John Frusciante to appear on David Bowie tribute album

Frusciante's on the 'Money' on upcoming Bowie tribute
Frusciante's on the 'Money' on upcoming Bowie tribute (Image credit: Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun/Reuters/Corbis)

Following his recently announced departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitarist John Frusciante will appear with a number of artists on an upcoming David Bowie tribute album.

Frusciante is teaming up with the band Swahili Blonde (led by percussionist/vocalist Nicole Turley) for a cover of the Bowie song Red Money.

It will be interesting to hear how Frusciante and Swahili Blonde tackle the song, as it's had something of an odd history. It began as Sister Midnight, with music written by Bowie and guitarist Carlos Alomar and lyrics by Iggy Pop, and appeared on Pop's 1977 album The Idiot, which Bowie produced.

Sister Midnight

In 1979, however, Bowie wrote new lyrics and recorded the song under the title Red Money. This version was featured on his album Lodger.

Red Money

The David Bowie tribute album will boast 28 tracks in all, with proceeds going to the charity Warchild. The set is due for release in May.

The tracklisting for the record is as follows:

Space Oddity - Exitmusic
John, I'm Only Dancing - Vivian Girls
Sound + Vision - Megapuss
Absolute Beginners - Carla Bruni
World Falls Down - Lights
Heroes - VOICEsVOICEs
Boys Keep Swinging - Duran Duran
TBA - MGMT
Always Crashing In The Same Car - Charlift
African Night Flight - Aska w/ Moon & Moon
Suffragette City - A Place to Bury Strangers
Theme From Cat People - The Polyamorous Affair
Life On Mars - Keren Ann
Red Money - Swahili Blonde feat. John Frusciante
Art Decade - Marco Benevento
Be My Wife - Corridor
The Superman - Aquaserge
Ashes To Ashes - Warpaint
Quicksand - Rainbow Arabia
Afraid Of Americans - We Are The World
Within You - Laco$te
Ziggy Stardust - Ariana Delawari
Modern Love - Pizza!
Secret Life Of Arabia - St Clair Board
Starman - Caroline Weeks
The Man Who Sold The World - Amanda Jo Williams
Ashes To Ashes - Mick Karn
TBA - Soulwax

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.