History Music / BloodSugarSexMagik

It was the first Chili Peppers album produced by the legendary Music/RickRubin, who remained their producer until 2011, after the release of their tenth album ''I'm With You''. Commercially, it was a smash hit, going seven-times Platinum in the United States, triple-Platinum in the United Kingdom, and selling 13 million copies worldwide. Along with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' (which was released on the same day, to boot!) and Music/{{REM}}'s ''Music/OutOfTime'', it is credited with bringing AlternativeRock to the mainstream. The band would cameo on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled "Krusty Gets Cancelled"]], and appear on Series/SaturdayNightLive.

''Girl please me, be my soul bride''[[note]]Clockwise, from left: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and Music/JohnFrusciante[[/note]]]]

-->--'''"Under the Bridge"'''

"Under the Bridge" would hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's best performer on the Hot 100 to this day, while "Give it Away" would top the Billboard US Alternative chart; both would also be Top 20 hits in the UK. Two more singles, "Suck My Kiss" and "Breaking the Girl", would also be Top 20 hits on the US Alternative chart. The song "Soul to Squeeze", which was recorded during the album sessions but not featured on the album (it was initially included as a BSide on the lead singles), was released as a single in 1993 after being featured on the ''Film/{{Coneheads}}'' soundtrack, and became a surprise Top 40 hit in the US.

While Kiedis, Flea, and Smith enjoyed their new-found success, guitarist Music/JohnFrusciante (21 years old at the time, eight years younger than the rest of the members) felt ostracised due to the constant pressures to perform better. He hated performing live and began sabotaging some of their performances, using hard drugs, and drifting apart from the rest of the members. He left the band mid-tour in early 1992 (causing almost all of their Japanese tour dates to get cancelled), forcing the band to consider numerous guitarists before settling on Music/JanesAddiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Frusciante later returned to the band in 1998 for the release of ''Music/{{Californication}}''.

A documentary called ''Funky Monks'' showing the band working on the album in The Mansion, a recording studio now owned by Music/RickRubin, was released. The avant-garde music video for "Give It Away" won a couple of MTV video awards, and even beat out Music/{{Nirvana}}'s "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1993.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled Krusty Gets Cancelled]]'' the band makes a guest appearance. Krusty wants the Red Hot Chili Peppers [[{{Bowdlerize}} to change one of their lyrics]] in "Give It Away". They refuse at first, but when Krusty suggests to change, "What I got/You gotta get/And put it in you" to "What I'd like/Is I'd like to/Hug and kiss you", they warm up to the idea. [[note]]This is a parody of an incident where [[Series/TheEdSullivanShow Ed Sullivan]] asked Music/TheRollingStones to change "Let's Spend The Night Together" (originally from the US version of ''Music/BetweenTheButtons'') to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" (as "spend the night" was seen as too sexually suggestive at the time). Music/MickJagger didn't warm up to the change, but he reluctantly accepted. During the performance however, Jagger and Bill Wyman were clearly shown eye-rolling when the chorus came. A similar incident occurred when Music/TheDoors appeared: Sullivan asked Morrison to change a line in "Light My Fire" (originally from ''Music/TheDoorsAlbum'') from 'girl, we couldn't get much higher' to 'girl, we couldn't get much better' fearing that the line "higher" would be seen as condoning drug use; unlike the Stones, Morrison sang the original lyrics on air. As a result, The Doors did not appear on the show again, prompting Morrison's reply of "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoment We just did the Sullivan Show]]"[[/note]]

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The band produced songs as diverse as the SexGod anthem "Sir Psycho Sexy" and the FunkMetal "Righteous and the Wicked" to the OdeToSobriety "Under the Bridge", the GriefSong "My Lovely Man" (dedicated to ex-guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died of a heroin overdose in 1988) and the BreakUpSong "I Could Have Lied".

* BSide: Songs such as "Fela's Cock" [[note]]A reference to Music/FelaKuti[[/note]], "Castles Made of Sand" and "Little Miss Lover" [[note]]Covers originally by The Music/JimiHendrix Experience from the album ''Music/AxisBoldAsLove''[[/note]], "Search and Destroy" [[note]]A cover from Music/TheStooges album ''Music/RawPower''[[/note]], and "Sikamikanico". "Search and Destroy" was featured on ''WesterAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' (along with "Breaking the Girl"), and "Sikamikanico" was featured on ''Film/WaynesWorld''.

* [[AbsenteeActor Absentee Musician]]: John Frusciante quit the band mid-1992, right as the Chilis were at the height of their fame (for the time being, at least; they became more popular in the following decade). Arik Marshall, a temporary guitarist who was let go almost immediately following touring, was thus featured in the music video for "Breaking the Girl" and the cameo the band had on WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons.
** The video for "Soul to Squeeze" (released as a single the following year) doesn't feature a guitarist at all, since the band struggled to find a guitarist for two years after Frusciante's departure.

* MusicVideo: Both "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge" had memorable music videos which got wide play on Creator/{{MTV}}. The latter frequently topped lists of the best music videos of TheNineties, and is definitely one of the most beloved of that decade as well as the AlternativeRock movement.

* MusicVideo: Both "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge" had memorable music videos which got wide play on Creator/{{MTV}}. The latter frequently topped lists of the best music videos of TheNineties, and is definitely one of the most beloved of that decade.

* IntercourseWithYou: Subverted by "Give It Away", but played straight with "Funky Monks", "Suck My Kiss", "Apache Rose Peacock", "The Greeting Song", the title track, and "Sir Psycho Sexy". ''[[UpToEleven Very much so]]'' with the latter.

Some people consider this to be the band's best, due to its [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly diverse musical style]] and varied subject matters. A documentary called ''Funky Monks'' showing the band working on the album in The Mansion, a recording studio now owned by Music/RickRubin, was released. The avant-garde music video for "Give It Away" won a couple of MTV video awards, and even beat out Music/{{Nirvana}}'s "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1993. The album was listed at no. 310 in ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]], being elevated to no. 186 in the [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 2020 revision]].