Claim: Red Hot Chili Peppers formed in 1983.

Red Hot Chili Peppers , also sometimes shortened to The Chili Peppers or abbreviated as RHCP , are an American alternative rock/funk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 . The group 's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk , as well as elements from other genres such as punk rock and psychedelic rock . When played live , their music incorporates elements of jam band due to the improvised nature of much of their performances . Currently , the band consists of founding members vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea , longtime drummer Chad Smith , and former touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer . Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time with over 80 million records sold worldwide , have been nominated for sixteen Grammy Awards , of which they have won six , and are the most successful band in alternative rock radio history , currently holding the records for most number-one singles -LRB- 13 -RRB- , most cumulative weeks at number one -LRB- 85 -RRB- and most top-ten songs -LRB- 25 -RRB- on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart . In 2012 , they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .   The band 's original line-up , originally named Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem , featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons , alongside Kiedis and Flea . Because of commitments to other bands , Slovak and Irons did not play on the band 's self-titled debut album -LRB- 1984 -RRB- . Slovak performed on the second and third albums , Freaky Styley -LRB- 1985 -RRB- and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan -LRB- 1987 -RRB- , but he died from a heroin overdose in 1988 . As a result of his friend 's death , Irons chose to leave the group . After short-lived replacements at guitar and drums , John Frusciante and Chad Smith joined in 1988 . The line-up of Flea , Kiedis , Frusciante , and Smith was the longest-lasting and recorded five studio albums beginning with Mother 's Milk -LRB- 1989 -RRB- . In 1990 , the group signed with Warner Bros. . Records and recorded the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik -LRB- 1991 -RRB- under producer Rick Rubin . This album became the band 's first commercial success , but Frusciante grew uncomfortable with it and left abruptly in 1992 in the middle of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour .   After two temporary guitarists , Dave Navarro joined the group in 1993 and played on their subsequent album , One Hot Minute -LRB- 1995 -RRB- . Although commercially successful , the album failed to match the critical or popular acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik , selling less than half as much as its predecessor . Navarro was fired from the band in 1998 . Frusciante , fresh out of drug rehabilitation , rejoined the band that same year at Flea 's request . The reunited quartet returned to the studio to record Californication -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , which became the band 's biggest commercial success with 16 million copies worldwide . That album was followed three years later by By the Way -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , and then four years later by the double album Stadium Arcadium -LRB- 2006 -RRB- , their first number-one album in America . After a world tour , the group went on an extended hiatus . Frusciante announced he was amicably leaving the band in 2009 to focus on his solo career . Klinghoffer , who had worked both as a sideman for the band on their Stadium Arcadium tour and on Frusciante 's solo projects , replaced him . The band 's tenth studio album , I 'm with You , was released in 2011 and topped the charts in 18 different countries . The band released their eleventh studio album , The Getaway , in 2016 . The album was produced by Danger Mouse , marking the first time since 1989 's Mother 's Milk that the Red Hot Chili Peppers had not worked with Rubin , and topped the charts in ten different countries .