Marianne Faithfull, singer and Rolling Stones muse, dies at 78

Marianne Faithfull, the British singer and actress who rose to fame in the 1960s as a muse of the Rolling Stones, died on 30 January 2025 at age 78. Born in London on 29 December 1946, she was discovered at a party in 1964 by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who signed her without hearing her sing. Her debut single "As Tears Go By," written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, became a hit. Faithfull had a tumultuous relationship with Jagger, which she described as a mutual exchange of ideas, records, and hallucinogens. She introduced Jagger to Mikhail Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita," inspiring "Sympathy for the Devil," and wrote the lyrics to "Sister Morphine." After a suicide attempt in 1968, she awoke in a hospital and told Jagger "wild horses couldn't drag me away," which led to the song "Wild Horses." Following her split from Jagger, Faithfull struggled with addiction and homelessness. In 1979, she released her masterpiece album "Broken English," featuring a transformed, gravelly voice. She later collaborated with artists including Damon Albarn, Billy Corgan, Mark Lanegan, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and Metallica. Her final studio album, "She Walks in Beauty" (2021), was a collection of poems by Keats, Byron, and others, set to music with Brian Eno, Nick Cave, and Warren Ellis. Faithfull survived COVID-19 but suffered lung damage that ended her singing career.