Former Red Hot Chili Peppers member passes away

Jack Sherman died at the age of 64. He was an early guitarist for the popular alternative rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers.
On the personal page, the Red Hot Chili Peppers band announced that Jack Sherman had just passed away, at the age of 64. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed to the media.

The alternative rock band’s official statement read: “Jack played on their debut album and participated in the group’s first US tour. He’s a special guy, and we want to thank Jack for every moment, good or bad.”

Born in 1956 in Florida, USA, Jack Sherman joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) in 1983. He took the guitar position in place of founding member Hillel Slovak – who then formed another band, What Is. This?

Sherman and RHCP recorded their self-titled debut album. However, during the time of working together, between Jack Sherman and leader Anthony Kields, many conflicts arose. In early 1985, Sherman decided to leave the group and ceded the position to Hillel Slovak himself.

However, Jack Sherman was able to contribute to RHCP’s second album. In Freaky Styley (1985), he participated in composing half of the songs. Later, Slovak recorded based on these compositions.

According to NME magazine, Jack Sherman also performed backing vocals on Good Time Boys and Higher Ground. These are the two songs that RHCP did not release until 1989 on the album Mother’s Milk.

Parting from RHCP, Sherman later participated in recording albums of George Clinton, Bob Dylan, and Feargal Sharkey (the group Undertones).

Despite his contributions to alternative rock groups, Jack Sherman was not named when RHCP was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2012. At the time, he expressed his disappointment in Billboard magazine, calling it a “bad thing”.

Andy Gill, the producer of RHCP’s debut album, once emphasized the importance of Jack Sherman, especially in creating the group’s funk-sounding musical style, in the press.

In his later autobiography Scar Tissue, vocalist Anthony Kields admitted: “God bless Jack. He kept the band together for over a year. Without him, I don’t know what the group will be like in the years to come.”