Sherman was born in Miami, Florida, on January 18, 1956.[1][2] In childhood, Sherman and his family moved first to New York, then to California. At the age of 8, he saw the performance of the Beatles at The Ed Sullivan Show, became fanatically interested in the work of the Liverpool band, and learned to play guitar. Two years later, he traded a worn-out Beatles disc for a new album by the Rolling Stones and increased his involvement in rock music. In San Diego, he began playing in the groups Funky Demon, Pagan Tumor, Boilerhouse, Redemption, and Search.[3]
He joined the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers in December 1983, after the original guitar player Hillel Slovak left the band. Sherman would remain with the band for their first tour in 1984 to support the release of their first album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers. This turned out to be the only album on which he would act as guitarist.[4]
In early March 1984, the group with Sherman filmed their debut television appearance on Thicke of the Night hosted by Alan Thicke. This aired on March 16, 1984, where the group energetically performed a new composition "True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes", and the already proven concert number "Get Up and Jump".
Sherman played all the shows with The Red Hot Chili Peppers from January 1984 to February 1985. Their first show with him was on January 19, 1984, at the Music Machine. The last show was on February 16, 1985, at Jed’s Showcase.
Sherman would co-write half of the songs on the band's second album, Freaky Styley, but when Slovak requested to return to the band in early 1985,[1] Sherman was fired before recording commenced.[4][5] In spite of this, he later provided the backing vocals to two songs on the band's 1989 album, Mother's Milk.[6]
When the Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, neither Sherman nor their former guitarist Dave Navarro, who had each played guitar on one of the band's albums, were inducted.[8] Sherman blamed the band's members for the omission, saying that it ignored the work that they had put in having "soldiered on under arduous conditions".[9]
Anthony Kiedis, the lead vocalist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, wrote in his 2004 autobiography, Scar Tissue, that the band understood that its relationship with Sherman to be transient because he did not possess "a punk-rock pedigree".[10] However, he acknowledged the important part Sherman played in keeping the band afloat.[11]
Death
Sherman died on August 18, 2020, at the age of 64 of a heart attack at his home in Savannah, Georgia.[12][13] The Red Hot Chili Peppers issued a statement on his death thanking him for "all times good, bad and in between".[14] Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea would post his own personal tribute to Sherman on Instagram nearly a month later, saying that while their relationship was "complicated", he cited Sherman as an influence on his music and his life saying he "played the most wicked guitar part on our song 'Mommy Where’s Daddy', a thing that influenced the way I heard rhythm forever. He taught me about diet, to eat clean and be conscious of my body. But more than anything, he was my friend. We came from very different backgrounds, had different world views, and it was hard for us to relate to one another often. But the excitement we shared over music, and the joy that bubbled up between us will last forever. Rest In Peace Sherm I love you."[15]
