Anthony Kiedis

Background

Anthony Kiedis, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 1, 1962, is an American singer and songwriter widely known as the lead vocalist of Red Hot Chili Peppers. This rock band has continued to thrive today ever since the early 1980s. He moved to Hollywood at 12 to stay with his father, Michael Kiedis, a struggling actor professionally known as Blackie Dammet. Young Kiedis became exposed to different types of drugs, often witnessing his father selling and taking them. By the time he was 14 years old, he had started using marijuana and cocaine with his father, and once, he even accidentally used heroin after mistaking it for the latter. Although he was an addict, Kiedis’ father introduced him to acting. In 1978, he starred in his first film, a crime drama called “F.I.S.T,” alongside famous actor Sylvester Stallone, as his character’s son. After that, he appeared in an episode of “ABC Afterschool Special,” and in the film “Jokes My Folks Never Told Me.” Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he befriended Michael Balzary, artistically known as Flea. The pair both had a love for rock music and later came across Hillel Slovak after seeing him perform with his band Anthym. The three soon became friends and often used L.S.D., heroin, and cocaine together. Despite his drug involvement, Kiedis was a straight-A student and graduated from high school with honors in 1980. He furthered his education at the University of California to study writing.

In 1983, Kiedis, Slovak, Flea, and drummer Jack Irons, who was from Slovak’s band Anthym, started creating their own music and formed a band called Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem. The newly formed band did their first music gig at The Rhythm Lounge bar and was asked by the owner to continue performing at the bar. Shortly after, they changed their name to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Later, they signed a record deal with EMI Group Limited. However, Irons and Slovak decided to leave the band to further pursue their music career with their original band, Anthym. They were replaced shortly after by drummer Cliff Martinez and guitarist Jack Sherman. The band released their first album, “The Red Hot Chili Peppers,” in 1984. Sherman was later fired from the band and replaced by Slovak. The following year, in 1985, the band released their second album, “Freaky Styley,” and it sold 75,000 copies in the first year. A year later, Irons returned to the band after Martinez was fired, and the original foursome was reunited again. During this time, Kiedis, Flea, and Slovak became heavily involved with drugs, which started to affect their relationship and rehearsal time. Kiedis started losing motivation and missing rehearsals and was asked to leave the band to start drug rehabilitation. During the same year, after the band won the LA Weekly Band of the Year Award, his motivation to get into rehab grew stronger. He thereafter checked into the Salvation Army rehabilitation clinic in Michigan, and after successful completion, he regained enthusiasm and wrote the song “Fight Like a Brave.” After returning to L.A., Kiedis rejoined R.H.C.P., and the band continued to work on their third album, “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan,” which was released in 1987. The following year, Slovak died of a heroin overdose, leading to Kiedis’ ultimate decision to stop using drugs, and he checked into rehab again. Although Irons left the band after Slovak’s death, Kiedis and Flea continued and hired others instead of Slovak and Irons.

In 1989, R.H.C.P. released their fourth album, “Mother’s Milk,” which reached number 52 on the Billboard 200. In 1991, they released their fifth and breakthrough album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” which successfully reached number three on the Billboard 200 and sold seven million copies in the U.S. Kiedis’ song from this album, “Under the Bridge,” reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Their sixth album, “One Hot Minute,” was released in 1995, and their seventh, “Californication,” in 1999. R.H.C.P. embarked on a world tour after the release of “Californication” to perform singles from the album. After releasing their ninth album in 2006, “Stadium Arcadium,” and another world tour, the band members decided to take a year-long break before releasing their tenth album in 2011, “I’m With You.” After showing great success in the world of Rock ‘n Roll music, the R.H.C.P. were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015, Kiedis received the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. R.H.C.P. released their eleventh album, “The Getaway,” in 2016, and their most recent album, “Unlimited Love,” was released in April 2022.