“Road Trippin'” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Road Trippin'" was the fifth single pulled from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' seventh album, Californication, and it was released only in Australia and Europe. That left it among the least-known singles they ever issued, heard mostly by the faithful, and the video didn't reach the US until the Greatest Hits album in 2003.

What it's about is simple and sweet: Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante driving the Pacific Coast Highway and surfing at Big Sur after Frusciante came back to the band. Chad Smith sat that trip out, busy with other things and not much of a surfer anyway. All four share the writing credit, Rick Rubin produced, Jim Scott engineered and mixed, and Patrick Warren and Greg Kurstin fill in the edges on chamberlin, organ and keyboards. It's the Chili Peppers in a sunburned, easygoing mood.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.