January 30th at the age of seventy-eight. She began her career with a melodic, high-registered voice but after contracting severe laryngitis along with years of drug abuse, Faithfull was left with a singing voice that was lower pitched and raspy. The singer had suffered from numerous ailments throughout her life and recently contracted COVID-19 in 2020, causing pneumonia and was hospitalized for three weeks. After recovering, she continued to struggle with breathing issues and memory loss.

The London born Faithfull began performing folk music in bars and cafes. But her career would shift considerably after attending a party for the Rolling Stones in 1964. She met the Stones producer, Andrew Loog Oldham there and, taken in by the beauty and presence of this eighteen year old, offered her a chance to record. Oldham gave her a new song that he, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had written and "As Tears Go By" would become a top-ten pop hit in the UK (the Stones would record their own hit version a year later) for Faithfull. She would follow this with several more popular singles in Britain. 

In 1965, Faithfull met artist, John Dunbar which was quickly followed by them getting married and having a son, Nicholas not long after. But a love affair with Jagger began the following year with Faithfull leaving her husband and child behind. The beautiful, glamourous couple best represented the free spirit of the mod '60's. Faithfull would continue to make music and would appear in several films including "The Girl on a Motorcycle" and "Hamlet". But by the time their relationship had ended five years later, Faithfull was homeless and addicted to heroin.

After getting herself clean and sober, Faithfull attempted a musical comeback. She released a country album, "Dreamin' My Dreams" in 1976 which didn't get much notice. But four years later, Faithfull teamed up with musician Barry Reynolds who helped produce some demos with her. The results got the attention of Chris Blackwell who signed her to his record label, Island Records. "Broken English" was released in 1979 with Faithfull's voice noticeably different sounding yet still very emotive. The album, which was a collection of new wave with elements of punk and reggae, received critical acclaim and giving Faithfull a first nomination of a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Faithfull would continue on with her music career, experimenting with sounds, recording albums that featured jazz, blues, standards, modern rock. She even re-recorded her first hit "As Tears Go By" in 1987 which was a more wistful and weathered version. Faithfull recorded twenty-one albums during her career with her last in 2021, "She Walks in Beauty" where she collaborated with Australian multi-instrumentalist, Warren Ellis. They had started this project of British romantic poetry set to music the year before but had to wait until Faithfull recovered from COVID to complete.