How 'Sympathy for the Devil' Went from Folk Ballad to Tribal Frenzy in the Studio

The Rolling Stones started tracking ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ in June 1968 at Olympic Studios as a slow, acoustic folk song. Mick Jagger had written the lyrics after reading Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, but the music hadn’t found its pulse yet. Over several days and multiple takes, the band gradually sped up the tempo and introduced layers of percussion — congas played by session musician Rocky Dijon, maracas, and eventually handclaps from everyone in the room.

The turning point came when they added a second drum kit, played by Charlie Watts with a driving samba feel, and Keith Richards switched from acoustic to electric guitar, locking into the hypnotic riff. The chaotic atmosphere wasn’t planned; it emerged as the band kept pushing for more energy, shouting out “whoo!” and chanting the “hoo-hoo” backing vocals live. The spoken-word intro — “Please allow me to introduce myself” — was recorded as a faux-posh accent after Jagger realized the song needed a dramatic opener. The final mix captured the studio as a five-minute brawl of clashing rhythms and voices.