Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Muse Behind the Song: Marianne Faithfull



Marianne was just a would-be folk singer when she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham at a Rolling Stones launch party. According to Miss Faithfull, "My first move was to get a Rolling Stone as a boyfriend. I slept with three and decided the lead singer was the best bet." She left her husband (the famous John Dunbar, who knew everyone in the art and music scene in the 60's) to live with Mick Jagger. Needless to say, Marianne's singing career took a back seat and she became known instead as one of the most glamorous rock star girlfriends. Marianne's presence in Mick's life is one of two women to have greatly impacted the Rolling Stones, as can be seen in the songs she (along with Anita, but we'll save her for another post) is said to have influenced: "Sympathy for the Devil" "You Can't Always Get What You Want" "Wild Horses" "I Got the Blues" "She Smiled Sweetly" "Winter" "She's Like a Rainbow" "100 Years Ago" and "Let's Spend the Night Together". Mick and Marianne's romance was quite a torrid one, to say the least. Jerry Hall once said Mick had told her that Marianne was the only woman he had really loved, or something along those lines. They were together for 5 years, but by the start of 1970, just as the Stones were in midst of becoming legends, Marianne's life hit rock bottom. She blames no one but herself, and by the end of the 70's she had gotten her life back on track.















































































The very first photo taken of Mick and Marianne.
























































With the other Stones.

















Photos either come from dietcokeandsympathy.blogspot.com or mariannefaithfull.fm

2 comments:

  1. It would be awfully nice if you could add my blog www.mariannefaithfull.fm as a source for a couple of those images, specifically the one of Marianne holding the flower bouquet. Thank you!
    Also I don't think you are presenting Marianne's story as quite accurate. It was Mick Jagger who pursued her for months and not the other way around. The quote of her picking the best Stone was taken out of context, she meant it in a sarcastic way.

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    1. I'm really sorry, I have so many Marianne pictures it's hard to keep track where I got them, but don't worry about it, I'll credit you at the bottom of the post. Also, I never mentioned who pursued who in my little summary, just that Marianne left her husband for Mick. I wasn't trying to come off inaccurate, just a bit sarcastic. I know what really happened, but I tend to forget that other people read this blog and not get that I'm trying to be funny.

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