The Red Hot Chili Peppers song that almost featured John Paul Jones
Red Hot Chili Peppers are often hard to come by in the musical world. People are quick to make jokes, mocking overt mentions of California and the extravagant nature of the band, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the most exciting bands to come out of modern times. Their style of music is vibrant and fun one moment and then moving and profound the next.
Their music is only added to thanks to the array of talent on display when it comes to the instrumentalists in the band. John Frusciante and Chad Smith are excellent in their chosen fields. Meanwhile, Flea is arguably one of the greatest bassists ever to pick up a four-string. His unique approach to rhythm means that Red Hot Chili Pepper’s songs are instantly recognisable and completely unique.
When he talks about his influences, he says that much of what he knows comes from hip-hop. He takes a lot from the hip-hop producer J Dilla, a renowned artist who changed how people in rap perceived rhythm. Given how intricate and off-kilter many of Flea’s basslines are, it’s hardly a surprise that he’s a fan.
“I think he’s an absolutely transcendent phenomenal musician,” he said, “I liked this record, this Ruff Draft record, I was by myself, and I just had these big headphones on, and I was walking around on these trails, in the mountains, just listening to it, and it just touched this thing in me so deeply, and I just couldn’t stop crying.”
Of course, while Flea has a lot of more modern influences, he also has time for the classics. It’s hardly a surprise that the bassist is a fan of John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, as Jones is often cited as one of the best bass players in the world.
Geddy Lee once described John Paul Jones as one of the very best, saying he was the key to Led Zeppelin’s success. “The thing that held the whole thing down was John Paul Jones’ bass playing,” he said, “So, if you listen to ‘How Many More Times’, I mean, no matter how wild that song gets at times, there’s John Paul Jones just holding it all down in such a fluid way.”
Due to how much Red Hot Chili Peppers rely on Flea’s bass playing and the fact that Flea knew of the enormous influence of John Paul Jones, it seems almost too good to be true that the two would ever work together… and it is. Jones was supposed to come and help out on the track ‘Road Trippin’, one of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s songs from the Californication album. Jones was going to help with the rhythm section and arrange the Chamberlin Organ part of the song.
Unfortunately, while the collaboration would have been great to listen to, Red Hot Chili Peppers had to opt for someone else, as this was before they had made it big, and John Paul Jones cost too much.
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