10 Best Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs
After performing in Los Faces and Anthem, vocalist Anthony Kiedis enrolled at UCLA. Eventually, Kiedis and Michael Balzary, who became Flea were invited to join what was to become the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But first, they operated under the tag Tony Flow and the Miraculous Majestic Masters of Mayhem. During this period, they performed at L.A.’s Kit Kat Strip Club. As a lark, they went on stage nude except for socks covering their private parts. That was a clear indication of where they were headed…
10. Higher Ground (1989)
The song was written by Stevie Wonder and originally released in 1973 on his “Innervisions” album. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ cover, from the band’s fourth studio album “Mother’s Milk,” delivers an inescapable Funk/Rock groove that makes it an “original” rendition.
9. Otherside (1999)
“Otherside” refers to former band member Hillel Slovak, who died of a heroin overdose in 1988.
From the Peppers seventh studio album, “Californication,” the track deals with the battles addicts have with their addictions.
The song went to #1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
8. Parallel Universe (2001)
The “Californication” track became a live favorite and has been performed over 300 times since its release, making it one of the band’s most performed songs.
Employing heavy distortion, the song does not contain any of the Chili’s signature Funk-orientated bass lines while Kiedis’ vocals are subdued during the verses addressing darker, more introspective themes before the track explodes in the chorus.
No music video was made for the song.
7. Soul To Squeeze (1993)
Another track from “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” “Soul To Squeeze” was initially used as the B-side for the singles “Give It Away” and “Under The Bridge” before finally released as an A-side after it turned up on the “Coneheads” soundtrack.
6. By The Way (2002)
The title track from the band’s eighth studio effort, went to #1 on both the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock charts. “I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism,” stated Kiedis.
“It wasn’t really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us,” guitarist John Frusciante remembered. “I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound.”
5. Under The Bridge (1991)
The lyrics for the song about feelings of alienation originated from a poem Kiedis wrote. He felt the poem was “too emotional” and didn’t fit the band’s style. But Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith went to work to make it work. “I thought if the lyrics are really sad like that I should write some chords that are happier,” noted the guitarist.
4. Snow (Hey Oh) (2006)
The track is “about surviving, starting fresh,” explained Kiedis. “I’ve made a mess of everything, but I have a blank slate—a canvas of snow—and I get to start over.”
3. Scar Tissue (1999)
“Life can get good again despite all of that psychic and emotional and spiritual scar tissue that you gather along the way,” offered Kiedis.
The song spent a then-record 16 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as 10 weeks atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock survey.
In addition, the band picked up a Grammy for Best Rock Song in 2000.
2. Give It Away (1991)
“I was so struck by Flea’s bass part, which covered the whole length of the instrument’s neck, that I jumped up and marched over to the mic, my notebook in tow,” shared Kiedis. “I always had fragments of songs and ideas or even specific isolated phrases in mind.”
Regarding the song’s intent, Kiedis has said, “if you have a closet full of clothes and you try to keep them all, your life will get very small. But if you have a full closet and someone sees something they like, if you give it to them, the world is a better place.”
1. Californication’ (1999)
It’s the title track for the band’s seventh studio album which marked the return of Frusciante (following a stint in rehab).
The song is known for its sparse guitar and bass arrangement around the main riff. Kiedis’ lyrics reference Kurt Cobain, “Star Trek”(“the final frontier”) and obviously Hollywood.
The accompanying music video is a video game showing the destruction of California. Seems the California Dream is a lot darker than it would appear.
“Californication” is the Chili Peppers’ most commercially successful studio album release to date, with more than 15 million copies sold worldwide, and more than seven million in the U.S. alone.
