John Frusciante

John Frusciante

John Anthony Frusciante i/fruːˈʃɑːntɛ/; born March 5, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums from 1988 until 1992 and again from 1998 until 2009. Frusciante also has an active solo career, having released eleven albums under his own name, two with Josh Klinghoffer and Joe Lally as Ataxia, and was a studio member of The Mars Volta, as performing guitarist and occasional live member from 2002-2008. His solo recordings include elements ranging from experimental rock and ambient music to New Wave and electronica.

Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers at eighteen years old, first appearing on the band's 1989 album, Mother's Milk. The group's follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was a breakthrough success. However, he was overwhelmed by the band's new popularity and quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a long period of drug addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he successfully completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their next album, Californication (1999) would eventually go on to sell 16 million copies. His album To Record Only Water for Ten Days was made in 2001. A fourth album with the Chili Peppers, By the Way was released in 2002. On a creative spree, Frusciante released six solo albums in 2004; each album explored different recording techniques and genres. In 2006, Stadium Arcadium, Frusciante's fifth and final album with the Chili Peppers was released. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features Flea and Josh Klinghoffer, but announced he had again parted ways with the Chili Peppers during their hiatus. Frusciante has produced and/or recorded with the Wu-Tang Clan, The Mars Volta and Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Swahili Blonde, The Bicycle Thief, Glenn Hughes, Ziggy Marley, Johnny Cash, George Clinton, and others.

Frusciante has received critical recognition for his guitar playing, ranking at number 18 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003; and again in a second list penned in 2011, where he ranked at number 72. He ranks the #43 among the 50 Best Guitarist of All Time according to the website of the manufacturer of Gibson guitars and was also voted "The Best Guitarist of The Last 30 Years" in a 2010 BBC poll called "The Axe Factor". Frusciante was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on April 14, 2012 although he did not attend the ceremony.