Peter Frampton

Early life

Peter Kenneth Frampton was born to Owen Frampton and Peggy (née ffitch) Frampton in Beckenham, Kent. He attended Bromley Technical High School, at which his father was a teacher and the head of the Art department. He first became interested in music when he was seven years old. Having discovered his grandmother's banjolele in the attic, he taught himself to play it, going on to later teach himself to play guitar and piano as well. At the age of eight, he began taking classical music lessons.

Frampton was influenced by late 1950s and early 1960s rock acts such as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and later the Ventures, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. His father introduced him to the recordings of Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Music career

Early career

By the age of 12, Frampton played in a band, the Little Ravens. Both he and David Bowie, who was three years older, were pupils at Bromley Technical School, where Frampton's father was Bowie's art teacher. The Little Ravens played on the same bill at school as George and the Dragons, Bowie's band. Frampton and Bowie spent lunch breaks together, playing Buddy Holly songs.

At age 14, Peter was playing in the band the Trubeats followed by another band the Preachers, who later became Moon's Train, produced and managed by Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones. Frampton's parents were, at the time, concerned about their son playing regular late night gigs whilst still in school, so Alex Brown, a member of the Preachers, was designated to meet his parents at their house, along with his son Steven, to show that the band members were responsible people. After this meeting, Frampton was allowed to join the band.

Frampton became a successful child singer, and in 1966 he became a member of freakbeat group the Herd. He was the lead guitarist and singer, scoring several British pop hits. Frampton was named "The Face of 1968" by teen magazine Rave.

In 1969, when Frampton was 18 years old, he joined Steve Marriott from the band Small Faces to form Humble Pie.

While playing with Humble Pie, Frampton also did session recording with other artists, including George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and John Entwistle (on Whistle Rymes in 1972). During a recording session with George Harrison at Abbey Road Studios in London in 1970, Pete Drake introduced him to the "talk box" that was to become one of his trademark guitar effects.

Solo career

After four studio albums and one live album with Humble Pie, Frampton left the band and went solo in 1971, just in time to see Rockin' the Fillmore rise up the US charts. He remained with Dee Anthony (1926–2009), the same personal manager that Humble Pie had used.

Frampton's own debut was 1972's Wind of Change, with guest artists Ringo Starr and Billy Preston. This album was followed by Frampton's Camel in 1973, which featured Frampton working within a group project. In 1974, Frampton released Somethin's Happening. Frampton toured extensively to support his solo career, joined for three years by his former Herd mate Andy Bown on keyboards, Rick Wills on bass, and American drummer John Siomos. In 1975, the Frampton album was released. The album went to No. 32 in the US charts and is certified Gold by the RIAA.

Frampton had little commercial success with his early albums. This changed with his best-selling live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, in 1976, from which "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Show Me the Way", and an edited version of "Do You Feel Like We Do", were hit singles. The latter two tracks also featured his use of the talk box guitar effect. The album was recorded in 1975, mainly at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California, where Humble Pie had previously enjoyed a good following. Frampton had a new line-up, with Americans Bob Mayo on keyboards and rhythm guitar and Stanley Sheldon on bass. Wills had been sacked by Frampton at the end of 1974, and Bown had left on the eve of Frampton Comes Alive, to return to England and new fame with Status Quo. Frampton Comes Alive was released in early January, debuting on the charts on 14 February at number 191. The album was on the Billboard 200 for 97 weeks, of which 55 were in the top 40, of which 10 were at the top. The album was the third best selling album of 1976. The album won Frampton a Juno Award in 1977.

A tribute to the album's staying power, readers of Rolling Stone ranked Frampton Comes Alive No. 3 in a 2012 poll of all-time favourite live albums. The article's text stated, "He was loved by teenage girls, and their older brothers. He owned the year 1976 like nobody else in rock." The success of Frampton Comes Alive! put him on the cover of Rolling Stone, in a famous shirtless photo by Francesco Scavullo. Frampton later said he regrets the photo because it changed his image as a credible artist into a teen idol.

In late 1976, Frampton and manager Dee Anthony visited the White House at the invitation of Steven Ford, the president's son. On 24 August 1979, Frampton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6819 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the recording industry.

Setbacks and decline in popularity

Frampton's following album, I'm in You (1977), contained the hit title single and went platinum, but fell well short of expectations compared to Frampton Comes Alive!. He starred, with the Bee Gees, in producer Robert Stigwood's poorly received film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). Frampton's career seemed to be falling as quickly as it had risen. He also played guitar on the title song of the 1978 film Grease, a song newly written for the film by Barry Gibb.

Frampton suffered a near-fatal car accident in the Bahamas in 1978 that marked the end of his prolific period and the beginning of a long period during which he was less successful. However, he returned to the studio in November 1978 to begin recording the album Where I Should Be. Among those contributing to the album were past band members Stanley Sheldon (bass), Bob Mayo (keyboards/guitar/vocals), and John Siomos (drums/vocals). Released in June 1979, the album was certified gold status by July. The single, "I Can't Stand It No More," reached No. 14 on the US chart. This was to be Frampton's last hit single.

In 1980, Frampton's album Rise Up was released to promote his tour in Brazil, although he suffered another serious setback that year when all his guitars were destroyed in a cargo plane crash that killed four people. Among the instruments he lost was the black Les Paul Custom which he had named "Phenix" (pictured on the cover of Frampton Comes Alive); it was given to him by Mark Mariana, was first used on the night of the recording of the Humble Pie live album Performance, and had been used all through his early solo career. As it turned out the guitar was saved from burning in the crash and sold to a musician; many years later it was recovered and returned to him, in December 2011. The album eventually turned into Breaking All the Rules, released the next year in 1981. These albums were the first he recorded almost completely live. In 1982, following the release of The Art of Control, Frampton tried unsuccessfully to split his ties with A&M Records; he re-signed with the label in 2006 and released his Grammy Award–winning Fingerprints.

Return

Although his albums generally met with little commercial success, Frampton continued to record throughout the 1980s. He achieved a brief, moderate comeback of sorts in 1986 with the release of his Premonition album, and the single "Lying", which became a hit on Mainstream Rock chart. Most notably, he also united with old friend David Bowie, and both worked together to make albums. Frampton played on Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down and sang and played on the accompanying Glass Spider Tour. In 2013, he credited his participation in this tour for helping revive his career.

Looking for the band experience again after touring with Bowie, Frampton kept referencing Steve Marriott, and at the beginning of 1991 rejoined his old Humble Pie mate for some shows (Marriott's last English gigs) at the Half Moon in Putney, London. The chemistry was still there for a while, as both Frampton and Marriott laid down some tracks in L.A. and prepared to do a "Frampton-Marriott" tour. Marriott abruptly returned to England in April and he died in a house fire less than 24 hours after his return. Broken up by Marriott's death, Frampton went off the road for a time, then reformed his old touring band with his old friends Bob Mayo and John Regan. At least three songs, and possibly a fourth, from the ended Marriott-Frampton partnership were subsequently recorded; two ending up on Frampton's "Shine On" compilation, a third on his subsequent solo album.

In 1994, Frampton wrote and released the album Peter Frampton, the final version of which contained material recorded on Tascam cassette recorders. Originally released on the Relativity label, this record was re-released in 2000 by Legacy Records, with four bonus tracks and additional notes by Frampton.

In 1995, Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive! II, which contained live versions of many of the songs from his 1980s and 1990s solo albums. Frampton Comes Alive! II was recorded at The Fillmore Theater on 15 June 1995. Although there was a large amount of marketing for the album, it did not sell well. After Frampton Comes Alive! II, he recorded and toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, where he and Jack Bruce performed a cover version of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love".

In the late 1990s, Frampton starred in an infomercial plugging the eMedia Guitar Method, a piece of instructional software represented as an alternative to taking actual guitar lessons. He claimed in the infomercial that the software was the best way to learn guitar.

2007 to present

On 11 February 2007, Fingerprints was awarded the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. In February 2007, he also appeared on the Chicago-based PBS television show Soundstage.

Frampton released his 14th studio album, Thank You Mr. Churchill, on 27 April 2010. In summer 2010 he began touring North America with the English band Yes; the two acts had played stadium shows on a bill together in 1976. His 2010 band consisted of Rob Arthur (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), John Regan (bass), Adam Lester (guitar), and Dan Wojciechowski (drums).

Frampton embarked on a UK tour in March 2011 in support of his new album, visiting Leamington Spa, Glasgow, Manchester, London and Bristol. Then, the Frampton Comes Alive 35th Anniversary Tour showcased and followed exactly the songs on the setlist for the original tour from 1976, recorded for Frampton Comes Alive! The concerts each night started with the prerecorded thump of a microphone being turned on, familiar to many fans of the album, followed by the recorded voice of Jerry Pompili saying, "If there was ever a musician that was an honorary member of San Francisco society, Mr. Peter Frampton ...", and then the crowd goes wild. He played the album song-for-song at 69 locations between 15 June 2011 and 22 October 2011 throughout the US. Also in 2011, on 11 June, Frampton performed a live set for Guitar Center Sessions on DirecTV. The episode included an interview with program host Nic Harcourt.

In 2013, Frampton performed throughout North America as part of the Frampton's Guitar Circus Tour which featured periodic guest performers including B.B. King, Robert Cray, Don Felder, Rick Derringer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Steve Lukather, Sonny Landreth, Davy Knowles, David Hidalgo, Mike McCready, Roger McGuinn and Vinnie Moore. On 9 February 2014, Frampton was one of several musicians to participate in The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, a tribute to the Beatles on the 50th anniversary of their first appearance on American television.

On 23 June 2014, Frampton released a new album, Hummingbird in a Box. On 11 June 2015, he announced his new studio album, Acoustic Classics; then, on 14 January 2016, he launched the first song: a version of "Do You Feel Like I Do".

In 2016, Frampton was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2017 and 2018, he toured with the Steve Miller Band, opening the show.

Media appearances

In 1974, Frampton appeared in the film The Son of Dracula as a guitarist in the Count Downes.

In 1978, Frampton portrayed coastwatcher Peter Buckley in an episode of the World War II drama series Baa Baa Black Sheep titled "A Little Bit of England".

In 1978, Frampton played Billy Shears in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, starring along with the three brothers Gibb of the band the Bee Gees. The film was inspired by the Beatles album of the same name. Critics were hostile, and the film was a box-office failure.

In 1978, Frampton appeared on the parody talk show, America 2-Night.

In 1988, Frampton appeared in the video release of David Bowie's Glass Spider, a video recording of the 1987 tour of the same name.

In 1996, Frampton appeared in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homerpalooza", in which he played "Do You Feel Like We Do". He also made a TV appearance in the Family Guy episode "Death Lives", in which Peter Griffin asks Death to bring Peter Frampton to play "Baby, I Love Your Way" to Lois.

Also in 2000, Frampton served as a technical advisor for Cameron Crowe's autobiographical film, Almost Famous. He wrote some of the songs performed by the fictional band "Stillwater" in the film, supplied guitar tracks, and was the guitar instructor for Billy Crudup, who starred as Russell Hammond, the guitarist for the band. Crudup is quoted as saying, "Who could ask for a better tutor than Peter Frampton?" As an inside joke, he also appears briefly in the film as "Reg", a road manager for Humble Pie, Frampton's real-life former band.

In 2001, Frampton appeared as himself in "Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour", in which he performed "You Had To Be There" and appeared in a brief scene with Mimi, in which he recalls their past relationship.

Personal life

Marriages, other relationships and family

Frampton has been married three times and has three children. His first marriage was to Mary Lovett, from 1972 to 1976.

Frampton was sued by J. "Penny" McCall in 1978 for palimony. McCall asked for Frampton's earnings during the five years that they were together. According to McCall, she left her husband and gave up her job as a rock promoter and devoted herself full-time to Frampton, just as he achieved superstar status. A New York judge ruled that Frampton and McCall never intended to marry each other and "never held themselves out to the public as husband and wife" and dismissed her complaint because to act otherwise would condone adultery. The case set precedent in New York.

From 1983 to 1993, Frampton was married to Barbara Gold, with whom he had two children. The latter co-wrote and sang on Frampton's song "Road to the Sun" from Thank You Mr. Churchill.

Frampton's third marriage was on 13 January 1996 to Tina Elfers, with whom he had a daughter, Mia Frampton. Frampton filed for divorce from Elfers in Los Angeles, California, on 22 June 2011, citing irreconcilable differences.

Other

In June 1978, Frampton was involved in a near-fatal car accident in the Bahamas and suffered broken bones, a concussion, and muscle damage. Dealing with the pain of the accident led to a brief period of drug abuse.

Frampton has lived in London and various U.S. locations, including Westchester County, New York; Los Angeles; and Nashville, Tennessee. He moved to Indian Hill, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, in June 2000. This is the birthplace of his ex-wife Elfers, and the city in which they were married in 1996. They chose to live there to be closer to Elfers' family. In 2014, Frampton moved back to Nashville.

Frampton cited the September 11 attacks as his reason for obtaining American citizenship, saying he wanted to begin voting in U.S. elections.

On 20 October 2020, Frampton published his memoir Do You Feel Like I Do?, co-written with Alan Light.

In December 2022, it was announced BMG had acquired the rights to Frampton's catalogue.

Health

Frampton is a vegetarian. He sobered up in 2002 with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, which he says saved his life. Since 2019, Frampton has been "living with" the muscle-wasting disease inclusion body myositis. He has continued to perform, confirming 2025 tour dates. Of his health problems he said:

As for people asking if he's depressed about his condition, he responded: "You have to accept the things you cannot change. I learned that in A.A., and in many other places. What I have is not life-threatening, thank God, but it's life-changing, and I'm going with the flow."

Equipment

On the cover of the double live album Frampton Comes Alive, Frampton plays a highly customized 1954 black Gibson Les Paul Custom that was given to him by his friend, Marc Mariana. While touring in 1980, the guitar and other instruments and stage equipment were placed on a cargo flight from Venezuela to Panama. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff and the cargo was presumed destroyed. However, the guitar apparently had survived and Frampton was able to recover it in 2011 after a collector spotted it in Curaçao. He continues to play the Les Paul now known as the "Phenix".

Frampton is generally known as the artist who made the talk box famous. A talk box is used to transfer the guitar's sound through a plastic tube attached to a microphone. The effect is the guitar simulating speech. Frampton now sells his own line of custom-designed "Frampton" products, including a talk box.

In 1987, Frampton played a natural-finish maple bodied Pensa-Suhr Strat type, hand-made by New York-based John Suhr which he used for David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour. He also used a Coral electric sitar, given to him in the late 70s and previously owned by Jimi Hendrix, on Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down.

Discography

Wind of Change (1972)

Frampton's Camel (1973)

Somethin's Happening (1974)

Frampton (1975)

I'm in You (1977)

Where I Should Be (1979)

Breaking All the Rules (1981)

The Art of Control (1982)

Premonition (1986)

When All the Pieces Fit (1989)

Peter Frampton (1994)

Now (2003)

Fingerprints (2006)

Thank You Mr. Churchill (2010)

Hummingbird in a Box (2014)

Acoustic Classics (2016)

All Blues (2019)

Frampton Forgets the Words (Instrumental cover tracks) (2021)

Carry the Light (2026)