Chad Smith

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Chad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, owns shirts that read "I Am Not Will Ferrell," and he has worn them while performing live. The joke exists because strangers keep seeing a famous comedian when they look at him. Behind the gag is a drummer whose career has spread far beyond one band. He has played on records for Johnny Cash, Ozzy Osbourne, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also lobbied Congress, hosted television and radio shows, and painted for a gallery wall.

  The path there was not obvious. How does a boy with no formal drum lessons end up behind some of rock's biggest names? Why did a band that eventually hired him first decide he looked wrong for the job? And what happens to a working musician when fame, close calls and comedy all keep circling the same person?

  5236184473

• 2. Funk Education

  ›

  Chad Gaylord Smith was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on the 25th of October 1961, the third child of Joan and Curtis Smith. Most of his childhood was spent in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he graduated from Lahser High School in 1980. Part of his schooling took place at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois.

  At age seven he started playing drums. The records he grew up on were loud ones, including Rush, the Rolling Stones, Humble Pie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Kiss. He never took formal lessons. His training came from playing in school bands, and at 15 he ran away from home before returning after a summer.

  In 1977 a high school band called Paradise won a battle of the bands in Birmingham, Michigan. Smith then played with Pharroh and with a Michigan group named Toby Redd. Pharroh's percussionist, Larry Fratangelo, had also worked with Parliament-Funkadelic, and he changed how Smith thought about the instrument. Fratangelo introduced him to R&B and funk and taught him how to play it. Smith later said: "I think up until then, I was a drummer. Once I studied with Larry, I turned into a musician."

  Funk drummers David Garibaldi, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and Greg Errico also caught his attention and shaped his style. With that grounding, Smith moved to California to chase a music career, and a band with an empty drum stool was waiting there.

  29101366

• 3. The Last Audition

  ›

  In 1988 the Red Hot Chili Peppers had just fired their drummer, D.H. Peligro. The band was already working on its fourth studio album and had hired a new guitarist, John Frusciante. Open auditions followed, and Smith was the final drummer to try out.

  On appearance alone, the band thought he was the wrong fit. He looked more like a hair-metal player than a punk. The audition won them over anyway. Singer Anthony Kiedis admired him and found his persistence impressive.

  Smith joined in December 1988. Within a few months he was recording Mother's Milk, which came out in 1989. In a 2012 interview he recalled his first thoughts: "I remember thinking, 'Oh, cool, they have a record deal. Great! I'd love to be in a band that has a record deal." The chemistry, he said, was immediate, because they just jammed, and he noted that this is still what they do today.

  He has since recorded ten albums with the group, the latest being Return of the Dream Canteen in 2022. That run makes him the band's longest-serving drummer. In 2012 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

  As of February 2026, the band was writing its fourteenth studio album, recording at Frusciante's house. Bassist Flea described the goal this way: "Ultimately, once we start playing, it's about… just catching a magic groove and doing it good."

  13148159

• 4. Side Roads

  ›

  At the 2008 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, an unnamed instrumental band made its debut. Smith had formed it the year before with guitarist Jeff Kollman and keyboardist Ed Roth, who had both worked with singer Glenn Hughes. Bassist Kevin Chown rounded out the lineup. They were united by a love of 1970s funk and fusion, and the group became Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats. It has released two studio albums and a double live disc.

  After a lengthy world tour for Stadium Arcadium, the Chili Peppers took a break in 2008. Smith used the time to join Chickenfoot, a hard rock supergroup with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony. The group put out two studio albums, a live album and a box set. In 2011, touring with the Chili Peppers kept him away, and Kenny Aronoff took his place. In 2012 he returned for a four-song encore. On the 7th and the 8th of May 2016, the band reunited for two shows at Harrah's Showroom in South Lake Tahoe and debuted a song called "Divine Termination." A month later Smith was candid about the future: "I would love to make some new music with those guys, but we'd have to be in the same room at the same time."

  His detours were not all loud. In 2010 he released Rhythm Train, a critically acclaimed children's album with Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Bixler. On it Smith sang and played several instruments. In 2013 he teamed with jazz musician Jon Batiste and bassist and producer Bill Laswell to score a film that had not been written yet and would never be made. The resulting album, The Process, was released on the 4th of November 2014.

  He also took up talking about music. In March 2012 he released a free mobile app with a feature called Drummer GPS, which spotlights drummers who influenced him and others he rates among the best modern players. In May 2013 he launched a MusicRadar podcast, In Conversation with Chad Smith. On the 20th of January 2017 he began hosting Landmarks Live in Concert, an eight-episode PBS series whose first two guests were Alicia Keys and Brad Paisley. Then on the 28th of May 2018 he started a Monday SiriusXM talk show, VOLUME West, with Yahoo Entertainment music editor Lyndsey Parker.

  In January 2020 he opened his first art exhibit. He explained the impulse this way: "I love to express myself in any sort of creative way that I can, and doing this is another way to kind of take chances and take a risk."

  1617222326

• 5. Drummer for Hire

  ›

  In May 2013, Spin magazine placed Smith at number 91 on its list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music. A month later, readers of the UK magazine Rhythm ranked him and Flea as the fourth-greatest rhythm section of all time. His playing is recognized for ghost notes, the faint taps between the main beats, and for a fast right foot. Among the drummers he cites as influences are Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Ian Paice, Mitch Mitchell, Bill Ward, Keith Moon, Stewart Copeland, Neil Peart, Ringo Starr, Ginger Baker, Roger Taylor and Topper Headon.

  That reputation put him in demand. On Post Malone's "Take What You Want," from the album Hollywood's Bleeding, he played alongside Ozzy Osbourne and rapper Travis Scott. The session led to Osbourne's 2020 album Ordinary Man, which Smith co-wrote with Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and producer Andrew Watt. He also drummed on every track. On the 17th of December 2020 it was announced that Osbourne's next album was halfway done, with Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins also on board. That record became Patient Number 9 in 2022, with Smith again on drums and co-writing some of the songs.

  On the 1st of January 2021, Post Malone's New Year's Eve livestream brought Smith, Slash, Chris Chaney and Watt together for "War Pigs" and "Rooster." That September, he backed Miley Cyrus on "Nothing Else Matters" for the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist. He co-wrote and recorded the album Earthling with Eddie Vedder, then joined Vedder's backing band, The Earthlings. On Iggy Pop's Every Loser he played on seven songs and co-wrote five, and he joined Pop's backing band, The Losers, with Josh Klinghoffer, McKagan and Watt.

  Not every project reached listeners. Smith, Flea and Klinghoffer recorded with Morrissey for Bonfire of Teenagers. In December 2022 it was announced that the album was in limbo, because Capitol Records had decided not to release it.

  The list kept growing. He played on "Killah" from Lady Gaga's 2025 album Mayhem. He and Klinghoffer also drummed on most of Who Believes in Angels? by Elton John and Brandi Carlile. They performed with the pair on Saturday Night Live on the 5th of April 2025, and on a CBS special the next night.

  On the 5th of July 2025, Smith joined Back to the Beginning in Birmingham, an all-day farewell show for Osbourne and Black Sabbath. He played in Tom Morello's All Stars, alongside Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar and Nuno Bettencourt. He also traded a drum off with Travis Barker and Rudy Sarzo. The concert raised $190 million for charity, and Osbourne died seventeen days later. The Paramount+ documentary Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, which followed Osbourne's last six years, streamed on the 7th of October 2025 and included Smith.

  In December 2025 he played with Slash, McKagan and Watt as The Dirty Bats, and guests that night included Bruno Mars and Anthony Kiedis. Next on his calendar was Foreign Tongues, an album by the Rolling Stones due on the 10th of July 2026.

  56293538

• 6. Classroom Crusade

  ›

  In April 2013, the National Association of Music Merchants asked Smith to go to Washington, D.C. as a lobbyist for music education in American public schools. He met with congressional leaders and described his own experience as a student who learned his craft entirely within the public school system. He was invited back in April 2014. He later adopted a school in Greenfield, California, and lobbied House Speaker John Boehner for more arts education funding. Smith said he never cared about science, math or English as a student and that music was his reason for going to school. In his view, it helped him become interested in other subjects, and he would not have graduated without it.

  On the 21st of May 2014, he joined other celebrities at a White House talent show hosted by Michelle Obama. It raised awareness for Turnaround Arts, a program that uses arts education to lift achievement at some of the lowest-ranked schools in the country. Students from eight schools took part, and President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance. Earlier that week, Smith and former Yankee Bernie Williams taught a music class together at Savoy Elementary School in Washington. "This is not a photo-op and just throwing some money. You really roll your sleeves up and immerse yourself in the school," Smith said.

  That same year he joined Bystander Revolution, a group that speaks out against bullying. He released videos about being bullied as a child and about the experiences of his own son.

  On the 15th of May 2015, Smith played the second Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit in San Francisco, organized by Sammy Hagar and James Hetfield. It raised money for the pediatric cancer program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Pat Monahan of Train and comedian Adam Sandler joined him for "Dream On" and "Ramble On." The next day, Little Kids Rock honored him with its Livin' The Dream Award at Facebook's Menlo Park campus.

  Will Ferrell became a recurring partner in fundraising. On the 29th of April 2016, they hosted a comedy and music benefit, with part of the proceeds going to Ferrell's Cancer for College and Smith's Silverlake Conservatory of Music. At the One Classy Night event in Seattle on the 12th of February 2018, Smith, Ferrell, Mike McCready and Brandi Carlile played songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and R.E.M. Eddie Vedder then joined for Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." The night raised $300,000 in scholarships, and the total for Cancer for College reached 2.3 million. A bigger event followed at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on the 6th of October 2018, where Smith assembled a rock all-star lineup.

  On the 19th of August 2025, Smith announced the Chad Smith Foundation, a music school offering scholarships, equipment and instruction to kids. On the 11th of October 2025, he performed at halftime with the University of Minnesota marching band, The Pride of Minnesota. The event supported the Curtis & Joan Smith Scholarship, named for his parents, who were both alumni. On the 2nd of November 2025, he joined the University of Michigan Marching Band on stage to play "Can't Stop." That appearance announced a partnership with Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where the foundation planned to endow a scholarship in his parents' names for an incoming student in 2026.

  5452565761

• 7. Close Calls

  ›

  On the 12th of November 1992, Smith was scuba diving near Wakaya Island in Fiji, on vacation after the Chili Peppers' tour of Australia. A hammerhead shark about three meters long began circling him. Smith tried to hold still as it came closer, then fended it off when it went to bite. The shark swam away after taking a small chunk of skin from his left arm.

  An earlier episode, at an MTV Spring Break concert in 1990, carries a heavier weight. Smith and Flea were accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman who was dancing at the show. Beach rangers said Flea lifted her over his shoulder and dropped her onto the sand. Flea and Smith then spanked her and tried to pull off her swimsuit bottoms. The two men were ordered to apologize, pay a fine and donate to a rape crisis center, a sentence the woman approved. In his apology, Smith wrote: "I clearly got carried away in the theatrics of the moment and I now realize how inappropriate and wrong my actions were."

  Substance abuse also shadowed him, as it did some of his bandmates. He struggled with alcoholism and cocaine use for many years, and he checked into a drug rehabilitation facility in 2008.

  On the 13th of January 2019, the Chili Peppers played a benefit for victims of the deadly Woolsey Fire. The fire had also interrupted the band's work on its twelfth album, because the house where they were recording became unreachable. It had suffered no damage, but the band could not get back inside. Smith and Kiedis both live in Point Dume. "Seventy houses in our neighborhood burned down. Ours was spared, luckily," Smith said.

  7968696070

• 8. Cowbell and Michigan

  ›

  After a Chili Peppers show in Columbus, Ohio, on the 14th of May 2017, Smith sang "The Victors," the University of Michigan fight song. Because Michigan and Ohio State are longtime rivals, it made national news. Smith is a fan of Michigan teams and the Detroit Red Wings, and at shows in Ohio his drum kit has sometimes carried the Michigan Wolverines logo. Like Kiedis and Flea, he supports the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the team's logo often appears on his kit. Smith and Flea have held Los Angeles Rams season tickets since 2016.

  In December 2022, the Rams' media team put Smith on the stadium jumbotron next to a picture of Ferrell. The gag came a week after Smith had appeared with the rival Seattle Seahawks' drum line. Smith says the two men first met at the premiere of the film The Ladies Man in 2000. He recalled thinking that he did not look like Ferrell at all. Then Ferrell looked him up and down, said "You're very handsome," and walked away, totally deadpan.

  The resemblance has fueled joint appearances ever since. In 2014 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the pair faced off in a drum battle. It flowed into the Chili Peppers playing Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," a nod to the Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" skit that starred both Ferrell and Fallon. Smith has said he had never thought much about the similarity until he saw Ferrell arrive at the studio dressed exactly as he was.

  Ferrell wrote the skit for a 2000 episode and played the character Gene Frenkle. In the Peacock documentary SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, in January 2025, the entire third episode was devoted to it. New flashback scenes showed Smith playing Frenkle. In March 2024 it was also announced that Smith would appear as himself in Spinal Tap II, the sequel to the 1984 mockumentary This is Spinal Tap.

  The joke came full circle on the 16th of May 2026, the season finale of Saturday Night Live. In the opening monologue Smith impersonated Ferrell, and Paul McCartney joined him. Smith then played "Days We Left Behind," "Band on the Run" and "Coming Up" with McCartney. He also recorded unaired versions of "Help!" and "Drive My Car," with Ferrell himself on cowbell.

  7173757677