Flea once revealed his favourite singers of all time
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is one of the best-loved rock musicians of his era. A distinctive player with a unique style of slapping, it’s reflective of his brilliance that his work on tracks like ‘Give It Away’, ‘Under the Bridge’ and ‘Soul to Squeeze’ remain staples for budding four-string heroes the world over.
Given that Flea is such a titan of modern rock music, he is often asked to discuss those he classes as his favourites. When it comes to bass playing, he’s made it clear that Thundercat, a figure he has taken under his wing, is “the best bassist on the planet”. Elsewhere, he’s named Bootsy Collins’ work on Parliament-Funkadelic’s ‘Flashlight’ and John Paul Jones’ on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Ramble On’ as two of the finest basslines ever.
It’s not just bass-playing that Flea is an expert on. Given that he plays in a band with Anthony Kiedis, another highly talented and distinctive musician, and the fact that he has rubbed shoulders with the best frontmen in the business for the best part of 40 years. In January 2023, on Twitter, Flea was asked to name who he thinks are the greatest singers of all time.
Displaying his wide-reaching love of music by mentioning figures from soul to punk, he named his favourite vocalists as: “Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, Lightin Hopkins, Hank Williams, Nick Drake, Joe Strummer, could go all fukken day gotta go.”
Despite Flea’s open love for Nick Cave, it has not been reciprocated. Famously, in 2004, when Cave was asked to comment on the state of the music industry, he decried Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music by likening it to nothing more than trash. He said: “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What… is this garbage?’ And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
In 2006, Flea finally responded to the criticism on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ website, refusing to change his opinion of the Australian punk hero. He explained: “For a second, that hurt my feelings because I love Nick Cave. I have all of his records. I don’t care if Nick Cave hates my band. After all, his music means everything to me; because he is one of my favorite songwriters, singers, and musicians of all time.”
“I love all the incarnations of the Bad Seeds,” the bassist continued, “But it only hurt my feelings for a second because my love is bigger than all that shit, and if he thinks my band is lame, that’s OK.”
