5 things you didn’t know about the Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) have been around for 36 years and have created some amazing music in their time, including songs like Otherside and Under The Bridge. However, with a band that’s been around for so long, there’s bound to be some interesting facts. Here are the top five.
1. Their first album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik was recorded in Harry Houdini’s old haunted mansion
This was detailed in the documentary Funky Monks, where producer Rick Rubin explained that members of the band had found it to be creepy. Rubin has since made the mansion into his home studio, but this is where the RHCP made their first album.
Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante stayed in the house while recording, whereas drummer Chad Smith found it too creepy.
2. They’ve had seven guitarists during the band’s existence
The guitarists in the RHCP changed like the weather. The list of guitarists is as follows:
- Hillel Slovak: 1983, 1984 – 1988
- Jack Sherman: 1983 – 1984
- Arik Marshall: 1992 – 1993
- Dave Navarro: 1993 – 1998
- Jesse Tobias: 1993
- John Frusciante: 1988 – 1992, 1998 – 2009
- Josh Klinghoffer: 2009 – present
- Jesse Tobias: 1993
3. Seven out of the RHCP’s eleven albums are certified platinum.
For an album to go platinum, this means that they have to have sold at least one million copies. Out of the seven that are platinum, six are certified multi-platinum.
The awards don’t stop there. The RHCP have also won six Grammy awards with a further sixteen nominations.
4. Flea, the band’s bassist, has a surprisingly normal name
Flea’s real name is Michael Balzary, and he was born in Australia. He met Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, which is where the band was born.
5. There are only two original members left in the RHCP
Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988 and was found in his Hollywood home. Their drummer, Jack Irons, left soon after because he “didn’t want to be a part of something where my friends are dying.”
The only two members of the RHCP that have been with the band since the beginning are Anthony Kiedis, on vocals, and Michael “Flea” Balzary, who’s the bassist.