10 Most Controversial Hard Rock Songs Of All Time
8. Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
As the ‘60s started to open up, the rock revolution was progressing by leaps and bounds. While acid had inspired some bands to pick up guitars and play more folksy material, it caused others to blow out their amplifiers and unleash a sonic assault on their audience. All of the chaos seemed purely musical, but the Rolling Stones found themselves in hot water with “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Seeing how the band was known for their nasty reputation, this samba-infused tune about Satan in high society sounds like it should work well on paper. Though the song ended up being a success for the Stones, things came to a head once they reached the Altamont Festival. Stylized as the Woodstock of the west, everything started getting out of hand when the Hell’s Angels were hired as security. Seeing what one of them believed to be a gun, the biker gang rushed concert-goer Meredith Hunter and stabbed him to death in the middle of the band’s set.
Though the band had already played “Sympathy” before then, it became the unofficial calling card for the violent counterpoint to Flower Power. The idea of peace and love seemed novel at the time, but in the aftermath of this one gig, The Stones marked the end of the Summer of Love.