Magic Johnson

Album: Mother's Milk (1989)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Peppers wrote this song about Los Angeles Lakers star basketball player Magic Johnson. The band - especially Flea and Anthony Kiedis - were huge Lakers fans and loved basketball - Flea could often be found playing pickup games around the city.

    Kiedis had a particular affinity for Johnson since both were raised in Michigan before settling in Los Angeles. Flea would often be mentioned in polls of the top Lakers fans, and even wrote a blog about the team on the NBA's website during the basketball season. He has claimed to bleed purple and gold.
  • Two years after this song was released, Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV-positive and was quitting basketball. This stunning news hit Kiedis hard, and the RHCP lead singer gained a new respect for Johnson when he returned to the team. "The fact that he came back and showed the entire world that somebody could compete at that level with HIV, I think pretty much changed the entire world outlook on the disease," he said in a Goldmine interview. "I don't think you could do something more honorable than that in a lifetime."

Comments: 2

  • Willie from Scottsdale, AzFlea has said the line "Sits in a throne" about Kareem is partly from the unfinished Bruce Lee film, "The Game of Death." Kareem is the toughest opponent of Lee in the pagoda, and Lee finds him sitting in a large chair when he gets to the top of the building.
  • Willie from Scottsdale, Az"Buck" was the nickname given to him by his Lakers teammates, they didn't call him "Magic." His Mom called him "Junebug." :-)
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