Red Hot Chili Peppers theme by John Fevre
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Red Hot Chili Peppers | |
|---|---|
 The band playing live in London in 2022. From left: Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, John Frusciante | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem (1982–1983) |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Discography | Red Hot Chili Peppers discography |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | redhotchilipeppers |
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982,[1] comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock. Their eclectic range has influenced genres such as funk metal,[2] rap metal,[3] rap rock,[4] and nu metal.[5][3] With over 120 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time.[6] They hold the records for most number-one singles (15), most cumulative weeks at number one (91) and most top-ten songs (28) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[7] They have won three Grammy Awards, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2022 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in Los Angeles by Kiedis, Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. Due to commitments to other bands, Slovak and Irons did not play on the band's 1984 self-titled debut album, which instead featured guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. Slovak rejoined for their second album, Freaky Styley (1985), and Irons for their third, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987). Irons left after Slovak died of a drug overdose in June 1988.
With new recruits Frusciante and Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded Mother's Milk (1989) and their first major commercial success, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). Frusciante was uncomfortable with their newfound popularity and left abruptly on tour in 1992. After a series of temporary guitarists, he was replaced by Dave Navarro, who appeared on the group's sixth album, One Hot Minute (1995). Although successful, the album failed to match the critical or popular acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Frusciante and Kiedis struggled with drug addiction throughout the 1990s.
In 1998, following Navarro's departure, Frusciante rejoined the band. Their seventh album, Californication (1999), became their biggest commercial success, with 16 million copies sold worldwide. By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006) were also successful; Stadium Arcadium was their first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Frusciante left again in 2009 to focus on his solo career; he was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who appeared on I'm with You (2011) and The Getaway (2016), before Frusciante rejoined in 2019. They released their 12th and 13th albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen, in 2022.
History[edit]
1982–1984: Early history[edit]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in Los Angeles in 1982 by singer Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea, and drummer Jack Irons, classmates at Fairfax High School.[8] Their first performance was on December 16, 1982, at the Grandia Room club on Hollywood Boulevard to a crowd of approximately 30. Gary Allen, a friend of the band, was hosting a release party for his new EP and asked Kiedis and Flea to put together an opening act.[1]
At the time, Slovak and Irons were already committed to another group, What Is This?; however, the new band was asked to return the following week.[9] In March, they changed their name to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing several shows at Los Angeles venues. Six songs from these shows were on the band's first demo tape.[10] In November 1983, manager Lindy Goetz struck a seven-album deal with EMI America and Enigma Records. Two weeks earlier, however, What Is This? had also obtained a record deal with MCA, and in December Slovak and Irons quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers to focus on What Is This?.[11] Flea and Kiedis recruited Weirdos drummer Cliff Martinez and guitarist Jack Sherman.[12]
The band released their debut album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, in August 1984. Airplay on college radio and MTV helped build a fan base,[13] and the album sold 300,000 copies. Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, who produced the album, pushed the band to play with a cleaner, more radio-friendly sound,[14] and the band was disappointed with the result, finding it over-polished.[15] The album included backing vocals by Gwen Dickey, the singer for the 1970s disco funk group Rose Royce.[16] The band embarked on a gruelling tour, performing 60 shows in 64 days. During the tour, continuing musical and lifestyle tension between Kiedis and Sherman complicated the transition between concert and daily band life.[17] Sherman was fired in February 1985.[18] Slovak, who had just quit What Is This?, rejoined in early 1985.[19]
1985–1988: Building a following, drug abuse, and death of Slovak[edit]
The second Chili Peppers album, Freaky Styley (1985), was produced by funk musician George Clinton, who introduced elements of punk and funk into the band's repertoire.[20] The album featured Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley. The band used heroin while recording the album, which influenced the lyrics and music.[21] The band had a much better relationship with Clinton than with Gill,[22] but Freaky Styley, released on August 16, 1985, also achieved little success, failing to make an impression on any chart. The band also considered the subsequent tour unproductive.[23][24][25] Despite the lack of success, the band was satisfied with Freaky Styley; Kiedis reflected that "it so surpassed anything we thought we could have done that we were thinking we were on the road to enormity."[26] Around this time, the band appeared in the 1986 films Thrashin', playing the song "Blackeyed Blonde" from Freaky Styley, and Tough Guys, performing "Set It Straight".[27]
In early 1986, EMI gave the Chili Peppers $5,000 to record a demo tape for their next album. They chose to work with producer Keith Levene from Public Image Ltd, as he shared their interest in drugs.[28] Levene and Slovak put aside $2,000 of the budget to spend on heroin and cocaine, which created tension between the band members. Martinez's "heart was no longer in the band", but he did not quit, so Kiedis and Flea fired him in April 1986.[29] Irons rejoined the band, to their surprise; it marked the first time all four founding members were together since 1983. During the recording and subsequent tour of Freaky Styley, Kiedis and Slovak were dealing with debilitating heroin addictions. Due to his addiction, Kiedis "didn't have the same drive or desire to come up with ideas or lyrics" and appeared at rehearsal "literally asleep".[30]
For their third album, the Chili Peppers attempted to hire Rick Rubin to produce, but he declined due to the band's increasing drug problems. They eventually hired Michael Beinhorn from the art funk project Material, their last choice.[31] The early attempts at recording were halted due to Kiedis's worsening drug problems, and Kiedis was briefly fired.[32] After the band were named "band of the year" by LA Weekly, Kiedis entered drug rehabilitation.[33] The band auditioned new singers,[34] but Kiedis, now sober, rejoined the recording sessions with new enthusiasm.[35] Songs formed quickly, blending the funk feel and rhythms of Freaky Styley with a harder, more immediate approach to punk rock. The album was recorded in the basement of the Capitol Records Building.[36] The recording process was difficult; Kiedis would frequently disappear to seek drugs.[37] After fifty days of sobriety, Kiedis decided to take drugs again to celebrate his new music.[36]
The third Red Hot Chili Peppers album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, was released in September 1987 and peaked at No. 148 on the Billboard 200 chart,[38] a significant improvement over their earlier albums. The band immediately embarked on a two and a half month North American tour to promote the release, accompanied by Faith No More as support who were also promoting their new album Introduce Yourself.[39][40] During this period, however, Kiedis and Slovak had both developed serious drug addictions,[41] often disappearing for days on end. Slovak died from a heroin overdose on June 25, 1988, soon after the conclusion of the Uplift tour.[42] Kiedis fled the city and did not attend Slovak's funeral.[43] Irons, troubled by the death, left the band; following years of depression, he became a member of the Seattle grunge band Pearl Jam in 1994.[44]
1988–1989: Frusciante and Smith join[edit]
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DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, a former member of Parliament-Funkadelic, joined as guitarist, and D. H. Peligro of Dead Kennedys joined as drummer.[when?] Kiedis re-entered rehab for 30 days, and visited Slovak's grave as part of his rehabilitation, finally confronting his grief. Three dates into the tour, McKnight was fired for lack of chemistry with the band.[45] McKnight was so unhappy he threatened to burn down Kiedis's house.[46]
Peligro introduced Kiedis and Flea to teenage guitarist and Chili Peppers fan John Frusciante,[47] who brought a darker, more melodic rock style to the band.[48] Frusciante performed his first show with the Chili Peppers in September 1988. The new lineup began writing for the next album and went on a short tour, the Turd Town Tour. In November, Kiedis and Flea fired Peligro due to his drug and alcohol problems.[49] Following open auditions, they hired drummer Chad Smith in December 1988, who has remained since.[50] According to Smith, "We started playing, and right away we just hit it off musically."[51]
The Chili Peppers began work on their fourth album in 1989.[52] Unlike the stop-start sessions for The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, preproduction went smoothly. However, the sessions were made tense by Beinhorn's desire to create a hit, frustrating Frusciante and Kiedis.[53] Released on August 16, 1989, Mother's Milk peaked at number 52 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[38] The record failed to chart in the United Kingdom and Europe, but climbed to number 33 in Australia.[54] "Knock Me Down" reached number six on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, whereas "Higher Ground" charted at number eleven[55] and reached number 54 in the UK and 45 in Australia and France.[56][57] Mother's Milk was certified gold in March 1990 and was the first Chili Peppers album to ship over 500,000 units.[58]
1990–1993: Blood Sugar Sex Magik, fame, and Frusciante's first departure[edit]
In 1990, after the success of Mother's Milk, the Chili Peppers left EMI and entered a major-label bidding war. They signed with Warner Bros. Records and hired producer Rick Rubin. Rubin had turned the band down in 1987 because of their drug problems but felt they were now healthier and more focused. He would go on to produce five more of their albums. The writing process was more productive than it had been for Mother's Milk, with Kiedis saying, "[every day], there was new music for me to lyricize".[59] At Rubin's suggestion, they recorded in the Mansion, a studio in a house where magician Harry Houdini once lived.[60]
In September 1991, Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released. "Give It Away" was the first single, which went on to achieve international fame and became the band's first number-one single on the Modern Rock chart.[55] The ballad "Under the Bridge" was released as a second single, and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the band's highest position to date.[55]
Blood Sugar Sex Magik sold over 12 million copies.[61] It was listed at number 310 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 1992 it rose to number three on the US album charts, almost a year after its release. The album was accompanied by a documentary, Funky Monks.[62] The band began their Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour, which featured Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins, three of the era's biggest upcoming bands in alternative music, as opening acts.[63]
Frusciante was troubled by fame, and began falling out with Kiedis. He isolated himself and developed a secret heroin addiction. In an appearance on Saturday Night Live, he performed off-key; Kiedis believed he wanted to sabotage the performance.[48] Frusciante abruptly quit after a show in Tokyo in May 1992.[48] He returned to Los Angeles and spent years living in squalor, struggling with addiction.[48]
The Chili Peppers contacted guitarist Dave Navarro, who had just split from Jane's Addiction, but Navarro was involved in his own drug problems. After failed auditions with Zander Schloss, Arik Marshall of Los Angeles band Marshall Law[64] was hired,[65] and the Chili Peppers headlined the Lollapalooza festival in 1992.[66] Marshall also appeared in the music videos for "Breaking the Girl" and "If You Have to Ask", as well as the Simpsons episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled".[67][unreliable source?] In September 1992, the Chili Peppers performed "Give It Away" at the MTV Video Music Awards. They were nominated for seven awards, winning three, including Viewer's Choice. In February 1993, they performed "Give It Away" at the Grammy Awards, and the song won the band their first Grammy, Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal.[68]
The Chili Peppers dismissed Marshall with the explanation, "It just wasn’t working out...".[69] They held auditions for new guitarists, including Buckethead, whom Flea felt was not right for the band.[70] Guitarist Jesse Tobias of the Los Angeles band Mother Tongue was briefly hired, but dismissed due to poor chemistry.[71] However, Navarro said he was now ready to join the band.[72] In August 1993, the non-album single "Soul to Squeeze" was released and featured on the soundtrack to the film Coneheads.[73] The song topped the Billboard US Modern Rock chart.[74]
[edit]
Navarro first appeared with the band at Woodstock '94, performing early versions of new songs. This was followed by a brief tour, including headlining appearances at Pukkelpop and Reading Festivals as well as two performances as the opening act for the Rolling Stones.[75] The relationship between Navarro and the band began to deteriorate;[76] Navarro admitted he did not care for funk music or jamming. Kiedis had relapsed into heroin addiction following a dental procedure in which an addictive sedative, Valium, was used, though the band did not discover this until later.[77]
Without Frusciante, songs were written at a far slower rate.[77] Kiedis said: "John had been a true anomaly when it came to songwriting ... I just figured that was how all guitar players were, that you showed them your lyrics and sang a little bit and the next thing you knew you had a song. That didn't happen right off the bat with Dave."[77] With Kiedis often absent from recording due to his drug problems, Flea took on a larger role when he wrote and sang lead on his song, "Pea".[78]
One Hot Minute was released in September 1995 after several delays. It departed from the band's previous sound, with Navarro's guitar work incorporating heavy metal riffs and psychedelic rock.[79] The band described the album as a darker, sadder record.[80] Kiedis's lyrics addressed drugs, including the lead single, "Warped", and broken relationships and deaths of loved ones, including "Tearjerker", written about Kurt Cobain and "Transcending" about River Phoenix. Despite mixed reviews, the album sold eight million copies worldwide.[81] The band also contributed to soundtracks including Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon[82] and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America,[83] and Flea and Navarro contributed to Alanis Morissette's single "You Oughta Know".[84]
The Chili Peppers began the tour for One Hot Minute in Europe in 1995. The US tour was postponed after Smith broke his wrist. In 1997, several shows were cancelled following deteriorating band relations, injuries, and Navarro and Kiedis's drug use. The band played three shows that year, including the first Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.[85] In April 1998, the Chili Peppers announced that Navarro had left due to creative differences. Kiedis said the decision was mutual.[86] Reports at the time indicated that Navarro's departure came after he attended a band practice under the influence of drugs.[81]
1998–2001: Return of Frusciante and Californication[edit]
