John Coffey · CC BY 2.0

Hillel Slovak, born in Israel and raised in Los Angeles, formed the core of what became the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recruiting Flea into his teenage band and later co-writing songs on the group's 1984 debut album. His funk-rooted guitar work on Freaky Styley and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan helped define the band's early sound before he died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at 26 — a loss the band has memorialized in songs including "Knock Me Down" and "Otherside."