The Rolling Stones Said Goodbye to This Perfectly Written Song — Until They Finally Recorded It Themselves

By 1964, the Rolling Stoneswere rising quickly and well on board the British Invasion. The band of young, angsty guys was known for their gritty take on American blues, but their management was keen to get them writing for themselves. At least, that was the goal. But when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards put pen to paper, their song actually became the debut single for someone else. “As Tears Go By” was unexpectedly wistful and not quite as hardcore as the Rolling Stones wanted to be. The song was redistributed to a 17-year-old Marianne Faithfull by the manager she shared with the Stones, Andrew Loog Oldham. The Stones returned to their composition pretty soon after, perhaps realizing they shouldn’t have dismissed it so quickly.