Stoned or Faithfull?

As Tears Go By, was a song made popular by both Marianne Faithfull and The Rolling Stones. It was one of the first original compositions by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. (Up to that point The Rolling Stones had chiefly been performing covers of blues standards.) In early 1964 Marianne Faithfull and her soon to be husband, John Dunbar attend a Rolling Stones launch party. That was when she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham, the then manager of The Stones. Reportedly he saw Marianne as an angel with big t*ts. (Wow that's something!) He didn't care if she could sing, he was mostly about image. He locked Mick and Keith in a kitchen forcing them to write a song together, for Marianne. He even suggested what type of song he wanted: “I want a song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex." (haha again, ain't that something!) As a result to this lovely suggestion the song was originally called, "As Time Goes By." It was Oldham who changed “Time” for “Tears." He then gave the ballad (a format that the Stones were not yet known for) to Marianne. At the time was only 17. The song was to be recorded as a B-side but the success of the recording caused the record company, Decca, to switch the song to an A-side. And that is where it became a very popular single. The song reached # 9 in the British charts and launched Faithfull's career as a major singer. The song also entered the Billboard Hot 100 in America the week ending November 28, 1964. This is where it stayed for nine weeks peaking at # 22. The Rolling Stones recorded their own version in 1965. Their recording is notable for its heavy string arrangement by Mike Leander. It was released as a single in December 1965 by their American record label, London Records, due to popular demand after radio DJs across the country started playing the song from the band's recently released album December's Children (And Everybody's) The song peaked at #6 on the American Billboard Charts. The song was later released in the UK in 1966. It was released as the B-side to the single "19th Nervous Breakdown." As you can see the song was a big hit. But who do you think has the better version? Marianne or The Stones? Leave a comment and we'll find out if you're Stoned or Faithfull.