The band Anthony Kiedis called “The Beatles of their generation”
Over the last number of decades, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have carved out an impressive legacy and sold millions of records on the way. For singer Anthony Kiedis and most music fans of sound mind, when it comes to inspirational bands, The Beatles remain the benchmark. It’s debatable whether any other artist has hit the same pioneering heights that the Fab Four achieved in their prime, but they were unquestionably the first to reach such monumental levels.
Every generation, a new band comes along and is immediately likened to The Beatles. While nobody will recreate their seismic impact on the music industry, comparisons to the Liverpoudlians continue. In Kiedis’ opinion, the one band that shook up the musical landscape in a similar manner to the Beatles was the Ramones.
In 1987, Kiedis got his first taste of witnessing the Ramones live in action when Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared at the same festival as the New Yorkers, a performance that took place in Finland. The Chili’s frontman looked back at this show as part of the documentary Too Tough To Die (A Tribute To Johnny Ramone) and stated how Europe always gave the Ramones their dues, unlike America.
At the time, Kiedis wasn’t particularly familiar with the full extent of the Ramones’ back catalogue, but over the years, he immersed himself deeper within their world. Following the death of Johnny Ramone, as well as contributing to the film about the guitarist, Red Hot Chili Peppers covered ‘Havana Affair’ for a tribute album.
In the documentary, Kiedis said of the group: “Now that I’m a little more acquainted with their body of work that they are kind of really The Beatles of their generation that they were a part of. It’s next to impossible to write that many good songs. It just doesn’t happen very often. The Beatles were the first rock band to just write more consistently incredible songs than any four-man band had done before, and then the Ramones took the ball and did the same thing.”
He added: “Record after record after record after record after record of just great songs. So, I think history has no choice but to be kind to a band of that much material that’s good. It stands the test of time, and you just can’t ignore it.”
Kiedis also compared legacies with their peers and explained why he believes the Ramones’ reputation will only grow with each passing year. The singer continued: “If they had done one or two good records, they might still have a mystique about them like The Sex Pistols, who have one good record but are considered one of the all-time punk rock bands. The Ramones, their legacy is enormous. I don’t know if their popularity will keep increasing, but I think the respect and their position in rock history will always be seen as big.”
Listen below to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ cover of ‘Havana Affair’.
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