Chad Smith

Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988.

Smith spent his early years in various rock bands, starting in high school with a band called Paradise, where they won the battle of the bands in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1977.

That first band included members, Jay Yang (bass), Scott Porter (lead guitar) and Tom Auch (roadie).

Future bands included Pharroh and Michigan-based band Toby Redd.

Pharroh's percussionist Larry Fratangelo, who also worked with Parliament-Funkadelic, introduced Smith to R&B and funk music and taught him how to play funk.

Smith said, "I think up until then, I was a drummer. Once I studied with Larry, I turned into a musician."

Funk drummers like David Garibaldi, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, and Greg Errico caught his attention and influenced his style a lot.

Later, Smith decided to move to California to pursue his musical aspirations.

He spent most of his childhood in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he graduated from Lahser High School in 1980.

He started to play drums at age seven and grew up listening mainly to bands such as Rush, the Rolling Stones, Humble Pie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Kiss.

Chad did not receive formal drum lessons, and gained drumming experience by playing in school bands.

He ran away from home when he was 15, but returned home after a summer.

In 1988, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were looking for a replacement for their drummer D.H. Peligro, who had recently been fired.

Already into the process of working on their fourth studio album and hiring new guitarist John Frusciante the band held open auditions for a new drummer.

Smith was the last drummer to audition for the band and the band felt that on looks alone, Smith would be the wrong fit as he looked more hair-metal than punk.

Nonetheless, the band was blown away by his audition.

Singer Anthony Kiedis admired Smith and found his persistence impressive.

Smith joined the Chili Peppers in December 1988 and within a few months was recording his first album with the band, Mother's Milk.

He worked with the Chicks on Taking the Long Way, an album that won five Grammy Awards in 2007.

Smith has recorded with Glenn Hughes, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Jennifer Nettles, Kid Rock, Jake Bugg, the Avett Brothers, Joe Satriani, Post Malone, Eddie Vedder, Lana Del Rey, Halsey and Dua Lipa.

In 2007, Smith, along with fellow Glenn Hughes alumni, guitarist Jeff Kollman and keyboardist Ed Roth, formed an all-instrumental band inspired by their shared love of 1970s funk and fusion.

Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, formed in 2008, and of the all-instrumental outfit Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, formed in 2007.

Still unnamed at the time, the group, rounded out by bassist Kevin Chown, debuted at the 2008 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

In 2010, joined by Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Bixler, he released Rhythm Train, a children's album which featured Smith singing and playing various instruments.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Smith reflected on joining the band in a 2012 interview by saying “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, cool, they have a record deal.

Great!

I'd love to be in a band that has a record deal.

We started playing, and right away we just hit it off musically.

I was like, ‘Man, this is a blast!

These guys are great!’ ... We were just doing what we do.

We just jammed, which is what we still do today.

It's very similar.”

Spin magazine placed Smith at #91 on their list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music" in May 2013.

Readers of UK-based Rhythm magazine ranked Smith and Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea the fourth-greatest rhythm section of all time in their June 2013 issue.

Smith is also known for his charity work especially with young musicians.

He has been a lobbyist in support of music education in U.S. public schools.

Smith is also the host of the PBS concert series Landmarks Live in Concert, which began in January 2017.

Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the third child of Joan and Curtis Smith.

In 2020, Smith co-wrote and performed as part of the backing band on Ozzy Osbourne's album, Ordinary Man, and again in 2022 on Patient Number 9.