
Red Hot Chili Peppers at 1993 GRAMMYs
GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers Shout Out Little Richard & Mother Nature At The 1993 GRAMMYs
Back in 1993, legendary Los Angeles group the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought full-on California rock star energy to the GRAMMY stage when they accepted their first-ever golden gramophone. The band accepted the award (for Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal for "Give It Away") mostly shirtless, with only Chad Smith donning a top.
Frontman Anthony Kiedis speaks on behalf of the quartet, rocking his long hair down, wearing just a floral skirt and name dropping Little Richard, Sinéad O'Connor Howard Stern and even Mother Nature. Watch the full, amazing acceptance speech below, which is the latest episode of our GRAMMY Rewind video series.
"I was hanging out, earlier today, at the men's club with Little Richard and Howard Stern; they both told me to say, 'Everybody, hi, how you doin'?' And they'd like to be here at the moment but they can't because they're off teaching Sinéad how to tango. But she says 'Hi,' too," Kiedis says, smiling and eliciting laughter from the audience.
He then dedicates their big win to a worthy cause: "The only person I'd really like to thank is Mother Nature, for giving this universe music, because without music I'd be nowhere."
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The "Californication" rockers received two nominations at the 35th GRAMMY Awards that year, with their hit "Under The Bridge" earning a nod for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (U2 took home that win instead, for "Achtung Baby").
"Give It Away" was released in September 1991 as the lead single to their funky Rick Rubin-produced fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which followed later that year. "Under The Bridge" was released as the LP's second single in March 1992, bringing their electric sound to the mainstream with a No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was their first song to hit the top 10 on the all-genre chart, with "Give It Away" only entering the chart at No. 73 in 1992, after "Under The Bridge" brought their sound out in the open. The album was also a commercial hit, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
The album's title track later earned the band their fourth GRAMMY nod at the 38th GRAMMY Awards. Their first nomination came at the 33rd GRAMMY Awards, for their 1989 rocked-out cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground."
The longstanding SoCal rock heroes have since taken home two more GRAMMY wins, at the 49th GRAMMY Awards in 2007. They won Best Rock Album for Stadium Arcadium and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal its lead single "Dani California."
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