Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” in a Laurel Canyon house rumored to be haunted. Producer Rick Rubin had urged them to work outside a studio; released Sept. 24, 1991, the album, including “Under the Bridge,” sold millions and propelled the band to fame.
The band moved into the house in April 1991 and stayed for two months. Flea said he imagined hearing things at night and recalled John Frusciante saying he had heard a woman. Drummer Chad Smith said two purported paranormal investigators told the band something bad had happened there; he then began sleeping at home.
Rick Rubin found “Under the Bridge” in Anthony Kiedis’s notebook; Kiedis initially said it was not for the band. Rubin said their conversation led them to consider material beyond the group’s usual limits. The album also included “Give It Away” and “Breaking the Girl” and became the band’s second-best-selling album.
