WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME

Recorded during: The Red Hot Chili Peppers sessions.
Length: 3:27
Performers: Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (bass), Jack Sherman (guitar), Cliff Martinez (drums)
Live performances.

The band’s first (recorded) cover, this song was originally written and performed by Hank Williams, released as a single in May 1950. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

The song (and Williams’ music in general) was introduced to Kiedis and Flea in 1983 by Bob Forrest, who would form Thelonious Monster with Pete Weiss, another friend of the band, later that year. Here’s a photo of Forrest holding a copy of Hank Williams’ Greatest Hits in 1983: