Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers covers “Thinkin Bout You”
Flea, co-founder of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, has released an instrumental cover of Frank Ocean’s 2012 song “Thinkin Bout You.” The jazz rendition combines his trumpet and electric bass with strings arranged by Nathaniel Walcott. Animator Nespy5euro also produced an official visualizer for the track that tells a story through a series of watercolor and pencil illustrations. It is the third single from Flea’s upcoming solo album, Honora, which arrives on March 27, 2026.
Flea first teased his cover in November 2025 with a YouTube video of himself playing “Thinkin Bout You” on trumpet for his three-year-old son.
Teaser released on November 24, 2025.
Later, in a press release for the single, he explains why he chose to cover the song and how his version came together:
When [Channel Orange] came out, it really blew me away. I listened to it ten million times. It was something I just couldn’t stop listening to. I loved it so much and still do—just one of those real watershed moment records for me. “Thinkin Bout You” is one of the many great songs on that record, and I thought it would be fun to play on trumpet. Then, I went to Nate Wolcott, who plays keyboards on Honora on several tunes. He did that string arrangement for me. He stepped up to the plate and really did something beautiful. I just wanted to get the honest beauty of the melody because it’s a great song.
“Thinkin Bout You” by Flea is available to stream across all music platforms.
Credits:
Flea — Electric Bass, Trumpet / Anna Butterss — Upright Bass / Nathaniel Walcott — String Arrangements & Orchestrations / Suzie Katayama — Conductor / Paul Cartwright — Violin (Concertmaster) / Luanne Homzy — Violin / Alyssa Park — Violin / Stephanie Matthews — Violin / Jennifer Takamatsu — Violin / Andrew Duckles — Viola / Zach Dellinger — Viola / Vanessa Freebairn-Smith — Cello / Jacob Braun — Cello / Thomas Harte – Bass. / Nonesuch Records — Label.
Update 2026-03-23:
Flea performed “Thinkin Bout You” with a full live band live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Back in 2012, Frank Ocean performed “Bad Religion” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
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