The Red Hot Chili Peppers are undeniably one of the most popular bands of the past 30 years – and they are still going strong with a new album released April 2022 (Unlimited Love) and a new tour. In the beginning, however, they were hardly a success.
It wasn’t until their fourth album – Mother’s Milk released in 1989 – that they moved from cult status to wider scale popularity. Although Mother’s Milk peaked at #52 on the US album charts, it set the stage for super stardom by the time they released the follow up Blood Sex Sugar Majik in 1991 – which peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 200. Since then, the Chili Peppers have enjoyed a string of eight consecutive albums to hit inside the Top 5 in the US. Two of those albums Stadium Arcadium (2006) and Unlimited Love (2022) hit #1.
The band had a much slower start in the UK where they didn’t even chart until their 5th album Blood Sex Sugar Majik – which peaked at #25 on the UK album charts. Interestingly, since then, the Chili Peppers have hit #1 on the UK album charts 4 times.
Below is a list of songs that landed in the US Billboard Top 40 with the year and the peak spot.
“Under the Bridge” – 1991 (#2)
“Soul to Squeeze” – 1993 (#22)
“Scar Tissue” – 1999 (#9)
“Other Side” – 2000 (#14)
“By the Way” – 2002 (#34)
“Dani California” – 2006 (#6)
“Snow (Hey Oh) – 2006 (#22)
“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” – 2011 (#38)
