John Anthony Frusciante (/frunt/; created March 5, 1970) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Frusciante also offers an active solo career, having released eleven solo albums and five EPs; his records contain components which range from experimental rock and ambient music to new wave and electronica.
Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the age of eighteen, first appearing on the group’s 1989 album, “Mother’s Milk”. The group’s follow up record, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” (1991), was a breakthrough achievement. Frusciante became overwhelmed by the group’s new popularity and leave in 1992. Their next record, “Californication” (1999) would eventually go on to sell 16 million copies. His record “To Record Only Water for Ten Days” was made in 2001. A fourth record with all the Chili Peppers, “By the Way” premiered in 2002. On a creative spree, Frusciante released six solo albums in 2004; each record investigated different recording techniques and genres. 2006 found the launch of his fifth and final record together with the Chili Peppers, “Stadium Arcadium”. In 2009, Frusciante released “The Empyrean”, which features Flea and Josh Klinghoffer, and declared he’d again parted ways using the Chili Peppers. Frusciante has produced or recorded using the Wu-Tang Clan, The Mars Volta and Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Swahili Blond, Black Knights, The Bicycle Thief, Glenn Hughes, Ziggy Marley, Johnny Cash, George Clinton, among others.
He was ranked as number 42 in Gibson’s list of the “50 Greatest Guitarists Of Time”. He was voted “The Top Guitarist of the Last 30 Years” in a 2010 BBC survey called “The Axe Factor”. Frusciante was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an associate of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on April 14, 2012 although he failed to attend the service.