Anatomy of a Song: "Sympathy for the Devil" Quiz

Answer: taste

The Rolling Stones formed in 1962. The original lineup was: Brian Jones (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums).

Answer: sealed his fate

"I was around when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain. Made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands, and sealed his fate."

This song offended many people when it was first released, but for the most part, this song is about man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

Answer: Ministers

"I stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for some change. Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain".

The Stones had already been suspected of practicing Satanism due to the fact that a previous album had been titled "Their Satanic Majesties Request". Although the record contained no direct references to Satanism, it still made parents uneasy.

Answer: 10

"I watched with glee as your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made."

Still more references to man's inhumanity to man!

Answer: "Who killed the Kennedys?"

"I shouted out 'Who killed the Kennedys?', when after all, it was you and me."

Originally, the Stones recorded the lyric as "I shouted out 'Who killed John Kennedy'", but while the recording for the song was taking place, Robert Kennedy was assassinated, so the Stones changed the lyric.

Answer: Bombay

"I laid traps for troubadours who get killed before they reach Bombay"

The song lost much of its controversy when the first single from the "Beggars Banguet" album, "Street Fighting Man", caused its own controversy after its association with the race riots and student protests that were occurring in many cities in the U.S. at the time.

Answer: Lucifer

"As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer, cause I'm in need of some restraint"

The Stones were puzzled by the public's reaction to the song. In an interview with "Creem" magazine, Jagger said, "[When people started taking us as devil worshippers], I thought it was a really odd thing, because it was only one song, after all. It wasn't like it was a whole album, with lots of occult signs on the back. People seemed to embrace the image so readily, [and] it has carried all the way over into heavy metal bands today."

Answer: False

Actually, he was killed while the Stones were performing "Under My Thumb". The Altamont Free Concert came about because the Stones wanted to have the same success as the famous Woodstock festival. Due to poor concert planning, the Stones hired the notoriously violent biker gang, the Hells Angels to do security for the show.

The Stones were the closing act for the show. After their set had already been interrupted a number of times, an 18-year-old black male named Meredith Hunter, who was standing near the stage, drew a gun. Footage from the Rolling Stones film "Gimme Shelter" clearly documents this.

After Hunter drew his gun, Hells Angels member Alan Passaro blocked the gun and stabbed Hunter in the back. Hunter was subsequently stabbed four more times, and he was also beaten and kicked.

The "Sympathy for the Devil" rumor can be traced back to early articles written on the incident featured in the "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Answer: The Doobie Brothers

Arguably, the most famous cover is by Guns 'N' Roses. GNR's cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" was featured on the soundtrack and in the final scene of the movie "Interview with the Vampire" starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Jane's Addiction covered "Sympathy for the Devil" on their 1987 self-titled live album. Ozzy Osbourne released a cover of the song on his box set "Prince of Darkness".

Answer: Cold War

The song got a lot of play due to the political references in the song. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ ("I was around when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain, made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate"), The Russian Revolution ("I stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change. I killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain"), and World War II ("I rode a tank held a general's rank, while the blitzkreig raged and the bodies stank") were not the only issues touched on by the song. The Kennedy assassinations ("I shouted out 'Who killed the Kennedys?', when after all, it was you and me"), and unreliability of the police force ("Just as every cop is a criminal...") were also mentioned.

Hope you enjoyed my quiz! Comments are welcome!