They were formed in 1982 by Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Jack Irons. Multiple lineup changes occurred before they found their sound/lineup in 1988. Guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith joined which, according to the band members, ended up feeling right. This resulted in the album 'Mother's Milk' which was their first commercial success. The following album (which now had Rick Rubin as the producer) caused them to achieve international fame. From this point the members (including Rick Rubin producing) stayed the same except for two breaks John Frusciante took to focus on himself.

These are lyrics from the song Give It Away, a song about just that, giving. Written because of an ex-girlfriend, Anthony Kiedis speaks of generosity. In 1991, guitarist John Frusciante and bassist Flea are showing the band a song they need lyrics for. Kiedis recalls a day he spent with Nina Hagen, a punk rock singer. The pair were looking through her closet and he noticed a jacket he said was nice. Hagen's response was for him to keep it, to which he was confused. She said that, "if you have a closet full of clothes and you try to keep them all your life will become very small. But if you have a full closet and someone sees something they like, if you give it to them, the world is a better place." Kiedis takes this philosophy and makes it his own in this song, believing that the good you do will ultimately only come back around to help you.