The Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) are an American funk rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in December 1982 as Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, the group originally consisted of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea (real name Michael Balzary) and drummer Jack Irons. The group changed its name to Red Hot Chili Peppers on March 25, 1983. In December, Slovak and Irons both left RHCP, after their other band What Is This obtained a record deal with MCA Records. They were replaced before the end of the year by Jack Sherman and Cliff Martinez, respectively, who performed on the group's self-titled debut album. After the resulting promotional concert tour ended in December 1984, Sherman was fired following tensions with Kiedis and Flea.
Having recently left What Is This?, Slovak returned to RHCP in January 1985. During the tour in promotion of Freaky Styley, Martinez was replaced by the returning Jack Irons, who rejoined in April 1986 to mark the reunion of the group's original lineup. The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was released in 1987. However, after struggling with a heroin addiction for a number of years, Slovak died of an overdose on June 25, 1988, following the conclusion of the album's promotional tour. In the wake of the guitarist's death, Irons decided to leave the group. Kiedis and Flea decided to continue, adding DeWayne McKnight on guitar and D. H. Peligro on drums in August. McKnight was fired the following month and replaced by John Frusciante; Peligro was also dismissed in November, with Chad Smith taking over the following month.
With its new lineup finalised, RHCP released two successful albums in Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik. On May 7, 1992, however, Frusciante abruptly quit the band in the middle of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour, with several shows cancelled as a result. Arik Marshall was brought in for the remainder of the tour, before Jesse Tobias took his place the following September. Before the end of the month, however, former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro – the band's first choice to replace Frusciante – had finally agreed to join the group. The band released One Hot Minute in 1995 and toured extensively in promotion of the album. By April 1998, however, Navarro had left RHCP due to creative differences, and his desire to focus on new band Spread. Frusciante returned to the band a few weeks later.
The lineup of RHCP remained constant for more than ten years following Frusciante's return, as the band continued to increase its mainstream success with 1999's Californication, 2002's By the Way and 2006's Stadium Arcadium. After a brief hiatus starting in 2008, however, it was announced in December 2009 that the guitarist had departed for a second time, explaining that "my musical interests have led me in a different direction". Despite the time of the announcement, Frusciante had actually left on July 29, 2009. Josh Klinghoffer, previously a touring guitarist for the band, had taken his place when the band returned from its hiatus in October. The band released I'm with You in 2011 and The Getaway in 2016. On December 15, 2019, the band announced through their Instagram account the departure of Josh Klinghoffer and the subsequent return of John Frusciante as the lead guitarist of the band. This event marked Frusciante's second comeback, in this occasion after 10 years of absence. The band released Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen in 2022.
Members Current ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsFlea1982–presentall Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) releasesAnthony KiedisJohn FruscianteChad Smith1988–presentall RHCP releases from Mother's Milk (1989) onwards
Former ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsHillel SlovakJack IronsCliff Martinez1983–1986drumsJack Sherman1983–1985DeWayne McKnight1988 D. H. Peligro1988 Arik Marshall1992–1993none – Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour performances onlyJesse Tobias1993none – rehearsals, writing and demo recording onlyDave Navarro1993–1998Josh Klinghoffer2009–2019
Touring ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsDetailsKeith Morris1984 lead vocalsMorris filled in for Anthony Kiedis at a show on May 12, 1984, when Kiedis failed to show up for the performance.Chuck Biscuits1985 drumsBiscuits replaced regular drummer Cliff Martinez during a few shows on the Freaky Styley Tour in 1985.Tree 1989–1990tenor saxophoneBarry performed on the Mother's Milk Tour between 1989 and 1990. He also contributed to the album.Kristen Vigard1989backing vocalsVigard performed on the Mother's Milk Tour in 1989 and also contributed backing vocals on three of the album's songs along with backing vocals on 1995's One Hot Minute album on the song "Falling Into Grace".Vicky CalhounCalhoun performed on the Mother's Milk Tour in 1989 and also contributed backing vocals on four of album's songs.Rob Rule1995–1996Rule and Phoenix were part of the touring lineup for the One Hot Minute Tour between 1995 and 1996.Rain Phoenixbacking vocalsAcacia Ludwig1996Ludwig joined Phoenix as a second backing vocalist in the touring lineup of the band during early 1996.Chris Warren2006–presentWarren has toured with the band since the Stadium Arcadium Tour, appearing on multiple live releases.Marcel Rodríguez-López2006–2007Rodríguez-López performed at a number of shows on the Stadium Arcadium Tour in 2006 and 2007.Mauro Refosco2011–2014percussionRefosco performed live percussion for RHCP on the I'm with You World Tour and the 2013–2014 Tour. Since 2014, he turned down from the touring, and being featured as session musicians only.Mike Bulger2011Bulger performed with RHCP at a number of warm-up shows in 2011 prior to the I'm with You World Tour.Nate Walcott2016–2019Walcott performed live with RHCP during The Getaway World Tour.Samuel Bañuelos IIIadditional bassBañuelos performed live with RHCP during The Getaway World Tour and for one show in 2022.Stephen Perkins2020 drumsPerkins filled in for Chad Smith at the band's performance on February 8, 2020. Smith had a previously scheduled art exhibit making him unable to attend.
Timelines
Touring members timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesDecember 1982 – March 25, 1983Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Hillel Slovak – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals Jack Irons – drums, backing vocalsnoneMarch 25 – December 1983December 1983 – January 1985Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Jack Sherman – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals Cliff Martinez – drumsThe Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984)January 1985 – April 1986Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Hillel Slovak – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals Cliff Martinez – drumsFreaky Styley (1985)April 1986 – June 25, 1988Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Hillel Slovak – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals Jack Irons – drums, backing vocalsThe Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987) The Abbey Road E.P. (1988) Red Hot Skate Rock (1988)August – September 1988Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals DeWayne McKnight – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals D. H. Peligro – drums"Blues for Meister" (1994)September – November 1988Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals John Frusciante – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, backing vocals D. H. Peligro – drums noneDecember 3, 1988 – May 7, 1992Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals John Frusciante – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionMother's Milk (1989) "Show Me Your Soul" (1990) Psychedelic Sexfunk Live from Heaven (1990) Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)July 1992 – September 1993Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Arik Marshall – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionnoneSeptember 1993Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Jesse Tobias – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionSeptember 20, 1993 – April 3, 1998Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Dave Navarro – guitar, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionOne Hot Minute (1995) "I Found Out" (1995) "Love Rollercoaster" (1996)April 18, 1998 – July 29, 2009Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals John Frusciante – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionCalifornication (1999) Off the Map (2001) By the Way (2002) "Havana Affair" (2003) Live at Slane Castle (2003) Red Hot Chili Peppers Live in Hyde Park (2004) Stadium Arcadium (2006) Cardiff, Wales: 6/23/04 (2015)October 2009 – December 15, 2019Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals Josh Klinghoffer – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionI'm with You (2011) Live: I'm with You (2011) 2011 Live EP (2012) Live from the Basement (2012) I'm Beside You (2013) I'm with You World Tour (2014) The Getaway (2016) Live in Paris (2016)December 15, 2019 – present Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals John Frusciante – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Flea – bass, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals Chad Smith – drums, percussionUnlimited Love (2022) Return of the Dream Canteen (2022)
References
External links Red Hot Chili Peppers official website