Synopsis of Pop Music

"The stars are out and shining,
But all I really want to know,
Oh won't you show me the way..."

Peter Frampton was a teen idol twice over, first in his native England and later in America. Starting as a guitarist in groups like Humble Pie, Frampton would move on to solo success in the 70’s and become famous for recording the best-selling live album of all time.

Frampton had played guitar since early childhood. He became an English teen idol in 1966 with his work in the Herd and would later be voted 'The Face of ‘68' in English pop-music magazines. He moved on to the group Humble Pie and also played guitar on the George Harrison solo album All Things Must Pass. He decided to go solo in 1971 and recorded his first album, 1972's Wind Of Change, which featured musician friends like ex-Beatle Ringo Starr.

Peter Frampton also formed a back-up group, Frampton’s Camel, to tour in support of his solo albums. The band toured relentlessly, often doing as many as 200 dates a year, and soon became a popular live attraction. One of the most popular elements of their act was Frampton’s use of the 'talkbox guitar,' which allowed him to make electrified vocal sounds with his guitar via a funneled mouthpiece. Their live show was recorded on the double-album Frampton Comes Alive in early 1976. Its audience-friendly blend of party-hearty guitar rock and slick pop songwriting made the album an instant mega-hit.

Frampton Comes Alive was a career-defining success for Frampton, spending several weeks at #1 and eventually selling 25 million copies. His handsome looks also made him a sensation in teen magazines and he frequently showed up on their covers. Unlike most live albums, it spawned several hit singles in the ballad-like “Baby, I Love Your Way” and the talkbox-dominated “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.” He followed its success with a new studio album, I’m In You, which featured special guests like Mick Jagger and Stevie Wonder. Both the album and its similarly-titled single were #2 hits.

Peter Frampton was briefly sidelined in 1978 after a car crash in the Bahamas. Just the same, he managed to stay in the public eye via a role in the film musical Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He soon recovered and was back to work in 1979. He had a #14 hit with “I Can’t Stand It No More” and received a Gold Ticket award by packing 100,000 fans into Madison Square Garden for one of his concerts. He continued to record into the mid-80’s, then began to concentrate on session work, playing on childhood friend David Bowie’ Never Let Me Down album and also joining Bowie on the subsequent world tour.

In the 90’s, Frampton actively returned to solo recording and touring. He appeared on shows like The Late Show Starring David Letterman and released Frampton Comes Alive II, a sequel to his original live classic. Since then, he has divided his time between a busy schedule of session work and his own recording and touring. In recent years, he has toured with groups like Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Peter Frampton’s solo work continues to be popular, especially “Baby, I Love Your Way,” which has inspired two hit remakes: a dance-music cover by Will To Power in 1988 and a 1994 reggae version by Big Mountain that was featured in the film Reality Bites. Frampton Comes Alive regularly tops lists of favorite 70’s albums and continues to sell on steady basis, ensuring that Peter Frampton’s talk-box guitar sound will be an air-guitar favorite for years to come.

Artist Release History

1972 - Wind of Change
1973 - Frampton's Camel
1974 - Something's Happening
1974 - Frampton
1976 - Frampton Comes Alive
1977 - I'm in You
1979 - Where I Should Be
1981 - Breaking All the Rules
1982 - The Art of Control
1986 - Premonition
1986 - Frampton Is Alive!
1989 - When All the Pieces Fit
1994 - Peter Frampton
1995 - Frampton Comes Alive II
1995 - Love Taker
1996 - Greatest Hits
1998 - Winds of Change
1999 - A Day in the Sun
1999 - Beat the Bootleggers: Coming Live
2000 - Live in Detroit

Pop Sub Categories

rock
pop

Essential Music Albums

Frampton Comes Alive (A&M)
Greatest Hits (A&M)

Band Members

Peter Frampton  vocals, guitar

Other Pop Music Links