1964 Ballad, Written by Two Future Rock Legends, Became a Timeless Classic Twice
The Rolling Stones were making a name for themselves in the 1960's when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards created one of their earliest compositions together, "As Tears Go By", and became a two-time chart success.
Marianne Faithfull was a singer and actor who was one of the leading female artists of the British Invasion. Her first Top 10 single in the UK was "As Tears Go By," which was written by Jagger and Richards. By this time, the two future rock legends weren't yet known as the dynamic songwriting duo, with the 1964 track having been one of their first written works together.
According to reports, Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham realized the band needed to capitalize on songwriting royalties and locked Jagger and Richards in a room to write a "song with brick walls all around it, high windows, and no sex."
"My first reaction," Keith later recounted, "was, ‘Who do you think I am, John Lennon?' At that time, for me, songwriting was somebody else's job. My job was to play guitar and that's what I wanted to do. I didn't think I'd be a songwriter any more than I'd be a nuclear physicist on the side. It was a different area of operation," said Keith, according to UDiscover Music.
When Jagger and Richards emerged from the room, they immediately thought what they had written was a "terrible piece of tripe." To their surprise, Oldham thought it was going to be a hit, with Richards stating, "we actually sold this stuff, and it actually made money. Mick and I were thinking, this is money for old rope! Mick and I knew by now that really our job was to write songs for the Stones."
When it came to the recording of "As Tears Go By," they felt it wasn't meant for the band, and it was instead given to Faithful. Oldham had previously met her at a party for the Rolling Stones and was struck by her looks.
"He handed me a scrawled lyric sheet, and I went back into the studio and did it. As soon as I heard the cor anglais playing the opening bars, I knew it was going to work. After a couple of takes, it was done. Andrew came and gave me a big hug. 'Congratulations darling. You've got yourself a number six,' he said," she once said.
Her version of "As Tears Go By" became her debut single, placing No. 9 on the UK charts. In some interviews, Faithful claims that Jagger wrote it for her, while on other occasions she states it wasn't. The two would be one of the '60s "it" couples, having dated from 1966 to 1970.
A year later, in 1965, the Rolling Stones released their own version of "As Tears Go By," which critics called a "beautiful folk-flavored ballad...baroque, semiclassical smash hit!" It landed at No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Easy Listening chart. The track was an instant success among fans.
Related: 1978 Rock Ballad, Written as an Apology to a Bandmate, Remains a Classic Soft Rock Anthem
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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 6:41 PM.