Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith are the two members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Michigan roots. Blending elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock, and hip hop, they have sold well over 120 million albums worldwide, making them one of the top-selling bands of all time. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have placed a record 15 number-one singles on the American Alternative Songs chart and a record 28 songs on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. In addition, the band has won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. 
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1962. His father, John Michael Kiedis, was a struggling actor, known professionally as Blackie Dammett. When Anthony was three-years-old, his parents divorced and he was raised by his mother, Peggy, in Grand Rapids. His mother later remarried and had two more children. During this time, Anthony would spend two weeks each summer visiting and bonding with his father in Hollywood, California.
At the age of twelve, Anthony moved to Hollywood to live with his father full-time. His father sold drugs to supplement his income, and he and Anthony often used marijuana and cocaine together. It was the start of an addiction that would plague his life and career for years to come.
Through his father's connections, Anthony Kiedis landed some acting jobs using the stage name Cole Dammett. He appeared as Sylvester Stallone’s son in the film F.I.S.T. as well as parts in an ABC Afternoon Special and in the movie, Jokes My Folks Never Told Me.
Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles and it was there that he met Michael Bazary (nicknamed Flea), and the two would bond over a shared love of punk rock. He also met future bandmate Hillel Slovak at this time, and despite using a variety of drugs recreationally with his friends, Kiedis managed to graduate from high school with honors and enrolled at UCLA to study writing. 
Flea and Kiedis
Slovak, Flea, Kiedis, and Jack Irons put together the first version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983. The band developed a name playing club gigs, but both Slovak and Irons left the band before the recording of their self-titled debut album in 1984.
George Clinton produced the band’s second album, “Freaky Styley,” in 1985. Slovak had returned on guitar, but it also marked the beginning of heavy drug use in the band that led to the serious heroin addictions of both Kiedis and Slovak.
After being asked to leave the band and go into rehab, Kiedis visited his mother in Michigan to ask for guidance. She had him check into the Salvation Army rehabilitation clinic in Grand Rapids. He felt that the people at the clinic were understanding of his struggles, and he moved in with his mother after completing his stint in rehab. It was the first time he had completely abstained from drugs since he was 11-years-old.
Kiedis fell off the wagon during the recording of the band’s third album, “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.” Despite the continuing drug problems in the band, the album was their most successful yet, breaking into the Billboard Top 200 at # 148. Tragedy struck following the band’s tour to support the album when Hillel Slovak died from a heroin overdose in 1988.
After Kiedis completed another stint in rehab, the Chili Peppers underwent some major lineup changes when drummer Jack Irons quit in the wake of Slovak’s death and John Frusciante joined on guitar as the band began work on its fourth album with George Clinton again producing. After firing the drummer who had replaced Irons because of drug and alcohol issues, the band held open auditions and hired Chad Smith in December of 1988.
Chad Smith was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the fall of 1961, but he grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He started drumming at the age of seven, first on upturned Baskin-Robbins ice cream tubs using toy Lincoln Logs for his sticks. Noting his continued interest in drumming, his parents bought him his first kits and allowed him to practice in the basement where he could play loud. 
Chad Smith
Influenced by his older brother’s love of English hard rock, Smith grew up listening to the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and the Who. Although he did not receive formal drum lessons, he gained experience by playing in bands while attending Lahser High School. Smith’s first band, Paradise, won a battle of the bands in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1977.
Smith later played with the Michigan-based bands Pharroh and Toby Redd. Pharroh’s percussionist Larry Fratangelo had worked with Parliament-Funkadelic, and he introduced Smith to funk music and taught him how to play it. This turned out to be very important a few years later when Smith ran into Fratangelo, who had just returned to Michigan after working on a session with George Clinton for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Knowing that they were looking for a drummer, Fratangelo urged Smith to go to California and check them out.
With Smith now on board as the band’s drummer, the “Mother’s Milk” album was released in 1989 and reached # 52 on Billboard’s Top 200. In addition, their cover off Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” along with the band original “Knock Me Down,” both became hits on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were now a hot property.
After a bidding war, the band signed with Warner Bros. Records, and they began work on their “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” album with producer Rick Rubin. It became their biggest hit yet, selling over 12 million copies after it was released in 1991. “Give It Away” was their first # 1 single on the Modern Rock chart, and the ballad “Under The Bridge” reached # 2 on Billboard Hot 100.
Despite the success, the next four years were tumultuous with continued drug issues and John Frusciante leaving the band. He was first replaced by Arik Marshall and then Dave Navarro. Although 1995’s “One Hot Minute” reached # 4 on Billboard’s Top 200, it sold less than half the copies of the previous album. Navarro was fired in 1998 because of his drug use, and Frusciante returned to the band. 
Flea, Kiedis, Frusciante, and Smith
“Californication” was released in 1999. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album became one of the band’s biggest hits, selling over 15 million copies and producing three # 1 singles on the U.S. Alternative Music chart with "Scar Tissue," "Otherside," and "Californication."
Frusciante would be a major contributor to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ next two albums, 2002’s “By The Way” and 2006’s “Stadium Arcadium,” before leaving the band again in 2009. He was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who would serve as the band’s guitarist for the next ten years. During Klinghoffer’s tenure, the band would release “I’m With You” in 2011 and “The Getaway” in 2016. Both albums reached # 2 on Billboard’s Top 200.
In the years that followed, the group made an appearance at the 2019 Grammy Awards and even played a show in the shadows of the Pyramids of Giza for a livestream event. At the end of the year, they parted ways with Klinghoffer to welcome Frusciante back to the fold once again. Work began on their next album, which arrived in 2022. Teased by the lead single "Black Summer," “Unlimited Love” was released in April. Once again produced by Rick Rubin, the Chili Peppers embarked on a massive stadium tour in support of the album. 
Scar Tissue
In October, they issued another full-length, “Return To The Dream Canteen.” Recorded during the same Rubin sessions that yielded "Unlimited Love,” the equally funky effort included the single "Tippa My Tongue" and a Van Halen tribute titled "Eddie."
In 2004, Anthony Kiedis wrote his autobiography, Scar Tissue, with author Larry Sloman. It was an international best seller. He also started developing a television series that was based on his unconventional upbringing in Los Angeles and centered on his relationship with his father. The proposed series never came to fruition, however, and Kiedis’ father died in 2021. In 2024, it was announced that Universal Pictures planned to release a theatrical movie based on Scar Tissue with filming set to begin in 2025.
Chad Smith has participated in a variety of other music projects outside the band, including the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani. He has also drummed on albums and songs by a wide variety of artists including Ozzy Osbourne, Morrissey, Iggy Pop, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Post Malone. 
Chad Smith
Smith has been involved in a large number of charity projects over the years as well. In 2025, he announced that he was starting the Chad Smith Foundation music school which will supply scholarships, music equipment, and music education to kids.
That same year, Smith joined the University of Michigan Marching Band on stage to perform “Can’t Stop.” The appearance helped announce the partnership between the Chad Smith Foundation and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater & Dance. The Foundation planned to endow a Curtis and Joan Smith Scholarship at Michigan to provide need-based support for an incoming music student starting in 2026.
Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2025.
