Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea has had a long career since he first started making music in 1982. Over the years, he has worked with numerous musicians, which gave birth to many friendships. The rocker recently praised two of his fellow musicians via a recent post on his Twitter account.
“The two best solo artists in popular music for the entire seventies and eighties are Bowie and Stevie,” said Flea. The bassist must have foreseen the reactions to his bold statement since he also asked his fans not to come for him for saying David Bowie and Stevie Wonder are the bests as he added, “Don’t at me.”
After his tweet, some of his fans agreed with Flea, while some started naming other musicians from that era, such as Prince, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elton John, and more. However, the two artists that Flea said to be the bests in the ’70s and the ’80s make sense since they are important in the musician’s life and career.
Though Flea’s childhood was filled with jazz music thanks to his stepfather, who was in a bebop jazz band, his taste in music later changed after being introduced to punk and rock by Anthony Kiedis. The bassist then started to draw inspiration from names like Black Flag, Defunkt, and, last but not least, David Bowie. Hence, Bowie means a great deal to Flea as one of his early influences in rock music.
As for Stevie Wonder, he had such a big impact on Flea and his band that Red Hot Chili Peppers covered ‘Higher Grounds’ from his sixteenth studio album entitled ‘Innervisions’ for their 1989 album ‘Mother’s Milk.’ Flea even has an awkward encounter with Wonder, and he once revealed the story that had a happy ending, with Wonder inviting the bassist to his charity event.
The two best solo artists in popular music for the entire seventies and eighties are Bowie and Stevie. Don’t at me
— Flea (@flea333) December 27, 2022
