John Anthony Frusciante (pronounced [fruːˈʃɑːnteɪ] (help·info)) (born March 5, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the former guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded five studio albums. Frusciante also has an active solo career, having released ten albums under his own name, as well as two with Josh Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, as Ataxia. His solo recordings include elements ranging from experimental rock and ambient music to New Wave and electronica. Influenced by guitarists of various genres, Frusciante emphasizes melody and emotion in his guitar playing, and favors vintage guitars and analog recording techniques.
Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers at eighteen, first appearing on the band's 1989 album Mother's Milk. The group's follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was a breakthrough success. However, he was overwhelmed by the band's new popularity and quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a long period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he successfully completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their 1999 album Californication. Since then he recorded two more albums with the band before departing again in 2009, and has received critical recognition for his guitar playing, ranking eighteenth on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003.
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