Jack Sherman who was the second guitarist to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers and appeared on the bands 1984 self-titled debut album has died at the age of 64.
The band confirmed the news on Twitter early Saturday morning:
Sherman was also a contributing writer on material that appeared on the band’s follow up album Freaky Styley in 1985.
There was some controversy surrounding Sherman and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012 when the band was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sherman and another Red Hot Chili Pepper former guitarist Dave Navarro were omitted from the Hall due to the apparent rule that only original members, current members, and those who appeared on multiple albums were eligible for induction. Sherman seemed to take exception to this saying “It appeared to be a politically correct way of omitting Dave Navarro and I for whatever reasons they have that are probably the band’s and not the Hall’s.” Sherman also said, “It’s really painful to see all this celebrating going on and be excluded. I’m not claiming that I’ve brought anything other to the band… but to have soldiered on under arduous conditions to try to make the thing work, and I think that’s what you do in a job, looking back. And that’s been dishonored. I’m being dishonored, and it sucks.”
Navarro played on the band’s 1995 release Red Hot Minute before being fired in 1998 over “creative differences” and a heroin relapse. John Frusciante would eventually rejoin the band for Californiacation in 1999.
Sherman though maybe had reason to be pissed over being left out of the Hall considering his work did actually appear on two Red Hot Chili Pepper albums.
Anyways, Sherman’s cause of death hasn’t been revealed and you can only hope that he and the band were able to reconcile before he passed.