Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - Red Hot Chili Peppers and "Give It Away"
The undisputed kings of the Modern Rock Tracks chart kick off their reign with the first of FIFTEEN #1 hits, a funk-rock banger about the good vibes that come with altruism
Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Give It Away”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 2 weeks (Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 1991)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - “So You Think You’re In Love”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: U2 - “The Fly”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Fifteen times. I have to write about the Red Hot Chili Peppers fifteen times.
The thing is, I don’t hate Red Hot Chili Peppers. Actually, as I looked into all of their chart-topping hits, there’s very few that I truly dislike, which surprised me. It is a little disheartening to know that they only had four #1 hits during the 1990s, a period of time where I most enjoyed their output, whereas they’ve somehow managed 2 chart-topping hits in the 2020s, a time when I’ve decidedly moved on from the Peppers. Kudos to them for their longevity, though I suspect that is more of a reflection of the dearth of good alternative rock on the charts, and less about the excellence of the band’s latter-day tracks.
But I digress. Let’s talk for the first of FIFTEEN times about Red Hot Chili Peppers, beginning with the band’s first Modern Rock Tracks chart #1 hit, “Give It Away.”
One thing I want to note right off the top: There’s a surprising amount of retrospective hate surrounding RHCP, likely because their position as a legacy act from the 1990s makes them a moving target for music “purists” who believe the only good music to come out of any era is that which is not embraced wholesale by mainstream music fans. There’s also something to be said for overplaying a band, and RHCP are no strangers to this category (there’s a reason they have the most #1 hits on what is largely a radio airplay chart). Any band that gets played over and over again across any traditional radio landscape is going to earn a fair amount of vitriol, even if it’s undeserved and short-sighted. Make no mistake: RHCP are one of the most decorated bands of the 1990s for good reason, and I’m not going to pooh-pooh their successes because of airplay oversaturation or because it’s “cool” to hate bands that were uber-popular in their heyday.
All that being said, “Give It Away” is not my favorite RHCP track. That’s clearly more a personal preference; lots of folks really dig the funk-rock vibe that the band puts down in this track, and I can’t blame anyone for having this song high up on their all-time list of great RHCP tracks. If nothing else, this song FEELS like the next evolution of alternative rock even with 30+ years of hindsight, as if Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante landed on something completely new and fresh and almost immediately invalidated everything before it that flew the “alternative rock” banner.
This was the start of the alternative to the alternative, and man did that change come in with some energy!
Right from the first guitar riff, RHCP hits you right in the face with a completely unexpected push: both a solid lead bass line courtesy of bass-master Flea, but what sounds like an unusual fusion of rock and rap vocals from Kiedis. There was a hip-hop edge that managed to tap into the energy and direction of music dominating the pop charts, but also a pure-rock groove that grounded the track in its alternative-rock roots.
Coupled with the energy displayed in the well-directed music video and the in-your-face lyrics, “Give It Away” combined a magic mix of something old and something new into something unexpected, unusual, and undeniably cool.
The song and the band were so cool at the time that they landed on an episode of “The Simpsons” back when “The Simpsons” was one of the coolest shows on the planet. In May 1993, RHCP was so ubiquitous and “Give It Away” was so omnipresent not only on the rock charts but in pop-music circles that it was a no-brainer to have the band make a cameo on the animated show.
Then 14-year-old Matt remembers that episode on first airing like it was yesterday, and even before I rewatched the clips, I already knew about how Barney confused RHCP for “Chilly Willy,” and how Krusty tried to get the band to change the somewhat “controversial” lyrics of “Give It Away” to sound more wholesome. I still laugh when they hear the new lyrics and Flea says, “Wow! That’s much better!”
The interesting thing is the song’s lyrics are not completely intended to be sexual, even if that’s the perception. Kiedis is on record noting that the song is more about the altrusim of literally giving things away to people, a lesson he recalled from his younger days when he was down on his luck, addicted to drugs, and working through some issues with guidance from his then-girlfriend Nina Hagen. According to excerpts from Kiedis’s autobiography “Scar Tissue” and Jeff Apter’s 2004 book “Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story,” the inspiration for “Give It Away” came from a time when Kiedis took interest in a jacket in Hagen’s closet:
Kiedis said Hagan “realized how young and inexperienced I was then, so she was always passing on gems to me, not in a preachy way, just by seizing on opportunities." When Kiedis found a jacket in Hagan’s closet that he thought looked cool, she told him to keep it, explaining to him, “If you have a closet full of clothes and you try to keep them all, your life will get very small. But if you have a full closet and someone sees something they like, if you give it to them, the world is a better place."
Granted, the song is not completely about altruism in this purest form; indeed, the lyrics go all over the place, with references about Bob Marley and otherwise lustful imagery. You could stretch out the idea that he’s all about giving possessions away, but there’s only a handful of possible explanations for lyrics like “Come and drink it up from my fertility. Blessed with a bucket of lucky mobility.”
Nevertheless, the song clicked with rock and mainstream audiences alike, as well as becoming a critical darling on MTV, with the music video taking home awards in 1992 for “Breakthrough Video” and “Best Art Direction.” For a band that had been kicking around the lower tiers of L.A. bands for the better part of the previous decade, RHCP had finally broken through. In addition to its two weeks at #1 on the MRT chart, “Give It Away” managed to break into the Hot 100 at a peak of #73 early in 1992, part of a huge wave of mainstream popularity the band would soon find with the release of the follow-up single from the “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” album.
As for RHCP, we’ll see them in this space a LOT more times, if not for the #1 hits than surely for the ones that came close. In addition to the band’s record-breaking 15 chart-topping hits on the MRT chart, as of March 2024 they also hold the record for most cumulative weeks with a chart-topping hit on the MRT charts (91 weeks) and the most top-10 songs on the MRT chart (28). Rest assured, we’ll be spending lots of time with the Peppers going forward, but at the very least they kicked off their reign at the top with a solid banger of a hit, one that may not be my favorite but almost certainly helped kick off the next generation of alternative rock hits.
Rating: 7/10
Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
Most of the top-10 hits during RHCP’s run were former #1s, soon-to-be #1s, or songs that lingered in the top 10 that I already covered, so I had to dig a little further. My search turned up some ratcats, some freaks, and some “blue” standouts. And, of course, “Weird” Al Yankovic.
“Bedrock Anthem” by “Weird” Al Yankovic: As alternative rock trended toward mainstream visibility, more and more songs became parody fodder for America’s finest parody musician, “Weird” Al Yankovic. There’s an amalgam of parodies in the song and video, including an early spoof on RHCP’s “Under The Bridge,” but the rest of the track is pure comedic gold.
“Rocking Chair” by House of Freaks: Two-man band House of Freaks hit their chart highwater mark in 1991 with “Rocking Chair,” which peaked at #11 on the MRT chart behind “Give It Away.” Johnny Hott and Bryan Harvey made up the component parts of the band, though the latter is unfortunately remembered as part of a particularly sad mark in history in 2006. Harvey, his wife and two daughters were tragically murdered as part of a larger spree of attacks in Richmond, Virginia. Despite this unfortunate ending, Harvey and Hott are both fondly remembered in the music community for their late ‘80s and early ‘90s contributions to modern rock.
“Yr Own World” by The Blue Aeroplanes: This is a surprisingly fun track, again from a band I didn’t know existed until the writing of this column. It’s got a fun vibe, and the video is interesting. Props to the band fielding a full ensemble, including a gentleman who’s really getting down to the music and dancing in what looks like very uncomfortable, shiny leather. To each their own, I suppose! But this track peaked at #13 behind RHCP, and I feel like that’s far too low for an otherwise catchy tune.
“Cerulean” by The Ocean Blue: Awhile back, when I talked about The B-52’s and their #1 smash “Love Shack,” I talked about The Ocean Blue, the young band from Hershey, Pa., who hit the charts with a solid jangle-pop ditty called “Between Something And Nothing.” The band followed up their hit with another solid track, leaning into the “blue” theme with “Cerulean.” While not the chart dominator their 1989 track had been, “Cerulean” made an impression and managed a respectable #16 finish behind “Give It Away.” I appreciate this band’s style, and we’ll be talking about them again real soon.
“That Ain’t Bad” by Ratcat: Ratcat is an interesting band. The Aussie indie rockers managed a decent #27 MRT finish with their single “That Ain’t Bad,” which actually ain’t bad. In their native Australia, however, they are best known for their more pop-inflected single “Don’t Go Now,” which topped the Australian charts right around the same time that “That Ain’t Bad” was released. Interestingly, I can’t seem to find any U.S. chart data on “Don’t Go Now,” so I’m not really sure if it ever made it to American radio. Nevertheless, both are decent tracks.
Sidenote: Karyn White's 'Ritual of Love' album is very much of it's time, but also pretty good.
I always preferred the VERY different RHCP song "Breaking the Girl" from the same album.