Red Hot Chili Peppers
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 six 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.
This article is about the band. For their self-titled debut album, see The Red Hot Chili Peppers (album).
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem (1982–1983)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1982–present
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.[8]
Public profile
Activism
In 1990, the Chili Peppers appeared in PSA ads for Rock the Vote, a non-profit organization in the United States geared toward increasing voter turnout in the United States Presidential Election among voters ages 18 to 24.[266]
The band was invited by Beastie Boys and the Milarepa Fund to perform at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in June 1996 in San Francisco.[267] They also performed at the June 1998 Washington, D.C. concert.[268] The concerts, which were broadcast worldwide, were to support the cause of Tibetan independence.[269]
In September 2005, the band performed "Under the Bridge" at the ReAct Now: Music & Relief benefit which was held to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.[270] The live event raised $30 million.
In July 2007, the band performed on behalf of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who invited the band to perform at the London version of his Live Earth concerts which were held to raise awareness towards global warming and solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.[271] The band performed a free concert in downtown Cleveland, Ohio in April 2012 in support of President Obama's re-election campaign. The requirement for getting into the concert was agreeing to volunteer for the Obama 2012 phone bank. The event quickly met its capacity limit after being announced.[272]
In May 2013, the band performed a concert in Portland, Oregon, for the Dalai Lama as part of the Dalai Lama Environmental Summit.[273][274] In January 2015, they performed their first show of the new year for the Sean Penn & Friends Help Haiti Home fundraiser in support of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization.[275] The band were among over 120 entertainers and celebrities to sign up and announce that they would be voting for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election in September.[276][277] The band performed at a fundraiser event at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach in the same month. All money was donated to A Reason To Survive (ARTS), Heartbeat Music Academy, San Diego Young Artists Music Academy, and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.[278] In October, Kiedis and Flea hosted the annual benefit for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. The band performed a special rare acoustic set.[279]
In February 2016, the band headlined a fundraiser concert in support of Sanders.[280] In April, they performed at a private function on behalf of Facebook and Napster founder Sean Parker for his launch of The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.[281] Smith and Will Ferrell hosted the Red Hot Benefit Comedy + Music Show & Quinceanera in the same month. The benefit featured a performance by the Chili Peppers along with comedy acts selected by Ferrell and Funny or Die. A portion of the proceeds went to Ferrell's Cancer for College and Smith's Silverlake Conservatory of Music.[282]
In February 2018, Smith once again joined Ferrell at his One Classy Night benefit at the Moore Theater in Seattle to help raise money for Cancer for College. The event raised $300,000 in college scholarship money for students who have survived cancer.[283]
Sexual assault and sexual harassment
In his autobiography Scar Tissue, Kiedis described having sex with a 14-year-old fan who was the daughter of a Louisiana police chief, despite knowing her age. He wrote the song "Catholic School Girls Rule" about the encounter.[284] In 1986, Kiedis dated the actress Ione Skye when she was 16, below the age of consent in California.[285]
On 21 April 1989, Kiedis was convicted of sexual battery and indecent exposure after a concert at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Kiedis exposed himself and pressed his penis to a woman's face against her wishes.[284][286] He was fined $1,000 on each charge.[287] In 1990, Kiedis said the incident was "blown way out of proportion by both the media and the prosecution", and was merely "a playful thing that happened backstage" with no intent of harm.[287]
In 1990, Flea and Smith were arrested on charges of battery in Daytona Beach, Florida, at a spring break performance for MTV. Flea was also charged with disorderly conduct and solicitation to commit an unnatural and lascivious act. Flea picked up a 20-year-old woman and threw her into the sand, while Smith forcibly removed her bathing suit and slapped her buttocks.[288] Flea allegedly demanded that she perform oral sex on him before both he and Smith were removed by security.[289] Following the arrest, the State University of New York at New Paltz canceled a Chili Peppers concert.[287] Flea and Smith pled guilty to all charges. They were each sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine, plus $300 to the State Attorney's Office for prosecution costs and $5,000 to the Volusia County Rape Crisis Center, and ordered to write letters of apology to the woman.[290] In a 1992 Rolling Stone interview, Flea said: "I wish I'd never done it, and it was a really stupid thing to do. I was out of control. But I did not assault anybody, and it was not sexual. It had nothing to do with sex."[291]
In 2016, former music executive Julie Farman alleged that two members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers pressed themselves against her and "told me about all of the ways we could make a super sexy sandwich" following a meeting at Epic Records in 1990.[292]
