Red Hot Chili Peppers
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| The Red Hot Chili Peppers | |
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 Red Hot Chili Peppers performing at a Pinkpop festival |
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| Years active | 1983-present |
| Type(s) of music | Funk rock Alternative rock |
| Labels | EMI (1984-1990) Warner (1990-present) |
| Members | Anthony Kiedis Flea John Frusciante Chad Smith |
| Past members | Hillel Slovak Dave Navarro Jack Irons Arik Marshall Jack Sherman Jesse Tobias D.H. Peligro |
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American funk rock band. They formed in 1983 and are still active today after releasing nine studio albums and one live album.
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[change] Band history
[change] 1980s: EMI Records
[change] First performance
Red Hot Chili Peppers (first named Tony Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem) were made after what was planned to be a one-time performance in 1983. That performance included the former Fairfax High School students Michael "Flea" Balzary (bass), Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Jack Irons (drums) and Hillel Slovak (guitar).
[change] First record deal
After becoming popular in the Los Angeles rock scene, they got a record deal with EMI. Irons and Slovak viewed the band as a side project, and left the Chili Peppers shortly before their first album to focus on their original band, "What Is This?".
[change] First album
"Red Hot Chili Peppers", the band's 1984 first album, was recorded with replacement members Jack Sherman on guitar and Cliff Martinez on drums. Produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, the album did not sell many copies. The later concerts did not make money, with fighting between Sherman and the rest of the band which caused his eviction.
[change] Second album
George Clinton from Parliament-Funkadelic was hired to produce their second album, 1985's "Freaky Styley". Martinéz was fired from the band soon after the release of the album, allowing the return of original drummer Jack Irons in early 1986.
[change] Third album
Their next album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was released in 1987 and produced by Michael Beinhorn. It was the first of their albums to enter the Billboard Top 200 and the only one featuring the four original members to do so.
[change] Fourth album
The band temporarily employed Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro and former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, before replacing them with Chad Smith and John Frusciante to record their next album. Mother's Milk was released in August 1989, and gave the band their first top modern rock hits with their tribute ballad to Slovak, "Knock Me Down", and their cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". The album reached #52 on the album charts, the best chart position the band had attained thus far.
[change] Fifth album
The Peppers released Blood Sugar Sex Magic in 1991. It included such hits as "Suck My Kiss," "Under The Bridge" and "Give It Away".
[change] Sixth album
What Hits was released as a Greatest Hits collection in 1992, and included songs from all of their earlier albums.
[change] Seventh album
Out in LA was an album of alternative versions of old tracks, including many rare demo versions and guest appearances.
[change] Eighth album
One Hot Minute was a minor success on the charts. Dave Navaro, from the band Janes Addiction, played guitar on this album, the only time he has appeared on a Chili Peppers album. The song Love "Rollercoaster" was featured in the 1996 movie Beavis and Butthead Do America.
[change] Ninth album
In 1999 the band released Californication, which became a major success. It contained the hits "Scar Tissue", "Otherside", "Around The World", and "Californication." This album had songs in a mix of different musical styles.
[change] Problems
[change] Drugs
Some members of the band began having problems with drugs around the time this album came out. At one point during his career, Anthony Kiedis had left the band because of his heroin addiction, but rejoined after going to rehab. Hillel was also using heroin, but controlled its use so that he could stay in the band.
During the supporting tour, drug problems in the band became obvious when Slovak relapsed, causing strange behavior and poor performances. Shortly after the band returned from some performances in Europe on June 27, 1988, Slovak was found dead of a heroin overdose. Jack Irons left the band because of Slovak's death, going on to play the drums with other bands like Pearl Jam and Eleven.
[change] 2000 to now
[change] Tenth album
The band returned to the recording studio in early 2001 and released the album "By the Way" over a year later, on July 9, 2002. The album was, at the time, their most important chart debut with over 700,000 copies sold in its first week. The album started at #2 and produced hit singles such as: "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song" , "Can't Stop", and "Dosed." Another song, "Universally Speaking," was only released in Europe as a single and video. It was the most quiet and calm album they had made so far, containing mostly melodic ballads instead of their classic style of rap-driven funk.
[change] Eleventh album
The Chili Peppers recorded two new songs, "Fortune Faded" and "Save the Population," for their "Greatest Hits" album released later that year. To the surprise of many fans, only two songs from the album "By the Way" were included on their "Greatest Hits" album. Those songs were "Universally Speaking" and "By the Way." They were criticized for not having "Can't Stop" on the album, which is considered one of the band's most popular songs.
[change] Twelfth album
In 2004, the group released their first full-length live album, "Live in Hyde Park". The album was recorded during their 2004 performances in Hyde Park, London. In the three evenings they performed, they earned an estimated 17 million dollars, making it the highest grossing concert series at a single venue in history. Two new songs were featured on the Album: "Rolling Sly Stone" and "Leverage of Space". In 2006, they completed their ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. Although 38 songs were meant to be released as 3 mini-albums spaced six months apart, [4]it was instead released in May 2006 as a 28-track double album. It was their first album to debut at #1 on the US charts, where it stayed for two weeks, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and in 25 other countries as well[citation needed]. In the album's first week, it sold 442,000 units in the United States alone, and over 1,000,000 worldwide, setting a personal record for one week sales. The record's first single, "Dani California," was the band's fastest-selling single of all time, topping the Modern Rock chart in the US, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching #2 in the UK[2]. In addition to "Dani California", "Tell Me Baby" reached Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks in early July.[3] The songs "Storm in a Teacup," "Snow (Hey Oh)," "Tell Me Baby," "Stadium Arcadium," "If," and "Especially in Michigan" have been featured on ABC commercials for the 2006 X-Games.
[change] Tension
Band member Flea reportedly said that a lot of tension was going on between him and John during the recording process. The tension was reportedly so bad that, after their "By the Way" tour, he was planning on leaving the band. The events that took place during that legendary, 3 and a half year tour forced him to change his mind.
