Humble Beginnings
The year was 1983, and somewhere in the dark Los Angeles night a group of four friends from Fairfax High School rocked onstage in front of a crowd of around 30 people. They were called Tony Flow and the MIraculous Masters of Mayhem and they were doing what was supposed to be a one time only performance at L.A.'s Rhythm Lounge. The performance was so energy filled that the club owners asked the band to return for a show the next week. The band agreed and changed their name to Red Hot Chili Peppers. All of the original band members did numerous shows amongst the L.A. punk scene.

The band consisted of bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, guitarist Hillel Slovak, vocalist Anthony Kiedis, and drummer Jack Irons. They recorded six songs made around this time for their first demo tape which they began hustling to record companies in the area. After several months of hustling they were signed by record label EMI. Unfortunately, Slovak and Irons had left two weeks prior to focus on their other band, What Is This?. Anthony and Flea proceeded with guitarist Jack Sherman, and drummer Cliff Martinez, and they released their first album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, in August 1983 with little commercial success. Sherman was fired shortly after due to Slovak's return.

Freaky Styley & The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
After the reunion with Hillel, the band went back to the studio with producer/funk god George Clinton to record their second album Freaky Styley. Clinton was much more helpful in the studio than their prior producer. Much of his influence can be heard on this album with the many different punk and funk aspects. The album was released on August 16, 1985 also with little commercial success. The following tour also led nowhere.

Finally done with his other project, Irons decided to return to the Chili Peppers who fired their drummer for him. Their next album was produced by Michael Beinhorn who made the bands sound a bit harder with a focus on punk and funk metal. The writing and recording process is said to have flowed very well with the reunion of the original lineup. The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was released on September 29, 1987 with moderate success. It was the first album to make it onto the Billboard Hot 200 peeking at 148. Unfortunately, Kiedis and Slovak fell deep into drug addiction and would put the band off in search of a high. Their drug induced lifestyle led to Slovak's death on June 25, 1988 right after the end of their tour for the album. Shortly after, Irons quit the band because of the death and because he feared the same might happen to Kiedis soon.

Kiedis and Flea attempted to cope with the death of Hillel by hiring a new drummer and guitarist, D.H. Peligro of the Dead Kennedys and former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne McKnight. None of them had much chemistry with the band, and were let go quickly. But, before Peligro left they auditioned one of his friends on guitar, John Frusciante, who was a big fan of the band prior to his audition. After a constructive jam session, the band agreed that he was their guitarist. But, there was still the dilemma of finding a drummer.

Mother's Milk
Only three weeks before the band went into the studio for their fourth album, in walks Chad Smith who unexpectedly impressed them by keeping up with Flea's complex and fast bass lines. After a great jam session they all agreed to admit Chad into the band. Once again they entered the studio with Michael Beinhorn, and they released Mother's Milk in August 1989. It was their first successful album, reaching number 52 on the American album charts. Their video for the Stevie Wonder song "Higher Ground" was also in rotation on MTV. It was their first gold record. Right off of the success of their album the band switched labels to Warner Bros. Records and hired Rick Rubin to produce their fifth album.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik
The creative process for Blood Sugar Sex Magik was historic. It was the most productive the band had ever been. Unsatisfied by the mood in ordinary recording studios, Rubin decided to move the band into a haunted Mediterranean style mansion on Laurel Canyon. During the entire recording process all but Chad remained in the mansion, secluded from the outside world, with the idea that they would be able to work better in this setting. The album was released on September 24, 1991, and was a huge success.
Their first single off the album, Give It Away won a grammy in 1992 for "Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocals," and also reached number one on the Modern Rock chart. Other singles, such as Under The Bridge reached as high as #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album went on to sell over 12 million copies. All seemed well, but during their Japanese tour, John quit due to the bands extreme success and his drug addiction.

One Hot Minute
The band hired a couple replacement guitarists to finish the tour, but none stayed because of the lack of musical chemistry. The band finally settled on ex Jane's Addiction guitarist, Dave Navarro. His different musical style made it hard for the band and him to adapt to each other. One Hot Minute was released on September 12, 1995. This album was deffinatly the darkest of them all, but still sold over 5 million records worldwide. The band went on tour shortly after. During this time, Kiedis began falling into the depths of addiction once more. And, in April 1998 Dave Navarro was let go due to drug problems as well.

Californication
During this time John had fallen extremely deep into drug addiction, but after going away to rehab for a month, he seemed clean. But, the long term effects of drug abuse had taken it's toll and he needed surgeries to fully rehabilitate. In April 1998 Flea visited John and invited him back into the band. An emotional John accepted and began rehearsing with the band again, building up the skills he had lost during his drug addiction. After a year of production and practice the band released Californication on June 18, 1999.

The album was an instant success, selling over 15 million copies, peaking at #3 in the US, and producing three number 1 singles: Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication. During the two year Californication tour, the band played Woodstock 1999 in which they played Fire, a Jimi Hendrix cover to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of his historic performance at the festival. Half way through the song a small fire was started which escalated to a full blown riot leaving many injured and showing the dying image of peace and love with which the festival was founded in the 1960's.

By The Way
The band began writing their next album in 2001, and it was released a year later on July 9, 2002 with much success. By The Way sold 700,000 copies in it's first week, and peaked at #2 on the U.S. charts. For this album, the band decided to steer away from the hard funk/rap roots for a more melodic and softer sound, thanks to the genius of John Frusciante. The Chili Peppers released a total 5 singles off of the album including "By The Way" and Can't Stop." it was during the European leg of the By The Way tour that the band released their live DVD Live at Slane Castle filmed on August 23, 2003 in Ireland. They also released their first live album Live in Hyde Park, recorded during their three day performance there. It was the highest grossing concert at a single venue, bringing in 17 million dollars, moving The Beatles to #2.

Stadium Arcadium - NOW!!!!!
Stadium Arcadium, the bands most recent album was released in 2006 to outstanding worldwide success. It was the bands first album to debut at #1 on the U.S. album charts, and by the end of the year it became the best selling album of the year with a total of seven million copies sold by the end of the year. They also released a total of 5 singles off of the album which are currently being played around the world. The band rocks, period.