F is for Faithfull (Marianne That Is)

Marianne Faithful.  Originally spotted in the early '60's at a party by Andrew Loog Oldham (The Rolling Stones' Manager) who approached her asking if she could sing.  What followed were several records of the sweet beautiful young woman sweetly singing standards and sweet songs.   She had a few hits in the UK, most notably the Jagger/Richard composition As Tears Go By.

As the years went on, she became Mick Jagger's girlfriend.  She was present at the notorious bust at Keith Richard's house where she was the naked girl in the bearskin rug.   There are also rumors of un ladylike behavior with a Mars Bar......

The years went on and she got heavily into drugs.  She wrote Sister Morphine for The Stones (only recently getting a writing credit on the reissue).

She broke up with Jagger and disappeared from the public eye.  As she revealed in her memoir 'Faithfull', she got into heroin and lived 'on a wall.'  The future was not looking bright for Marianne.

Appearances were rare,  With the notable exception of an appearance with David Bowie dressed as a nun on the 1980 Floor Show in 1973, we didn't hear from her.

Then she reappeared in 1979 with Broken English

Her voice on this record is totally wrecked from years of cigarettes, whiskey and opiates,  The result is a euro disco/new wave work with stunning vocals.  The  rasp, the cracking and the seeming struggle to get a sound out only enhances the material

The lyrics are autobiographical, and she's a bit bitter.  She had a hard life,

Marianne is still around.  She collaborated with Angelo Badalamenti (of David Lynch fame), She took a stab at acting (playing Marie Antionette's mother is Sophia Coppola's successful attempt to make the French Revolution boring), She appeared on Saturday Night Live with Metallica.