“People think of them as a heavy metal band, but they swing. It‘s not just bash bash bash”: how Deep Purple changed Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith’s life

Deep Purple Mk III with an inset of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Chad Smith is the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ resident classic rock fan, and among the bands the drummer grew up listening to were Deep Purple. In 2012, Chad appeared on the tribute album Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head, marking the 50th anniversary of Purple’s iconic sixth album, Machine Head. At the time, Classic Rock to the drummer about his love of the British rock pioneers, his friendship with ex-Purple bassist Glenn Hughes, and how Deep Purple could always “handle the funk”.

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