Who Played Bass on 'Sympathy for the Devil'? Keith Richards, Not Bill Wyman

Despite Bill Wyman being the Rolling Stones’ bassist, Keith Richards played the bass part on ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ — and he did it on a Fender Bass VI, a six-string electric bass with a longer scale. Wyman wasn’t even in the studio during the initial sessions, so Richards jumped in and laid down the driving, percussive line that anchors the track’s chaotic, samba-like groove.

The song was recorded at Olympic Studios in London in June 1968, during a marathon session that also involved conga player Rocky Dijon and a list of other overdubs. Richards later admitted he was just trying to fill the sonic space, but the bass line became one of the song’s most recognisable elements. Wyman never re-recorded it; Richards’