"Breaking the Girl" is a song by the American funk rock

Funk rock

Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...

 band Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

 that was released in 1992 as the fourth single from their studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records...

. It is a melodic ballad that refers to a turbulent relationship between frontman Anthony Kiedis

Anthony Kiedis

Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...

 and his former girlfriend, Carmen Hawk. The song's bridge is marked by a percussion break that builds through the use of increasingly complex rhythms. The percussion instruments consisted of junkyard debris found by drummer Chad Smith

Chad Smith

Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...

, guitarist John Frusciante

John Frusciante

John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...

, and bassist Flea

Flea (musician)

Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...

. Frusciante's main riff

RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....

 was inspired by Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

's ballads, such as "The Battle of Evermore

The Battle of Evermore

"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk rock duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their untitled fourth album , released in 1971...

" and "Friends

Friends (Led Zeppelin song)

"Friends" is the second track from the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III, the third studio album of English rock band Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the song in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a small cottage in Wales where they stayed after completing a grueling concert tour of the United...

". The song also makes use of a Mellotron

Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...

, using the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 patch. It is one of only two songs the group has recorded in the 3/4 time signature, with the other being "Porcelain" on Californication

Californication (album)

Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace...

. Chad Smith said in The Chad & Flea Show that his drumming in the song was inspired by Mitch Mitchell

Mitch Mitchell

John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...

's.

The song was rarely played on the Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour

Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour

The Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their highly successful 1991 breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The tour was forced to be rescheduled when in May 1992, guitarist John Frusciante quit the band due to issues with...

 and reappared in the band's setlist once in 2000 but not again until 2003. After a eight year hitaus from being performed, the band added the song to a few setlists on their I'm with You tour

I'm with You Tour

The I'm With You Tour is an ongoing 2011-2013 concert tour by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their album I'm with You. It is the group's first tour since the Stadium Arcadium tour in 2006-07 and is the first to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer following the departure of John Frusciante...

.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was released in 1992 and was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui

Stéphane Sednaoui

Stéphane Sednaoui is a French-American photographer, director and producer whose work includes music videos, art projects, photographic essays, portrait photography, fashion photography and photojournalism....

, who had previously made a video for the song "Give It Away". It makes heavy, experimental use of vibrant colors, with the background and costumes changing constantly. The band members adopt surreal appearances and behavior, with Kiedis for example having an overall Princess Leia-esque look, complete with robes and a "donut" hairstyle. The "Breaking the Girl" video is one of only two videos to feature Arik Marshall

Arik Marshall

Arik Marshall is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, poet, and author, best known as a one-time member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has earned the respect and praise of artists as diverse as Joe Strummer, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, and Carlos...

 (who briefly acted as a replacement for guitarist John Frusciante

John Frusciante

John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...

) the other video being for "If You Have to Ask

If You Have to Ask

"If You Have to Ask" is a song by the American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released as the fifth and final single from their fifth studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1993. A music video was made, but merely consists of live footage of the band from their 1992/1993 tour overdubbed with...

" - though he did not play on either track. The video also features a brief cameo by River Phoenix

River Phoenix

River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...

, who was good friends with members of the band. The woman in the video is model/actress Patricia Velásquez

Patricia Velásquez

Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún is a Venezuelan actress and fashion model. She is often considered to be the first Latin supermodel.-Early life:...

.

Cover versions

• Anna Nalick
  Anna Nalick
  Anna Christine Nalick is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, Wreck of the Day, featuring her first radio hit, "Breathe ", was released on April 19, 2005. Nalick left her label under Sony in 2009 after a falling-out surrounding the release of her second album...
  
   recorded an acoustic version of the song for her Shine EP
  Shine (EP)
  Shine is a five-song EP by Anna Nalick, released on April 1, 2008 . It is composed of the album version of the new song "Shine", two acoustic versions of songs from her debut album , a cover version of Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Breaking the Girl," and an acoustic version of the title track.-Track...
  
  , released April 2008.
• British acoustic band
  Band (music)
  In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
  
   Turin Brakes
  Turin Brakes
  Turin Brakes are a modern folk duo, comprising Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, hailing from Balham, London. They had a UK top 5 hit with their song "Painkiller ".-1999–2003:...
  
   recorded a version for their 'Napster live' session; a version also appears on the 2007 compilation album
  Compilation album
  A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
  
  , The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show
  The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show
  The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show is a 2-disc compilation album of BBC Radio 2 popular music recordings, released in the United Kingdom in July 2007...
  
  .

Track listing

CD single (1992)

1. "Breaking the Girl (Edit)"
2. "Fela's Cock (Previously Unreleased)"
3. "Suck My Kiss (Live)"
4. "I Could Have Lied (Live)"

CD single version 2 (1992)

1. "Breaking the Girl (Edit)"
2. "Suck My Kiss (Live)"
3. "I Could Have Lied (Live)"

7" single (1992)

1. "Breaking the Girl (Edit)"
2. "Fela's Cock (Unreleased)"

12" single (1992)

1. "Breaking the Girl (Edit)"
2. "Fela's Cock (Previously Unreleased)"
3. "Suck My Kiss (Live)"
4. "I Could Have Lied (Live)"

Cassette single (1992)

1. "Breaking the Girl (Edit)"
2. "The Power of Equality (Album Version)"

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	19
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	15
U.K. Singles Chart	41
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	45
Irish Singles Chart	19
Australian ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... Singles Chart	30