HB 70 - Peter Frampton

In a year of big 70s (not just talking about the decade but age), today is the 70th birthday of many an underrated rock musician.
Peter Frampton at the 2011 Ottawa Bluesfest.jpg

Peter Frampton

 He was born Peter Kenneth Frampton and grew up with influences such as Cliff Richard, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles. He attended Bromley Techinical School with schoolmate David Bowie and at twelve he formed his first band The Ravens.

In 1969, Steve Marriott left the Small Faces for Humble Pie and Frampton joined him. Humble Pie had notable hits 30 Days in The Whole, and I Don't Need no Doctor.

Ridin' Solo

 Frampton went solo in 1971. His debut was 1972's Wind of Change with Billy Preston and Ringo Starr. Frampton also backed other artists such as Harry Nilson.

In late 1972, he was brought into Grand Funk Railroad, but due to getting underway with his project, Frampton's Camel, Frampton rejected the offer and Craig Frost came on instead.

Breakout!

 Even though Frampton's first few records sold poorly, he made a name for himself with his 1976 LP Frampton Comes Alive! Taped mostly at the Winterland in San Francisco where Humble Pie had also played, the album was a massive success. It was on top in the US and Canada and just missed the top 5 (#6) in the UK.
Frampton Comes Alive.jpg

It's not just the album that was a hit, the singles were impressive, too. Baby I Love Your Way and Show me The Way were both top 10 hits in the US (the latter even top 10 in the UK). An abbreviatd version of the closing track, Do You Feel Like we Do, reached #12 in the US.

The Talk Box
This is the album that heavily sees Frampton using a talk box - a box connected to the guitar allowing you to "sing" the notes you play. This can be heard on Show me The Way and Do You Feel Like We Do?

Do You Feel Like we Do is very long - running at about 14 minutes folks. When played on classic rock, many jocks, often take (took?) advantage of the length by taking a smoke break.

Baby I Love Your Way was also covered by San Diego reggae band Big Mountain in 1994, and a sequel to Frampton Comes Alive, Frampton Comes Alive II, was released twenty years after the original.

His popularity has been down

 After his stint in the 70s, Frampton had rarely been heard from. In 2006 he covered the Beatles' While my Guitar Gently Weeps, and the same year he also covered Black Hole Sun featuring Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Pearl Jam's Mike McGrady.

Sadly, some of his songs are no longer classic rock staples. Been a while since I heard Do You Feel Like we Do on the radio. Even Show me The Way is now a rarity.

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