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.

LEGENDARY LADIES WHO ROCK

Marianne Faithfull first came to our attention with her 1964 hit recording of "As Tears Go By", composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. She later began a high-profile romance with Jagger and became one of the symbols of the Swinging London scene. But she fell on hard times due to a deep descent in to drug addiction. Faithfull managed to survive and returned to music in 1979 but her sweet melodic voice had changed to a raspy croak yet that made her singing even more intriguing and dynamic.

After performing with a number of punk bands and traveling Europe, Courtney Love returned home to the States after deciding she wanted to act. But music would call her back and in 1989, she formed the rock band, Hole in Los Angeles. With their second album, "Live Through This", Love and her band became very successful, selling million of albums. She became romantically involved with Kurt Cobain, front man of the band, Nirvana who Love married in 1992 and they had a daughter, Frances Bean. But both were using heroin and the troubled Cobain sadly ended his life in 1994. Love was able to get clean and decided to once again pursue acting, appearing in the 1996 film, "The People vs. Larry Flynt" where she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

And while it shouldn't be completely surprising, Faithfull and Love have been good friends for many years. The Los Angeles Times brought these two rock icons together to discuss their careers, poetry (Faithfull has released a new album, "She Walks In Beauty" that features her favorite 19th century poems) and survival skills with Faithfull nearly dying from complications of COVID-19 last year.

Click below to read the article:

Marianne Faithfull and Courtney Love talk romantic poetry, cheating death and the joys of sober sex

Another great band is Heart. Formed in the early 1970's and lead by the sisters, Ann (who was the lead vocalist) and Nancy Wilson (who played lead guitar and provided backing vocals), this was the rare rock group that had two women calling the shots. And they were incredibly successful with several best selling albums and singles and over thirty-five million records sold worldwide. Vulture interviewed Nancy Wilson, who has just released her very first solo album, "You and Me", and asked her what she thought were her band's best, underrated and balliest songs.

Click below to read the article:

The Greatest and Ballsiest of Heart, According to Nancy Wilson

And here are a couple of my all-time favorite songs from Heart performed live:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

The latest single from Lady Gaga's "Chromatica" is "911". The song deals with mental health issues and the medication, olanzapine to help them cope which the singer has to taken. The music video for the track (directed by filmmaker, Tarsem Singh) perfectly merges her love of offbeat imagery and elaborate, quirky costumes with acting performance which she has put on display successfully in the movie remake of "A Star Is Born".



It's hard to believe but the Welsh soul singer, Tom Jones turned eighty a few months ago in June. Since his breakout hit, "It's Not Unusual" in 1965, Jones has enjoyed worldwide success and acclaim with many popular songs like "What's New Pussycat", "Delilah" and "She's a Lady". And he's still quite active, serving as a coach on the British version of "The Voice" and making concert appearances. To celebrate this legendary singer, here is a very unusual live appearance I found of Jones performing his hit tune, "It's Not Unusual" amongst dancers in a cheesy, wild animal setting:

Marianne Faithfull, the British vocalist, has been in the news recently due to the disclosure that she has recovered from COVID-19. This is the latest of many health issues the seventy-three year old performer has suffered throughout her life. But one thing is certain; Faithfull is tough and a survivor. She began singing professionally in 1964 as a folk music performer in coffeehouses in London. Her first opportunity came when she met Andrew Loog Oldham, the manager of the Rolling Stones at a party for the band. He produced Faithfull's first hit record, "As Tears Go By" that he co-wrote with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Even though she was married and had a baby, she would leave her husband for Jagger. Faithfull would enjoy a successful music career, make a few films and experimented with drugs.

By the time her relationship with Jagger ended in 1970, she was a heroin addict and lost custody of her son. Faithfull lived on the streets for a couple of years before friends helped get her in to rehab. She would return to music but her voice, once sweet and melodic, was now weathered and raspy. She released "Broken English" in 1979, a collection of punk and new-wave songs, that became a welcome comeback and now considered a classic recording. Listen to the title track and watch Faithfull in action:

 And to close this out, I will give you the quarantine version of the Go-Go's performing their classic hit, "We Got The Beat" live on the "Today" show on September 15th. These ladies still got it, rocking out together while isolated at home, and it's pure magic. Also be sure to check out their documentary, "The Go-Go's" on Showtime from filmmaker, Alison Ellwood which gives a balanced account of their wild and crazy times as the most successful all-female rock band of all time: