Song · Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Black Summer” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
From the album Unlimited Love (2022)
“Black Summer” by Red Hot Chili Peppers appears on 15 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 2022 and 2026. It was first released in 2022 on the album Unlimited Love. Its best result is #1 on the ALT 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2022. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 2022, #6,160 alternative song of all time and #5 of the '20s.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Black Summer" opened the next chapter for Red Hot Chili Peppers in February 2022: it led the way for Unlimited Love, the band's twelfth studio album, and it was the first new song in 16 years with John Frusciante, who had come back to the band in 2019. Rick Rubin produced, Ryan Hewitt mixed, and the reunion sounds warm and unhurried: Frusciante's guitar and backing vocals curling around Anthony Kiedis, Flea's bass and Chad Smith's drums and tambourine underneath, and Matt Rollings sitting in on piano.
Alternative radio welcomed them home fast. It became their 14th number one on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, a record for any act, and gave them chart-toppers in four different decades, level with Green Day. The video took Best Rock Video at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 36 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2022 | 91 |
| 2022 | 9 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | 102.1 The Edge The Top 22 of 2022 | 22 |
| 2022 | 193 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 200 Songs of 2022 | 200 |
| 2022 | 55 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2022 | 106 |
| 2022 | 8 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2022 | 88 |
| 2022 | 4 | 93.3 WMMR Philadelphia, PA | WMMR Top 25 Songs of 2022 | 25 |
| 2022 | 43 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2022 | 109 |
| 2022 | 1 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | ALT 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2022 | 51 |
| 2022 | 5 | 93X Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN | 93X Top 22 Songs of 2022 | 22 |
| 2022 | 14 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2022 | 107 |
| 2022 | 3 | X96 Salt Lake City, UT | X96 Top 50 Songs of 2022 | 50 |
| 2022 | 6 | 98KUPD Phoenix, AZ | 98KUPD Top 98 of 2022 | 98 |
| 2024 | 15 | 101X Austin, TX | 101X Most Requested and Most Played Songs of 2024 | 88 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 888 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2026 | 360 | 101X | 101X 500 (2026) | 500 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Black Summer" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.