Every musician has their personal favorite songs from their discography, most especially when it comes to a band as universally beloved and critically successful as the iconic rock band, the Rolling Stones.
Whether reflecting on their timeless work on “Sympathy for the Devil” or early hits like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” it’s clear that the Stones have no shortage of popular songs that make up their 60-year body of work.
Interestingly, one successful ballad the Stones weren’t a big fan of could be found with their mid ’60s single, “As Tears Go By.”
Co-written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, “As Tears Go By” was initially recorded by British Invasion singer Marianne Faithfull in 1964, propelling the musician to both the U.K. and Irish singles charts.
One year later, the Stones wound up recording their own version of the song as a single, releasing it in December 1965 in the U.S. and in February 1966 in the United Kingdom.
A folk rock-infused pop song, the Stones’ version of “As Tears Go By” wound up proving incredibly successful, reaching number six on the U.S. Billboard‘s Hot 100 and number one on Canada’s RPM Top Singles.
In spite of its obvious popularity among listeners, however, neither Richards nor Jagger were very big fans of the song, believing it a “crap” ballad that stood in stark contrast to the hard rock aesthetic the Stones were striving for.
“We thought, what a terrible piece of tripe. We came out and played it to Andrew [Oldham], and he said ‘It’s a hit,'” Richards wrote in his memoir, Life. “We actually sold this stuff, and it actually made money. Mick and I were thinking, this is money for old rope.”
In 2002, Jagger flatly derided the song, saying, “It was pop, and we didn’t record it (initially) because it was crap. We had a successful crap ballad.”
Over the years, however, Jagger slowly came to appreciate the song, saying, “I can say now it’s a wonderful tune, but we didn’t think it was that great at the time.”
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