As Tears Go By - Bill Frisell & Petra Haden

“As Tears Go By” Composed by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Andrew Loog Oldham. Petra Haden- voice Bill Frisell- guitar Luke Bergman- mix Monica Jane Frisell- photo Recorded at home, 2020. From Bill Frisell: “In the summer of 1965 I had saved up enough money from my paper route to buy my first electric guitar. A Fender Mustang. That summer I also got my tonsils out and went to see Herman’s Hermits. My first big concert experience. My friend Tony Eberhart played guitar too. We started a band with our friend Greg Jones on drums. We called ourselves The Weeds. I spent hours playing along with records. Louie Louie, Johnny B. Goode, Gloria. Stuff like that. I’d watch Shindig and Hullabaloo on TV and tried to copy what the guitar players’ fingers were doing. I’d even watch the Lawrence Welk show. Around that time, “As Tears Go By” came out on the radio. I can’t remember if I heard Marianne Faithfull’s version first or if it was The Rolling Stones. I loved both. I have a vivid memory of sitting in Tony’s kitchen, playing along with that song and actually figuring out what the chords were. This was a major breakthrough. A revelation. It was a real SONG. I kept at it. Strumming away. Some 20 years later I found myself in the studio with my good friend Hal Willner and Marianne Faithfull recording “As Tears Go By”. I thought I must be dreaming. Now, here we are today. A difficult year to put it mildly. April 7, 2020 Hal Willner passed away. Covid 19. Marianne is a surviver. Hard times. Hal and Marianne are on my mind. This song is special for me. It spoke to me then. It speaks to me now. I loved it then. I love it now. I’m so thankful to Petra for all these years of making music together. Luke too. I’m so lucky. I can’t wait til we can be out there playing again. We’re just getting started.“