Mother's Milk (1989–90)

Attempting to cope with Slovak's death and Irons's departure, Kiedis and Flea temporarily employed Dead Kennedys drummer D. H. Peligro and former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight. Neither fit and they were each replaced rapidly. However, Peligro's brief tenure did have one vital, long-term consequence: he introduced John Frusciante, an acquaintance, and got him to audition for the band's empty guitarist role. Frusciante was fascinated with the band and was interested in auditioning. Following a constructive jam (which would later appear on Mother's Milk as "Pretty Little Ditty"), the band members unanimously decided to accept him.[39]
Three weeks prior to the beginning of recording, the band was still without a drummer. Philip "Fish" Fisher from fellow LA based Punk-Funk band Fishbone briefly joined the band and is featured on the track "Taste the Pain". Eventually, a friend of the band told them about a drummer she knew, Chad Smith, who was so proficient on the drums he "ate [them] for breakfast".[40] Kiedis had qualms about allowing Smith to try out; however, he agreed to give him a chance. At his audition, Smith overwhelmed the band by not only matching Flea's intricate and complex rhythm, but even beginning to lead him. After this successful jam session, Kiedis, Frusciante and Flea admitted Smith into the band. Smith was told to shave his head to fit into the band's style, but was nonetheless still allowed into the band when he showed up the next day with the same bandana.
In April 1989, the Chili Peppers embarked on a short tour to familiarize Smith and Frusciante with how the band managed live performances.[41] The "Positive Mental Octopus tour" saw the band play small venues throughout the United States, including several concerts on the East and West Coast. During this period, Frusciante began to assert more energy and his ego "got a little swollen", according to Flea, "He was running around being rude to girls and getting them pissed off. But that's to be expected, I mean, shit, you're 18 years old and you want to get laid really bad and all of a sudden you're in a band, the girls want to fuck. You're bound to go crazy."[42] Another incident, following a performance at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, caused legal repercussions; a student accused Kiedis of engaging in sexual misconduct and indecent exposure. The vocalist was subsequently arrested and released on bail pending a trial that was to be set for a later date.[42]
Recording was hindered by conflict with producer Michael Beinhorn, whose primary agenda was to give Frusciante's guitar playing a loud, overpowering sound, similar to the abrasive tones utilized in heavy metal.[43] Although there had been stress and conflict during the recording of other Chili Peppers albums, the Mother's Milk sessions were especially uncomfortable due to Beinhorn's incessant desire to create a hit. Beinhorn recalled that he and the band were at odds: "Suffice to say that I had a very intense personal relationship [with the band] and somewhere along the line I fell out with [them]."[44] He constantly clashed with Frusciante over guitar effects. According to Kiedis, "[Beinhorn] wanted John to have a big, crunching, almost metal-sounding guitar tone whereas before we always had some interesting acid-rock guitar tones as well as a lot of slinky, sexy, funky guitar tones."[45] Frusciante was frustrated with the producer's attitude and ultimately resented his playing on the record, feeling it was too "macho".[46] Kiedis recalled that, in the end, "I couldn't tolerate his direction any longer. He was trying to squeeze something out of me that I wasn't feeling, and we got in a fight and I knew that I was done with him."[45]
Mother's Milk was released in August 1989, and gave them their first top modern rock hits—a tribute ballad to Slovak, "Knock Me Down",[4] their cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground", and the song "Taste the Pain", which formed part of the film Say Anything... 's soundtrack. The anthem "Magic Johnson", a tribute to the Los Angeles Lakers pointguard and fellow Michigander, is still sung at Los Angeles Lakers games. The album reached No.52 on the American album charts and became the band's first gold record.[47]

Superstardom, Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Frusciante's first departure (1990–92)

In 1990, the group switched labels to Warner Bros. Records and hired Rick Rubin to produce their then-untitled fifth album. Rubin produced all of the band's subsequent studio albums. The writing process for this album was far more productive than it had been for Mother's Milk, with Kiedis stating, "[every day], there was new music for me to lyricize".[48]
The band spent six-months recording a new album, with long periods of rehearsal, songwriting, and incubating ideas. However, Rubin was dissatisfied with a regular recording studio, thinking the band would work better in a less orthodox setting, believing it would enhance their creative output. Rubin suggested the mansion magician Harry Houdini once lived in, to which they agreed. A crew was hired to set up a recording studio and other equipment required for production in the house. The band decided that they would remain inside the mansion for the duration of recording, though Smith, convinced the location was haunted, refused to stay.[49] He would, instead, come each day by motorcycle.[49][50] Frusciante agreed with Smith, and said "There are definitely ghosts in the house," but unlike Smith, Frusciante felt they were "very friendly. We [the band] have nothing but warm vibes and happiness everywhere we go in this house."[51] Rubin is the current owner of the studio known as The Mansion. During production, the band agreed to let Flea's brother-in-law document the creative process on film.[49] When the album's recording was complete, the Chili Peppers released the film, titled Funky Monks. The band was unable to decide on the title of the album, but to Rubin, one particular song title stuck out: "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". Although it was not a featured song, Rubin believed it to be "clearly the best title".[52]
On September 24, 1991, Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released. "Give It Away" was released as the first single; it won a Grammy award in 1992 for "Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal" and became the band's first number one single on the Modern Rock chart.[53][54] The ballad "Under the Bridge" was released as a second single, and went on to reach No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[54] the highest the band has reached on that chart as of 2011,[54] and became one of the band's most recognizable songs. Other singles such as "Breaking the Girl" and "Suck My Kiss" also charted well. The album itself was an international sensation, selling over 15 million copies and greatly broadening the Chili Peppers' audience.[55] Blood Sugar Sex Magik was listed at number 310 on the Rolling Stone magazine list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 1992 it rose to No.3 on the U.S. album charts, almost a year after its release.
The unexpected success instantly turned the Red Hot Chili Peppers into rock stars. Frusciante was blindsided by his newfound fame, and struggled to cope with it. Soon after the album's release, he began to develop a dislike for the band's popularity. Kiedis recalled that he and Frusciante used to get into heated discussions backstage after concerts: "John would say, 'We're too popular. I don't need to be at this level of success. I would just be proud to be playing this music in clubs like you guys were doing two years ago.'"[56] Frusciante abruptly quit the band hours before a show during the Blood Sugar Japanese tour in May 1992.[4][46] Guitarist Arik Marshall was hired to replace Frusciante and the band headlined the Lollapalooza festival in 1992. Marshall would also appear in the music videos for "Breaking the Girl", "If You Have to Ask" and on The Simpsons fourth season finale, "Krusty Gets Kancelled".
In September 1992, the Peppers performed "Give It Away" at the MTV Video Music Awards. The band was nominated for seven awards including Video of the Year (which they lost) however they did manage to win three other awards including Viewer's Choice. On February 24, 1993, the band, along with George Clinton & the P.Funk All-Stars performed "Give It Away" at the Grammy Awards, a song which won the band their first Grammy later that evening. The performance marked the end of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour and Marshall's final performance with the band. The band had planned to begin a follow-up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik with Marshall. However, things quickly changed and they decided that Marshall failed to fit with their future plans. Jesse Tobias of the Los Angeles-based band Mother Tongue was recruited. However, his tenure with the band did not last long, with the rest of the band stating that "the chemistry wasn't right".[57] They eventually settled on former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, who had turned them down once shortly after Frusciante quit.