The singer, who died on Thursday at 78, spent decades in the spotlight exercising a very specific and subversive power.

The British singer, who died Jan. 30, had her first hit in 1964 with “As Tears Go By,” and returned to the song in 1987 and then again in 2018. In that time, she did a lot of living.

Marianne Faithfull, the British singer and actress who achieved fame in the 1960s with her chart-topping single "As Tears Go By," has died at 78, a spokesperson said Thursday.