"I started out as a musician, I ended up as a cartoon.. "
Peter Frampton
In the summer of 1976, despite being surrounded on the charts by some rock and roll power houses, Peter Frampton was arguably the biggest rock and roll star in the world. His amazing, meteoric rise was somewhat unexpected and has been the subject of debate for years. Was he really that good or was he the beneficiary of a dull spot in the time line of rock and roll? That's an argument that is subjective and will never be satisfactorily answered. But whether you love his work or choose to treat him as an anomaly, there is no denying that for a time, Peter Frampton's music was a huge part of the musical landscape and in a small way, continues to play in the background of the 70's.
Born in 1950 in Beckenham, Kent in the U.K., Peter Kenneth Frampton took up the guitar early. He took to the instrument quickly and spent several years taking classical guitar lessons. His first public performance was at a Boy Scout variety show at the age of eight. He was so well received that he could not help but to play an encore. By his early teens, Frampton began to form local bands such as a The Little Ravens, The TruBeats and The Preachers (interestingly, this band was actually managed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones who booked them a performance on the legendary British music/variety show Ready, Steady, GO!)
By 1966, Frampton dropped out of school (a move that did not sit well with his art teacher father) and joined the 'mod' group The Herd giving Frampton his first taste of real success. The group, essentially a pop-ish band, scored with a several teeny-bopper hits in Britain between 1967-1968. Frampton, with his model good-looks, coupled with his better than average guitar skills made him into a teen-idol and earned him 'Face Of 1968' as dubbed by the British press. In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone, Frampton explained his thoughts over being successful at such a young age. "It was great and terrible at the same time. It was incredibly exciting to be screamed at, but on the other hand it wears thin very quickly, and the music was being forgotten."
Being a guitar playing teen idol was not enough for Frampton who left The Herd in 1969 to form up the harder edged Humble Pie with ex-Small Faces front man Steve Marriott, Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley. The band did well; having hits with '30 Days In The Hole', 'I Don't Need No Doctor' and 'Natural Born Bugie' and were poised to become a worldwide force. But as the band was taking on a harder edged sound, Frampton opted to leave the band citing 'differences in musical direction.'
After departing Humble Pie, Frampton did some time as a session guitarist showing up on George Harrisons 'All Things Must Pass' and Harry Nilsson's 'Son Of Schmillson' before recording his first solo effort, 'Wind Of Change' in 1972. Despite help from former Beatle Ringo Starr and Billy Preston, the album failed to make much of a mark commerically. Despite the lack of success of his debut, Frampton followed the tried and true method of gaining exposure but a near constant touring schedule behind bands like ZZ Top and the J. Geils Band. His next effort was a backup band called Framptons' Camel (which he disbanded before the release of his second solo album, 'Something's Happening' in 1974). 'Something's Happening' was his first real success in the United States reaching into the Top 40 in 1975 and going gold.
Frampton paid his dues on the road, developing a solid stage act and becoming perhaps one of the best live acts of the time. He delighted in taking his songs and expanding on them into long and winding performances that showcased his gift for the riff and his tasteful guitar work. He was also working the 'talk box' into his live performances which was not a common effect at the time. Lightning struck for Frampton in 1976 with the release of the double live 'Frampton Comes Alive', which had been recorded at San Francisco's Winterland in 1975.
The album rocketed to the top of the charts where it nested for 10 weeks. Overall, the album sold over 16 million copies (worldwide, 6 million units sold in the US alone), a record that looked unbeatable until it was knocked off the top by Garth Brooks 'Double Live Set' years later. (Some still argue that Bruce Springsteens 5 disc 'Live 1975- 1985' is the biggest selling live album since it sold 13 million 'units' but others disagree considering how 'units' are measured [per disc] and not per actual albums sold).
'Frampton Comes Alive' spawned the three biggest hits of his career with 'Show Me The Way', 'Baby, I Love Your Ways' and 'Do You Feel Like We Do?' (all which had previously appeared on his 'Frampton' debut ) The supporting tour, as would be expected, was huge. By the end of 1976, the tour and album sales gross totals were an amazing $70 million dollars. Frampton was one of the most successful rock acts for the time.
However, as is so often the case, his label, A&M pressed hard for an immediate follow up to capitalize on his success. Rather than take the break he needed, Frampton returned to the studio where he completed 'I'm In You' which was released in 1977. The title track did make it to number 2 on the charts, it was a pop ballad and it failed to carry the excitement that he had generated with 'Comes Alive' (despite selling over 3 million copies). In 1978, Frampton played Billy Shears in the abysmal 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' film which was both a commercial and critical bomb.
In June of 1978, he was nearly killed in a horrific auto accident while in Jamaica where he suffered a concussion, multiple broken bones and muscle damage. Despite recovering fully, the accident coupled with breaking up with his long time girlfriend and disappointing sales from his 1979 album 'Where I Should Be' led him briefly into drug abuse and Frampton was back to touring 10,000 seat venues. Interestingly, Frampton became the target of the 'punks' (the so-called new approach to rock) vitriol. They found him to be the perfect foil, calling him out for his semi-acoustic pop balladeer approach. They fought back hard with 3 chords and their 'live fast, die young' and leave an unrecognizable corpse approach to music and life in general.
The 80's were a difficult time for Frampton. He decided to try to reinvent himself as something more than a rock and roll pretty boy, cutting off his trademark long blonde curls and taking his music in a slightly different direction with 1981's 'Breaking All The Rules'. The reinvention failed to provide him a launch back into the spot light. 1982's 'Art Of Control' failed to connect as well. After 'Control' died quickly, Frampton 'retired' from music for a few years.
In 1986, Frampton returned with 'Premonition', an album he cut on the Virgin label. Again, sales were spotty but the critics had rediscovered Frampton lauding him with praise for his solid guitar work'. The album did spawn one hit, 'Lying', that caught a little airplay on the FM rock stations.
In 1987 he hooked up with former school mate, David Bowie and recorded with him on his album 'Never Let Me Down' as well as playing on the supporting tour. His next effort was 1989's 'When All The Pieces Fit' for Atlantic and had been planning a reunion with Steve Marriott not long before Marriott perished in a tragic house fire in 1991. Back on the road, Frampton ended recording 'Frampton Comes Alive ll' in 1995, a solid effort which showcased his more mature guitar work and song writing.
In the late 90's, he toured and recorded with both Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band seemingly content with melding into a band rather than fronting an enterprise although he would still tour as a solo act.
In 2004, he released his first studio recording in 9 years, 'Now', and his follow up in 2006 was the all instrumental 'Fingerprints which won a Grammy in 2007. In April 2010, he released the disc 'Thank You Mr. Churchill', essentially an audio autobiography of growing up in the U.K. and toured the U.S. with progressive rock luminaries YES.
Frampton has settled into the life of a gentleman musician, seeming more content with making good music and exploring the limits of his creativity rather than chasing the rock and roll Utopia. In a more recent interview, Frampton said "I think at some point I might have said it must be great to be as big as Elvis, but that wasn't a realistic dream … My success is enjoying what I do, and if I can maintain that enjoyment, that is more success than however many albums I sell. The other kind of big success … that just isn't in my dreams."
[FONT=Tahoma]"All I can do is be me ... whoever that is". Bob Dylan [/FONT]
