Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers Pay Tribute to Ric Ocasek With ‘Just What I Needed’ Cover
Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a sizzling rendition of the Cars’ “Just What I Needed” during a concert in Singapore Sunday. The cover pays tribute to frontman Ric Ocasek, who died unexpectedly September 15th at the age of 75.
In the video, a shirtless Anthony Kiedis and Flea take the reigns on the iconic New Wave track, with Flea thumping on bass as Kiedis takes his swelling vocals to new heights. “I loved Ric Ocasek,” Flea wrote on his Instagram after the musician’s death. “What an interesting, smart, kind, funny man who made incredible records. I loved those Cars albums when I was a teenager. Perfect pop songs with those wicked Elliot Easton guitar solos. Absolute candy.”
The Chili Peppers are just one of many bands who have paid tribute to Ocasek in the week since his death. Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus also covered “Just What I Needed,” while Weezer, the Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan all wrote heartfelt tributes.
The Chili Peppers are slated to play Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California September 29th. Progress on their 12th studio album — a follow-up to 2016’s The Getaway — was halted when the California wildfires burned down their writing house earlier this year.