How Have Red Hot Chili Peppers Remained Relevant For Decades

MUSIC FEATURE

Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock bank that was formed in 1983 in Los Angeles. The members are: vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Flea (the richest member of the band), and drummer Chad Smith. The genres that they focus on are funk rock, alternative rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock.

This rock band has released 13 studio albums, 11 video albums, 2 live albums, 12 compilation albums, 5 extended plays, 65 singles, and 52 music videos. And they have sold over 80 million albums worldwide. They’ve even been nominated for the Grammy Awards 19 times and won six out of them.

9 Forming Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers started out when four friends of the Los Angeles Fairfax High School decided to create a band. They went through many ups and downs to get the band where it is right now. They started strong and signed a seven-album record deal; everything seemed bright and sunny. After the first album was released, Slovak and Irons – two of the original members – decided to leave the band.

Then, in the next five years, the band hired new members and fired members only to re-hire members again. It was all a huge mess and amidst it all, Kiedis and Slovak both had developed crippling heroin addictions.

8 The Unfortunate Death Of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guitarist Hillel Slovak

Moving forward, their albums came out and things started to look better. However, everything became negative and depressing again when the original guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose. This resulted in the drummer Jack Irons quitting the band. Kiedis and Flea had slipped into wondering whether the band would even exist or not.

Then came the upside when the two members met Frusciante. And with this, their album made it to the Billboard charts. Then, a drummer was again added to the band – Chad Smith. From then on, their music career started to do quite well

7 The Red Hot Chili Peppers Song About Kurt Cobain’s Suicide

But now here comes the twist; John Frusciante left the band in 1992. He was replaced by Dave Navarro, but Dave wasn’t a punk rock kinda guy. Their album was dark and had a song about Kurt Cobain’s suicide. The tour that followed was a mess. The band was about to break again.

But lo and behold! The members worked hard, persuaded John Frusciante to go into rehab and then subsequently, rejoin the band. The following ten years were creatively rewarding for the band. They wrote, recorded, toured, and everything fit into place. A few more ins and outs took place, and we got the band that we have now!

6 The Legacy Of Red Hot Chili Peppers

The first studio album that RHCP released was The Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1984, followed by 1985’s Freaky Styley and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan in 1987. They welcomed critical attention when their album Mother’s Milk earned the 52nd spot on the Billboard 200. They continued to have greater success while furthering their career timeline.

5 What Is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Style Of Music?

Getting into the details, their music has been characterized as funk rock, alternative rock, funk metal, and rap rock. These are influenced by hard, psychedelic, and punk rock. Flea stated in an interview with Guitar World in 2006, “For all the styles that have come and gone throughout our career, we never really aligned ourselves with any of them; we were never part of any movement. At one time, people put us together in a category with Fishbone and Faith No More, but we were always different from those bands, and they were always different from us.”

4 RHCP’s Listeners And Their Huge Fan Base

In the earlier stages of their career, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were an icon for young kids, especially the ones from the skateboarding culture. They’ve continued to do so by still staying relevant to the kids of each decade – be it the 80s, 90s, 00s, or 10s.

They’ve managed to stay relevant and provide a whole different vibe to the music, for almost four decades now. They have had an impactful influence on multiple different entertainment mediums such as movies and shows too.

3 Red Hot Chili Peppers And What Their Music Makes Fans Feel

It is, to be very honest, getting hard to describe what their songs and artwork make the fans feel. It gives them a sense of nostalgia. Sends them back to high school – makes them feel like kids, energetic and full of life. There is a reason why, in 2012, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 31, 2022.

2 Some Of Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits

Here is a simple, put-together list of some of the greatest hits of RHCP.

1. Californication
   (1999)
2. Scar Tissue
   (1999)
3. The Zephyr Song
   (2002)
4. Give It Away
   (1991)
5. Otherside
   (1999)
6. Under the Bridge
   (1991)
7. By the Way
   (2002)
8. Parallel Universe
   (1999)

1 The Undying Influence Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers

They have influenced genres such as funk metal, rap metal, rap rock, and nu metal. Bands such as Incubus, Mr.Bungle, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Papa Roach, and Sugar Ray have been influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Two of their pieces were featured in the first-ever list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Rolling Stone, in 2003.