Red Hot Chili Peppers go into Rock and Roll Hall

[April 16, 2012]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Red Hot Chili Peppers, a free-spirited band that combined elements of punk and funk into hit songs, have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Founded in the early 1980s in Los Angeles, the Chili Peppers remain a successful touring act. While their lineup has undergone several changes, frontman Anthony Kiedis and bass player Flea have been together since forming the band as 10th graders with the late Hillel Slovak, who died of a heroin overdose in 1988.

The band was inducted at the end of Saturday night's ceremony in Cleveland by longtime friend, comedian Chris Rock. He praised the group for offering "hard-core happiness" with a combination of rock, reggae and rap.

[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]

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