Former Red Hot Chili Peppers producer claims Anthony Kiedis is “tone-deaf”
Michael Beinhorn, who worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers as a producer, has claimed singer Anthony Kiedis was “tone-deaf” when they were collaborators.
Beinhorn worked with the band during their early years, firstly on The Uplift Mofo Party Plan in 1987, which established a fruitful partnership that they continued in 1989 with Mother’s Milk.
In a recent AMA session on the grunge subreddit, Beinhorn took a series of questions from fans who wanted to know more about his time with the band, including one in regards to ‘Knock Me Down’ from Mother’s Milk.
The track in question is a tribute to the band’s late guitarist, Hillel Slovak, who tragically died from a heroin overdose in 1988. Notably, the single version of the song features both John Frusciante and Kiedis on vocals.
A fan, who labelled it “one of my favourite songs” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, asked Beinhorn, “Why did John sing in that song? I know originally it was him and Anthony singing lead vocals, but Knock Me Down being a requiem for Hillel, why not only Anthony, the deceased’s best friend?”
In response, Beinhorn bluntly explained, “I’m glad you love Knock Me Down so much- it was a major departure from the RHCP sound up till that point. John sang the song (or rather, his voice was louder in the mix) because the song was melodic and Anthony was/is tone-deaf (ie- he can’t hear pitch).”
He also noted that Frusciante had a connection to Slovak, adding, “At any rate, John essentially wrote the song, including the melody, so it wasn’t entirely inappropriate for him to song it (plus he somewhat idolized Hillel).”
The producer then claimed that he “never found out what they thought of the final mix”, but did recollect that Kiedis “freaked out- not in a good way” when Beinhorn played him “the tracks with the finished guitars on them for the first time”. He also speculated, “I think the band kind of disowned the record because of this.”
In the same Q&A session, Beinhorn spoke highly about Frusciante, describing him as a “prodigy”. He elaborated, “It was amazing working with him- he was fun, childish to a fault, but musical and technically capable beyond the rest of the band. He pushed them all to excel just by being there. It was a revelation working with him and I’m not surprised at all to have watched him become wildly successful and even greater.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers last released music in 2022, when they shared two albums, Return of the Dream Canteen and Unlimited Love. Last week, the band’s bassist Flea announced his first solo album, Honora, which he is set to tour later this year.
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