The Story
Red Hot Chili Peppers began as Fairfax High classmates in early-'80s Los Angeles — Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons — playing a hyperactive fusion of funk and punk that no one else was playing. The lineup weathered real loss and real change, and the chemistry at its center never dissolved.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), produced by Rick Rubin in a Hollywood mansion, turned them from cult heroes into one of the biggest bands alive — 'Under the Bridge' and 'Give It Away' both live there, and 'Give It Away' won the band a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. With John Frusciante's return, Californication (1999) and By the Way (2002) built the band's second imperial era.
Stadium Arcadium (2006) — a 28-song double album — became their first record to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy for Best Rock Album. In 2012 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with inducted members spanning every era of the lineup.
Frusciante rejoined again in 2019, and Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen both arrived in 2022. Two of the four chairs on this roster already belong to their members — Flea and John Frusciante each have their own Ear Clef page — which tells you something about how much music this one band contains.
