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Peter Frampton: 'I was kept high. If I needed cocaine, he made sure I had it'

The singer-songwriter’s career of intense highs and devastating deceptions is explored in a revealing new memoir

P eter Frampton recalls with stinging clarity the moment in 1976 when he realized his career was about to take a perilous turn. “I realized that instead of the front row being a mixture of 50-50, male and female, in the audience, it was all females at the front and the guys are pissed off at the back,” he said. “The guys would jeer at me.”

In that moment, Frampton was downgraded from a respected musician to a disposable teen idol. His credibility was being questioned at a time when the standards for such things in music were set in stone, with particular scorn directed at any rock star who was swooned over by teenage girls. Worse, his sales of over 14m copies of the double album Frampton Comes Alive, a world record at the time, set expectations impossibly high for his future. “The success was just so enormous,” he said. “I’m sure it affected me mentally.”

In fact, it set in motion a perfect storm of factors that turned the commercial peak of Frampton’s career into a case-study in rock stardom gone wrong. Now, the musician, aided by writer Alan Light, has detailed all of those issues in a bracing new memoir titled for one of his best-known songs, Do You Feel Like I Do? It’s a question few are likely to answer in the affirmative given the series of rip-offs, sketchy management deals and unfortunate choices Frampton made back then. At the same time, the book highlights his many creative achievements, from his days as a guitar prodigy, to his time fronting the hit band the Herd, to his formation with Steve Marriott of one of the world’s first super groups, Humble Pie, to his promising early solo work. More, the book shows how Frampton eventually managed to re-figure his career, putting the focus back on his unique approach to the guitar. “I knew I would make it back,” Frampton said in his characteristically upbeat tone. “It just took a lot longer than I thought.”

He credits that belief in himself – a trait which is currently sustaining him through a highly publicized degenerative muscle disease diagnosis – to his stable and loving upbringing. It helped that he shared a flair for creativity with his father, who served as the head art teacher at the school he attended. It was there Frampton met one Dave Jones – the future David Bowie – who was taking a class taught by his father. “Everything my dad taught, Dave lapped up,” Frampton said. “Dad recognized his brilliance in art. And we became friends.”

His father’s taste even wound up affecting Frampton’s approach to the guitar. As a kid, he was drawn to the barreling instrumental work of the Shadows, but his dad introduced him to the fleet work of Django Reinhardt as well. “That led me to George Benson and Kenny Burrell and all these jazz guys,” he said.

The influence of such artists gave Frampton a different template to draw from than most of the British guitarists of his day who obsessed solely on the blues. “Every guitarist wanted to play like Eric Clapton,” said Frampton. “Of course, I love Clapton’s playing but I thought if I just do that, I’m going to be another copyist. I wanted a combination of jazz and blues and heavy rock.”

That combination inspired Frampton to create a unique style in which he often plays around the melody rather than hitting it straight on. Unfortunately, his first successful band, the pop-oriented the Herd, offered limited chances to develop his skills. Instead, the media focused on Frampton’s uncommonly pretty looks, setting off what became a lifetime issue for him. The music papers named him “The Face of 1968”. Still, his fellow musicians recognized the elevated power of his playing. Steve Marriott, of the hugely popular Small Faces, approached him about joining that band, though the other members felt they were fine as they were. It was during this time that Frampton got his first hint at how difficult and self-destructive Marriott could be. One time when he was hanging out with the Small Faces, their agent received a call asking if they would like to be the opening act for Jimi Hendrix’s first American tour. “Steve said, ‘Fuck that! We’re not opening for anybody,’” Frampton recalled. “I’ll never forget Ronnie [Lane’s] face. It was despair.”

Frampton believes that had the Small Faces toured the US at that time they “would have been a second Who”. Instead, Marriott ditched them and started jamming with Frampton, along with the ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley, the powerhouse foursome that became Humble Pie. In 1969, they issued a brilliant debut, As Safe as Yesterday Is, but the album and its follow-up had limited distribution. Humble Pie’s early music was wildly creative but it lacked focus until producer Glyn Johns whipped the band into shape for their impressive fourth album, Rock On. He pushed them towards harder sounds, an approach intensified by their fifth release, the live Rockin’ the Fillmore, released in the fall of 71. The power of that album set the band up for a huge breakthrough in America but, to everyone’s shock, Frampton chose that moment to split. “I thought, if I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to,” Frampton said. “I’ll get drawn into it.”

The other members thought he was crazy, but he considered the band’s harder direction too limiting. Another factor was Marriott’s difficult side. “We were like brothers,” Frampton said, “but he could really suck the oxygen out of a room. I didn’t need to deal with that any more.”

As big a leap as the move to a solo career was, Humble Pie’s label, A&M, supported the decision, as did their powerful manager, Dee Anthony. Still, going it alone meant Frampton would have to serve as sole lead singer, a role he knew wasn’t his forte. “I was nervous, especially after coming from a band with one of the all-time greatest rock singers, Steve Marriott,” Frampton said. “I was jumping off the high wire.”

Luckily for him, A&M provided him a wide enough net to float three solo albums that didn’t sell well. His fourth, Frampton, began to turn things around. But no one anticipated the blockbuster breakout of Comes Alive the next year. Thrilling as that was, Frampton’s looks once again upstaged his talent. This time the issue became so overwhelming, the guitarist found himself thinking often of a quote from Sir Laurence Olivier about his wife, the actor Vivien Leigh. “He once said in an interview, ‘it’s so upsetting that she is always told how beautiful she is. She’s a phenomenal actress,’” Frampton recalls. “I absolutely understand that.”

It didn’t help that Rolling Stone featured him as a shirtless object of teen fantasy on their cover. At the same time, he had to endure intense pressure to follow up a smash. The rushed result, I’m In You, was excoriated by critics. As the coup de grace, Frampton agreed to star on an epically awful film version of Sgt Pepper. Though wary about the project, he went along partly because his manager told him that Paul McCartney would be in it – a bald-faced lie. Of the film, Frampton writes, “there was barely a script. It just said, ‘Walk in here, someone will yell “playback” and then you lip-sync.’ Everyone thought we were too big to fail.”

When the film, in fact, failed spectacularly, Frampton was too doped up on morphine to notice. Doctors prescribed the drug to him to help him recover from a near fatal car accident he just suffered in the Bahamas. Then came a new horror: his manager had been ripping him off all along, resulting in his total bankruptcy. “I had less than nothing,” said Frampton. “I owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

While he now takes responsibility for putting his trust in people who didn’t deserve it, Frampton asserts that manager Dee Anthony (who died in 2009), had been telling people not to discuss finances with him. “I was kept away from those things,” he said. “I was kept high. If I needed weed, he made sure I had weed. If I needed cocaine, he made sure I had cocaine. He didn’t want me thinking about what was going on. It was criminal. I could have put him in jail.”

In fact, Frampton says Anthony did have criminal connections. Early in his solo career, the manager introduced him to his associate Joey Pagano, a known mafia don. “He was saying to me, ‘look how powerful I am,’” Frampton said.

Even after he fired Anthony, the guitarist struggled financially and creatively. At a low point, he got a puzzling call from Pete Townshend who told him he was leaving the Who and wanted to know if he would take his place. “It was the most bizarre thing I ever heard,” Frampton said, with a laugh. “Three men couldn’t fill his shoes!”

Consequently, he first turned the offer down. Some days later, however, Frampton’s sad financial state spurred him to call back, at which point Townshend acted like the whole thing never happened. Things kept going in a bad direction until 1987 when Frampton’s old pal Bowie called to ask if he would be a guest player on the hugely popular Glass Spider world tour. The result energized his spirit. As a result, Frampton’s next solo album, When All the Pieces Fit, in 1989, was the first work he was proud of in years. In the time since, the guitarist has continued to tour and put out albums up through 2018’s All Blues. Last year, he launched a highly successful “farewell” tour necessitated by the advance of his disease, known as inclusion-body myositis.

These days, Frampton says he feels largely well. He’s still able to play guitar at home. And he just cut a new song with members of the Doobie Brothers. Regarding his current ailment, Frampton takes a philosophical view. “It’s life-changing, not life-ending,” he said. “Is it sad? Yeah. But I have to put it in perspective. I’m here. And I’m very pleased with how everything in my life turned out.”

Do You Feel Like I Do? is released on 20 October

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Related tags, “i’ve got a lot of other things i want to do”: peter frampton on illness, excitement and the end of his live career.

The guitarist and songwriter talks Les Pauls, Bowie, and why he’s always striving to never play the same thing twice.

A legendary musician calling time on their career is always a bittersweet moment, but for Peter Frampton , the circumstances that have led to his retirement from live performance are particularly poignant.

Four years ago, the guitarist was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis which has slowly made the rigours of touring more challenging for the 68-year-old. The disease will eventually hamper his ability to play guitar, and so in February 2019 he revealed his diagnosis and announced his intention to play one final tour while he still can.

It’s a desperately sad situation for a man whose iconic Frampton Comes Alive!  live record remains a career high water mark, but one that Frampton is handling with impressive grace. He remains positive when we chat to him ahead of the final UK leg of his farewell tour, and enthusiastic as he prepares to embark on a new chapter in his life.

Since this chat, the realities of the global pandemic have thrown doubt onto when exactly Frampton will be able to say goodbye to the land of his birth, but it’s clear that doing so would mean a lot, especially a planned final ever date at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“When we came to book the European/UK tour, I realised I had to come home and say goodbye properly,” he explains from his home in Nashville, Tennessee. “When we first made the decision to say goodbye to the UK at the very end of the final tour, my criterion was that I wanted to book it at the Albert Hall. I knew that venue would be the classiest farewell.

In the meantime, however, Frampton will be keeping himself busy with the altogether different challenge of becoming a grandfather for the first time.

“My eldest daughter will be giving birth in April,” he says proudly. “I have to be there for that, my first grandchild. Instead of ‘Grampa’, they want to call me ‘Frampra’!”

While Frampton’s illness has curtailed his touring career, there’s a spark of defiance and fire when the notion that not being able to play live anymore will mean the end of his career.

“I’ve got a lot of other things I want to do after finishing performing,” he insists. “I’ve got a book coming out in the autumn. People keep repeating that performing is my passion. Yes, but I’ve been doing it for my entire life. I’m turning 70 imminently, so I’m not too despondent about it because I’ve had a good run. I’ll still be playing guitar, recording, writing, et cetera – so there’s a lot for me to do.”

Indeed, his diagnosis has spurred him on to use his platform to bring further attention to the condition that ails him.

“My main job now is to bring awareness to IBM and muscle disease in general,” Frampton says. “What’s interesting is that we always do meet and greets after the shows. And now that I’ve spoken about IBM publicly, I often meet others there with IBM – it’s great to share our experiences. My tour manager always leaves the IBM patients last so we have time to discuss things. After meeting a couple, and taking photos with them, the wife told me I’d ‘diagnosed’ her husband as I’d been on TV discussing it and her husband had exactly the same symptoms as I have So it’s the power of awareness. It’s now my job to make it more visible.”

Before he was diagnosed with IBM, Frampton attributed the disease as just a symptom of ageing.

“I had first noticed it years ago when I was hiking with my son and I struggled up a hill that had never been problematic before,” he recalls. “I figured it was down to getting older. It came to a head at an outdoor gig when I lost my balance kicking a beach ball back to the audience. We laughed at the time, but a few weeks later I fell on stage again and it wasn’t so funny. I saw a neurologist, where he diagnosed IBM.

“There’s no cure yet but I’m starting the drug trial. The tour profits supporting my latest album [ All Blues ] in part go straight to the Frampton Myositis Research Fund. The US Farewell tour was a loving and giving tour, I suspect it will be the same in the UK and Europe.”

Keep on moving

Frampton has remained a prolific songwriter throughout his career, and he sees no reason why that should change now that.

“You have to do a little bit writing every day,” he explains. “I’ll start on a riff and suddenly realise it’s time to record that one on the phone. I can get up at two in the morning and will put down an idea – it can be an intro, chords, anything, even 15 seconds’ worth. I’m stockpiling ideas. As a guitarist, I know that if I go back to something I did 15 minutes ago, it will be quite different the second time, as I never repeat myself, so I must record ideas as they come. Some songs start off one way and develop to be something else altogether. There are no rules with music.”

Frampton is of course a wonderful guitar player as well as a songwriter, and his guitar solos have won him plaudits for decade, so what’s the secret of composing such melodic moments?

“How long have you got?” he chuckles. “People say my solos are so melodic that you can sing them, which I take as a compliment. So that melodicity is crucial to me.”

Phenix rising

Frampton has been heavily associated with Les Pauls throughout his career, but none more so than his fabled ‘Phenix’ – the ’54 Les Paul Custom that was lost in a plane crash in Venezuela in 1980, but was miraculously found, restored and reunited with its owner 30 years later.

“I used it on every recording between 1970 and 1980, including my work with George Harrison ,” he says of his most famous instrument. “I still take that on the road though, because it’s more popular than me and it should be played.

“What I own I play. I like vintage Gretches , Fenders , Gibsons , the list goes on. But now after Joe Bonamassa has bought so many, I don’t think there are any guitars left to buy! [laughs] But I have a ’59 335 Gibson, a ’60 Les Paul Burst, a ’58 Telecaster . So I’m doing great. I don’t need a lot of guitars. But I do have a lot of spares of spares to take out on the road.”

If he ever needs to offload any gear however, his son Julian, who is carving out his own career as a musician, is happy to find it a home…

“I just sent a bass to him LA,” he chuckles. “If I’m not using something and he needs it I send it to him straight away. He’s just getting into doing his own demos now and enjoying it. I was happy about the fact that he got really good on drums first. One day he visited me here and asked me to write a song with him. I said, ‘How can you write on drums!?’ And he told me he was playing more guitar. Now he’s a very good player, and a strong lyricist/songwriter. It’s obviously not a great time to pursue this career in terms of the music industry. But he sounds like himself and his songs are great so I’m hopeful he will have a musical future.”

Humble origins

Frampton’s route to stardom was an unusual one – he started out as a member of Humble Pie with Steve Marriott, before turning his hand to the session game, most notably on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass , before embarking on a solo career. The moment it all changed, however, was 1976’s Frampton Comes Alive! , which went on to become, at the time at least, the biggest selling live album ever.

“It was truly a phenomenon,” he reflects. “I was on the radio all the time, which had been my dream. But the focus on magazine covers was instead of the guitar, my face. So the way I looked, and the big-ness of the album were magnified, which somehow drew away from my musical credibility.

“My credibility has always been there among those who know me, thanks in part to David [Bowie] who invited me to play on Never Let Me Down  and then the Glass Spider tour. It was so helpful. He was always there on the end of the phone to talk to, kind of like an older brother. But that job was the best thing that could have happened to me at that particular moment. He rang me asking, ‘Will you come on the road with me?’ It was the biggest thrill of my life.”

As he ponders the end of his live career, it seems a fitting moment to ask Frampton what he loves most about the experience, and what inspires him the most about performing.

“I like playing on the edge, always have,” he affirms. “I never play the same thing twice – I’m always searching for something different, unique. That’s what makes it enjoyable for me.”

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Peter Frampton Finale Tour Farewell Dates Announced

The extensive run will take the classic rock guitar hero across North America for one more rock and roll ride

With a career spanning more than five decades, GRAMMY winner Peter Frampton has announced his farewell tour this summer. The extensive Peter Frampton Finale Tour will kick off June 18 in Tulsa, Okla., and wind through North America over the following months before wrapping in San Francisco on Oct. 12.

John Bonham 's Led Zeppelin will serve as supporting act for most of the shows, and the tour will hit major cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and more.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Announcing Peter Frampton Finale - The Farewell Tour Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/SIRIUSXM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SiriusXM</a>! Looking forward to seeing everyone this summer and fall. We have <a href="https://twitter.com/Jason_Bonham?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jason_Bonham</a>&#39;s Led Zeppelin Evening joining us for most of this run &amp; my son, Julian, with <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianFrampton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JulianFrampton</a> Band on the west coast dates. <a href="https://t.co/B6Lcbh921t">pic.twitter.com/B6Lcbh921t</a></p>&mdash; Peter Frampton (@peterframpton) <a href="https://twitter.com/peterframpton/status/1098965111207796738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prior to launching his solo career in 1972, Frampton fronted the '60s psychedilic rock outfit Humble Pie. His classic 1976 live album, Frampton Comes Alive! , produced the now-ubiquitous live hits "Show Me The Way," "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Do You Feel Like I Do." The album was nominated for a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year, the first of Frampton's five career nominations. His first win came 30 years later for his 2006 album, Fingerprints , which won Best Pop Instrumental Album.

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A full list of dates and ticket info for the Peter Frampton Finale Tour is available via his  website .

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Catching Up With Neal Francis: How Peter Frampton, A Spiritual Journey & Chicago Pride Led To A Timeless Live Album & Film

For Neal Francis, a hometown show was the ultimate stage to capture his energetic performance via live album and concert film. The cheekily titled 'Francis Comes Alive' was recorded at Chicago's Thalia Hall.

A hometown gig is often something special for a performer — local friends and family bring a particular energy to the audience; the feel of a familiar room can enliven the show. Undoubtedly, there's a joy in performing for people who live in the same milieu that inspired your music. 

For singer, songwriter and pianist Neal Francis , a hometown show was the ultimate stage to capture his energetic performance via live album and concert film. Recorded live to tape at Chicago's Thaila Hall with an expanded 11-piece band, Francis Comes Alive could've been cut in 1973 or 2023 — as if the Band, the Meters, Wings and Dr. John had become unstuck in time. 

Fittingly, Francis and co. rollick through 12 originals on vintage analog equipment under moody lighting. Most of the band don custom jumpsuits; shaggy-haired Francis is centerstage wailing on the keys, his paisley-printed one-piece open to the navel. Through an occasionally hazy filter, the camera pans over the sold-out audience and the sound engineer, who is grooving backstage.

Compared to the incredible and bombastic stage shows documented in Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour , Francis Comes Alive is stripped down. But it's clear Francis and his all-Chicago band are having a great time. Touring with such a large, local ensemble "felt like a high school band field trip," Francis tells GRAMMY.com. "We ham it up there…everybody's just so together and it feels like one unit."

Neal Francis will close 2023 — which saw him play 113 dates across the country — with a New Year's Eve show in Denver, Colorado. GRAMMY.com caught up with Francis to discuss Francis Comes Alive , his spiritual journey back to music, and receiving a blessing from the OG rocker to Come Alive . 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You've been touring heavily in the past few years, which would certainly hone your live show. Was that part of the thinking behind putting out a live album?

Definitely. We had talked about doing a live record and it just made sense: We've played hundreds of shows together, let's document it. But then of course adding an extra seven people to the equation, that was more of a separate vision.

What about your live performance did you think would translate well to a live album/film?

We've persisted in presenting this kind of old school rock show that may not be as common anymore, which I think resonates with people.  I think people don't expect it because my recorded music is a lot more laid back and chill than what they encounter live. We just pour all of our energy into it. 

I tried to make the presentation of the live album and the live film— as much as I could within the constraints of our budget— look special and ethereal. It all came from my initial brainchild, but I definitely would not have come close to pulling it off were it not for having that team around me: Al Basse is the director, [and] my stylist Rachel Epperson made all the jumpsuits from scratch for the entire band – including the one I was wearing.

There's one guy in a white suit that has all this fringe under his arms…

That's our guitarist. It was funny because that was what I envisioned myself wearing initially. What always happens with Rachel is I'll come in with some idea and then she'll just really go out in left field with it and end up creating something that's way more cool than anything I could ever think of.

Rachel makes a lot of what we wear on stage on any given night. She's been with us since early on. 

There have been quite a few concert films out this year, including massive ones from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé . While yours is markedly different, did you think about any of those big tours as you were putting this concept together?

I don't want to say I have my head under a rock, but in some ways I do because I didn't have any idea that those were coming out! I don't have social media at all; I have a presence there thanks to my management team. I'm generally looking towards stuff I like from the past for inspiration, and [to] my spiritual journey. I read a lot. 

My range of influence is a little bit different than whatever's happening currently. And I'd love to see T Swift's movie. My dad actually went and saw it, and I didn't ask how he liked it, but I should. [ Laughs .] 

As far as other concert films, there's two that really come off the top of my head: The Last Waltz and Stop Making Sense . I feel like a cue was taken from The Last Waltz in hiring a horn section, perhaps. 

I had this pretty strong visual experience doing some breathwork in January of 2023 that gave birth to the whole visual concept, and that gave me enough vocabulary and manic energy to start collaborating with Al and Rachel. And it just took shape from there. 

I wanted custom set pieces like you would see on a 1960s variety show, but ideas like that had to be pared down. We ended up dressing up the risers, et cetera instead. The people I have working with me are just ingenious, so I think it came off really well. 

Beyond the pandemic, the past five years or so have been quite a whirlwind for you. You broke up with a partner, you started a music ministry job in 2018, made your debut album Changes in 2019 and then put out In Plain Sight — which was recorded in that church, where you were also living, in 2021. How does your creative journey reflect those experiences?

I got sober in October of 2015 and I didn't really start investing back into my music career until I was a couple years sober.

The common thread for me has been as I develop a spiritual way of life — not to say a religious way of life, but just as I devote more time to things like meditation and increased mindfulness and awareness — it seems to translate to these gifts in my career that I didn't have at all before getting sober. The more I contribute to that side of things, the more everything else blossoms.

Have you seen yourself evolve as a performer as well?

Unquestionably. I'll just say inwardly, Wow, I'm able to sing so much better now . When that recording was made at Thalia Hall, unfortunately, I was still smoking. And that was something that I was actually in the midst of a relapse, smoking cigarettes. And I can really hear it, when I listen back. 

One of the things that has been getting more consistent is my commitment to my vocal process, warming up and the sort of exercises I do. Also just the way in which I sing — learning how to sing at all because I just wasn't a singer before starting this project. Changes is really my first recorded attempt at singing lead vocals on anything.

What was your favorite song to play during this live session?

I still really enjoy playing "Changes" because we have this arrangement that's been kicked around live for a while, and the audience always really responds to it. "Sentimental Garbage" is another one that's really fun to play because we've added this sort of spacey droning synth section that is really fun and funny. 

We ham it up there and it's really fun to play with this band because everybody's just so together and it feels like one unit.

I've always appreciated that your music sounds a bit out of time. I'd love to hear a little bit about the sonic fabric of Neal Francis.

When I was making Changes , I was kind of like, how close can I get to this? Specifically Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell and J.J. Cale and Curtis Mayfield— these are some of my heroes; what is in their playbook for these situations? That's sort of how I arrive at new things, just really trying to go for a certain aesthetic and then inevitably ending up somewhere different.

I've got a huge range of influences that I tried to open up more to on my second record. And now the record I'm working on currently, it's just another snapshot. I think the unifying element is probably the process; we do a lot of stuff analog, recording live as a band, and I think that's perhaps increasingly rare, and it yields a certain sound that's difficult to replicate. 

I don't know if this is a musical hero of yours, but I read that you received a congratulatory text from Peter Frampton .

I guess he was tipped off by my friend Tom Cusimano. And the music industry is tiny in that regard. Tom sent Peter this Chicago Sun Times article about the Francis Comes Alive shows, and he sent his blessing. He was like, "Congratulations in advance, here's hoping it goes smoothly for you." It was so funny to get that the day we were recording. A real nice nod from him.

I have to ask you about this because it happened to me: the Neal Francis/ Neil Frances confusion. How do you feel about getting mistaken for that pop/dance duo?

It's definitely been a process. It's my actual name and not having any control over it, especially early on, it was really a challenge to let it roll off and accept it. Now we're actually acquainted with those guys and I'm going out to record something with them in early January. 

We run into them: We had consecutive sets at Outside Lands and then they were on the same flight to L.A. recently from San Fran. It's very congenial and they're really in a different space musically. So there's not really a threat; if anything, I think, it's a boon to our individual success because people will mistakenly end up at the other person's shows, but end up enjoying it because it's a quality experience. So hopefully our collaboration will yield something interesting.

Beyond that collab, you mentioned that you're working on a new album. What else is on your plate?

That's the main thing on my horizon is getting rest and then making the album. Hopefully, having that wrapped the first couple of months of the year. Then I'm not really touring very much until that record gets released. We'll be doing more of those one-offs and festivals over the summer, starting with Jazz Fest in May, and then coming back with a proper album release tour. 

[I'm also] building my own recording rig here at home so that we can record more and release more. It's two years since our last studio effort, and [I want to be] less precious about it but still having quality releases, but just maybe them being more frequent. That's just another muscle that I'm really excited to be working— just recording stuff on my own. 

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly . Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly .

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube . This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg , Doggystyle . This is for Illmatic , this is for Nas . We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal , Anna Wise and Thundercat ). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift 's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN ., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers .

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Photo:  Rachel Kupfer  

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown . The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton , who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic , psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic . Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis , Silk Sonic , and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar , Flying Lotus , and Thundercat , respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels , while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa , Doja Cat , and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic . There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin ’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music , Amazon Music and Pandora .

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism . Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and " Norma " is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers , from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea 's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’ s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight ’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat .

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo , is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody 's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether .

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Photo: Steven Sebring

Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage

"One foot in the past and one foot into the future," Billy Idol says, describing his decade-spanning career in rock. "We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol."

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Billy Idol about his latest EP,   Cage , and continuing to rock through decades of changing tastes.

Billy Idol is a true rock 'n' roll survivor who has persevered through cultural shifts and personal struggles. While some may think of Idol solely for "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the singer's musical influences span genres and many of his tunes are less turbo-charged than his '80s hits would belie.  

Idol first made a splash in the latter half of the '70s with the British punk band Generation X. In the '80s, he went on to a solo career combining rock, pop, and punk into a distinct sound that transformed him and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Stevens, into icons. They have racked up multiple GRAMMY nominations, in addition to one gold, one double platinum, and four platinum albums thanks to hits like "Cradle Of Love," "Flesh For Fantasy," and "Eyes Without A Face." 

But, unlike many legacy artists, Idol is anything but a relic. Billy continues to produce vital Idol music by collaborating with producers and songwriters — including Miley Cyrus — who share his forward-thinking vision. He will play a five-show Vegas residency in November, and filmmaker Jonas Akerlund is working on a documentary about Idol’s life. 

His latest release is Cage , the second in a trilogy of annual four-song EPs. The title track is a classic Billy Idol banger expressing the desire to free himself from personal constraints and live a better life. Other tracks on Cage incorporate metallic riffing and funky R&B grooves. 

Idol continues to reckon with his demons — they both grappled with addiction during the '80s — and the singer is open about those struggles on the record and the page. (Idol's 2014 memoir Dancing With Myself , details a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly claimed a leg, and how becoming a father steered him to reject hard drugs. "Bitter Taste," from his last EP, The Roadside , reflects on surviving the accident.)

Although Idol and Stevens split in the late '80s — the skilled guitarist fronted Steve Stevens & The Atomic Playboys, and collaborated with Michael Jackson, Rick Ocasek, Vince Neil, and Harold Faltermeyer (on the GRAMMY-winning "Top Gun Anthem") —  their common history and shared musical bond has been undeniable. The duo reunited in 2001 for an episode of " VH1 Storytellers " and have been back in the saddle for two decades. Their union remains one of the strongest collaborations in rock 'n roll history.

While there is recognizable personnel and a distinguishable sound throughout a lot of his work, Billy Idol has always pushed himself to try different things. Idol discusses his musical journey, his desire to constantly move forward, and the strong connection that he shares with Stevens. 

Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different.

Yeah, that's right. With someone like Steve Stevens, and then back in the day Keith Forsey producing... [Before that] Generation X actually did move around inside punk rock. We didn't stay doing just the Ramones two-minute music. We actually did a seven-minute song. [ Laughs ]. We did always mix things up. 

Then when I got into my solo career, that was the fun of it. With someone like Steve, I knew what he could do. I could see whatever we needed to do, we could nail it. The world was my oyster musically. 

"Cage" is a classic-sounding Billy Idol rocker, then "Running From The Ghost" is almost metal, like what the Devil's Playground album was like back in the mid-2000s. "Miss Nobody" comes out of nowhere with this pop/R&B flavor. What inspired that?

We really hadn't done anything like that since something like "Flesh For Fantasy" [which] had a bit of an R&B thing about it. Back in the early days of Billy Idol, "Hot In The City" and "Mony Mony" had girls [singing] on the backgrounds. 

We always had a bit of R&B really, so it was actually fun to revisit that. We just hadn't done anything really quite like that for a long time. That was one of the reasons to work with someone like Sam Hollander [for the song "Rita Hayworth"] on The Roadside . We knew we could go [with him] into an R&B world, and he's a great songwriter and producer. That's the fun of music really, trying out these things and seeing if you can make them stick. 

I listen to new music by veteran artists and debate that with some people. I'm sure you have those fans that want their nostalgia, and then there are some people who will embrace the newer stuff. Do you find it’s a challenge to reach people with new songs?

Obviously, what we're looking for is, how do we somehow have one foot in the past and one foot into the future? We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol. 

You want to do things that are true to you, and you don't just want to try and do things that you're seeing there in the charts today. I think that we're achieving it with things like "Running From The Ghost" and "Cage" on this new EP. I think we’re managing to do both in a way. 

** Obviously, "Running From The Ghost" is about addiction, all the stuff that you went through, and in "Cage" you’re talking about  freeing yourself from a lot of personal shackles. Was there any one moment in your life that made you really thought I have to not let this weigh me down anymore ? **

I mean, things like the motorcycle accident I had, that was a bit of a wake up call way back. It was 32 years ago. But there were things like that, years ago, that gradually made me think about what I was doing with my life. I didn't want to ruin it, really. I didn't want to throw it away, and it made [me] be less cavalier. 

I had to say to myself, about the drugs and stuff, that I've been there and I've done it. There’s no point in carrying on doing it. You couldn't get any higher. You didn't want to throw your life away casually, and I was close to doing that. It took me a bit of time, but then gradually I was able to get control of myself to a certain extent [with] drugs and everything. And I think Steve's done the same thing. We're on a similar path really, which has been great because we're in the same boat in terms of lyrics and stuff. 

So a lot of things like that were wake up calls. Even having grandchildren and just watching my daughter enlarging her family and everything; it just makes you really positive about things and want to show a positive side to how you're feeling, about where you're going. We've lived with the demons so long, we've found a way to live with them. We found a way to be at peace with our demons, in a way. Maybe not completely, but certainly to where we’re enjoying what we do and excited about it.

[When writing] "Running From The Ghost" it was easy to go, what was the ghost for us? At one point, we were very drug addicted in the '80s. And Steve in particular is super sober [now]. I mean, I still vape pot and stuff. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s incredible. All I want to be able to do is have a couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or something. I can do that now.

I think working with people that are super talented, you just feel confident. That is a big reason why you open up and express yourself more because you feel comfortable with what's around you.

Did you watch Danny Boyle's recent Sex Pistols mini-series?

I did, yes.

You had a couple of cameos; well, an actor who portrayed you did. How did you react to it? How accurate do you think it was in portraying that particular time period?

I love Jonesy’s book, I thought his book was incredible. It's probably one of the best bio books really. It was incredible and so open. I was looking forward to that a lot.

It was as if [the show] kind of stayed with Steve [Jones’ memoir] about halfway through, and then departed from it. [John] Lydon, for instance, was never someone I ever saw acting out; he's more like that today. I never saw him do something like jump up in the room and run around going crazy. The only time I saw him ever do that was when they signed the recording deal with Virgin in front of Buckingham Palace. Whereas Sid Vicious was always acting out; he was always doing something in a horrible way or shouting at someone. I don't remember John being like that. I remember him being much more introverted.

But then I watched interviews with some of the actors about coming to grips with the parts they were playing. And they were saying, we knew punk rock happened but just didn't know any of the details. So I thought well, there you go . If ["Pistol" is]  informing a lot of people who wouldn't know anything about punk rock, maybe that's what's good about it.

Maybe down the road John Lydon will get the chance to do John's version of the Pistols story. Maybe someone will go a lot deeper into it and it won't be so surface. But maybe you needed this just to get people back in the flow.

We had punk and metal over here in the States, but it feels like England it was legitimately more dangerous. British society was much more rigid.

It never went [as] mega in America. It went big in England. It exploded when the Pistols did that interview with [TV host Bill] Grundy, that lorry truck driver put his boot through his own TV, and all the national papers had "the filth and the fury" [headlines].

We went from being unknown to being known overnight. We waited a year, Generation X. We even told them [record labels] no for nine months to a year. Every record company wanted their own punk rock group. So it went really mega in England, and it affected the whole country – the style, the fashions, everything. I mean, the Ramones were massive in England. Devo had a No. 1 song [in England] with "Satisfaction" in '77. Actually, Devo was as big as or bigger than the Pistols.

You were ahead of the pop-punk thing that happened in the late '90s, and a lot of it became tongue-in-cheek by then. It didn't have the same sense of rebelliousness as the original movement. It was more pop.

It had become a style. There was a famous book in England called Revolt Into Style — and that's what had happened, a revolt that turned into style which then they were able to duplicate in their own way. Even recently, Billie Joe [Armstrong] did his own version of "Gimme Some Truth," the Lennon song we covered way back in 1977.

When we initially were making [punk] music, it hadn't become accepted yet. It was still dangerous and turned into a style that people were used to. We were still breaking barriers.

You have a band called Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I assume you all have an easier time playing Pistols and Gen X songs together now and not worrying about getting spit on like back in the '70s?

Yeah, definitely. When I got to America I told the group I was putting it together, "No one spits at the audience."

We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.

You had to go through a lot to become successful, it wasn't like you just kind of got up there and did a couple of gigs. I don't think some young rock bands really get that today.

With punk going so mega in England, we definitely got a leg up. We still had a lot of work to get where we got to, and rightly so because you find out that you need to do that. A lot of groups in the old days would be together three to five years before they ever made a record, and that time is really important. In a way, what was great about punk rock for me was it was very much a learning period. I really learned a lot [about] recording music and being in a group and even writing songs.

Then when I came to America, it was a flow, really. I also really started to know what I wanted Billy Idol to be. It took me a little bit, but I kind of knew what I wanted Billy Idol to be. And even that took a while to let it marinate.

You and Miley Cyrus have developed a good working relationship in the last several years. How do you think her fans have responded to you, and your fans have responded to her?

I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts , and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing it. It came out really good and it's very Billy Idol. In fact, I think it’s more Billy Idol than Miley Cyrus. I think it shows you where Andrew Watt was. He was excited about doing a Billy Idol track. She's fun to work with. She’s a really great person and she works at her singing — I watched her rehearsing for the Super Bowl performance she gave. She rehearsed all Saturday morning, all Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning and it was that afternoon. I have to admire her fortitude. She really cares.

I remember when you went on " Viva La Bam "  back in 2005 and decided to give Bam Margera’s Lamborghini a new sunroof by taking a power saw to it. Did he own that car? Was that a rental?

I think it was his car.

Did he get over it later on?

He loved it. [ Laughs ] He’s got a wacky sense of humor. He’s fantastic, actually. I’m really sorry to see what he's been going through just lately. He's going through a lot, and I wish him the best. He's a fantastic person, and it's a shame that he's struggling so much with his addictions. I know what it's like. It's not easy.

Musically, what is the synergy like with you guys during the past 10 years, doing Kings and Queens of the Underground and this new stuff? What is your working relationship like now in this more sober, older, mature version of you two as opposed to what it was like back in the '80s?

In lots of ways it’s not so different because we always wrote the songs together, we always talked about what we're going to do together. It was just that we were getting high at the same time.We're just not getting [that way now] but we're doing all the same things.

We're still talking about things, still [planning] things:What are we going to do next? How are we going to find new people to work with? We want to find new producers. Let's be a little bit more timely about putting stuff out.That part of our relationship is the same, you know what I mean? That never got affected. We just happened to be overloading in the '80s.

The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [ Laughs ] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward.

There's a lot of fan reaction videos online, and I noticed a lot of younger women like "Rebel Yell" because, unlike a lot of other '80s alpha male rock tunes, you're talking about satisfying your lover.

It was about my girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister. It was about how great I thought she was, how much I was in love with her, and how great women are, how powerful they are.

It was a bit of a feminist anthem in a weird way. It was all about how relationships can free you and add a lot to your life. It was a cry of love, nothing to do with the Civil War or anything like that. Perri was a big part of my life, a big part of being Billy Idol. I wanted to write about it. I'm glad that's the effect.

Is there something you hope people get out of the songs you've been doing over the last 10 years? Do you find yourself putting out a message that keeps repeating?

Well, I suppose, if anything, is that you can come to terms with your life, you can keep a hold of it. You can work your dreams into reality in a way and, look, a million years later, still be enjoying it.

The only reason I'm singing about getting out of the cage is because I kicked out of the cage years ago. I joined Generation X when I said to my parents, "I'm leaving university, and I'm joining a punk rock group." And they didn't even know what a punk rock group was. Years ago, I’d write things for myself that put me on this path, so that maybe in 2022 I could sing something like "Cage" and be owning this territory and really having a good time. This is the life I wanted.

The original UK punk movement challenged societal norms. Despite all the craziness going on throughout the world, it seems like a lot of modern rock bands are afraid to do what you guys were doing. Do you think we'll see a shift in that?

Yeah.  Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it].

Living Legends: Nancy Sinatra Reflects On Creating "Power And Magic" In Studio, Developing A Legacy Beyond "Boots" & The Pop Stars She Wants To Work With

• 1 Peter Frampton Finale Tour Farewell Dates Announced
• 2 Catching Up With Neal Francis: How Peter Frampton, A Spiritual Journey & Chicago Pride Led To A Timeless Live Album & Film
• 3 GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
• 4 A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea
• 5 Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage

Americana Highways

on the road collecting the stories of Americana music

The End, My Friend: Peter Frampton Makes His Last Stand

 “The name of the man you need to see is Stanley Coles.”

  I can still remember the stern British accent and directness of the words. I was a fifteen-year-old aspiring music writer standing in a hotel lobby near the Springfield Civic Center in Massachusetts. A publicist from A&M Records had confirmed I’d be on the guest list but my name was not at will call and two hours from home in Ridgefield, ConnecticutI, I was wandering aimlessly. when out of the corner of my eye I recognized Peter Frampton.

“ Peter …” 

Frampton and his girlfriend Penny McCall turned around simultaneously like deer in headlights. They were smaller than I imagined them and had the look of perfectly coiffed twins. 

Being a voracious reader of liner notes on record albums, I immediately knew he was Peter’s road manager. The chances of getting to Stanley Coles seemed unlikely—at the moment Frampton Comes Alive just happened to be the biggest album in the world. Just a year earlier On the Frampton tour where it was recorded, my friends Brad Bechard and Greg Logsted were watching Frampton at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut. Suddenly the former guitarist of Humble Pie who had made four solo albums was an “overnight sensation.”

Frampton turned and left to head into a waiting limousine. Left behind I scrambled and placed a call to the Springfield Civic Center. I was connected to a sympathetic woman who said she could help. I headed over and after a few minutes, a mustachioed man came over to greet my friend Frank Nagy and me. I recognized him as the concert promoter Jim Koplik. We had a short conversation and after sizing me up, he let us in and Frank and I caught the end of Frampton’s set with the thunderous climactic finale of “Do You Feel Like We Do.” Then we stayed to hear the headliner J Geils Band somewhat mystified that Frampton was the opening act. I’d never heard such thunderous cheers as I did that night and it was like witnessing mania.

As Peter Frampton stepped onstage at the Anthem in Washington DC, it all came back to me. I felt like I had been in a real-life scene out of Roadies , the series by director Cameron Crowe of Almost Famous fame. 

Billed as Peter Frampton Finale: The Farewell Tour , the series of fall shows are not your typical goodbye This time there is a reason that goes beyond age. Frampton had publicly shared with CBS televisions Anthony Mason that he had a degenerative muscular disease that would soon make it not possible to play guitar. 

Frampton was quiet about it until he got to the last of his encores. Now with his band offstage, he stood alone, finally addressing the elephant in the room. Once a road warrior whose manager Dee Anthony booked him for two and fifty shows a year, the still youthful vocalist and great guitarist was the reluctant retiree staring down the end of a storied career. 

“I know you know,” he said slightly pausing, “about my medical condition.” Acknowledging the outpouring of love he’d felt on this and other nights, he said with tears starting to welling in his soulful eyes. “But you are going to heal me.”

Frampton curated the show like a full life chronology. In an opening montage of photographs, we saw him rise from youth to be at the epicenter of rock royalty surrounded by Stevie Nicks, Ringo, and his childhood classmate David Bowie.

The drum kit still had his logo that first appeared on his debut album Wind of Change . Before playing “Lines on My Face,” Frampton recalled how he came to Electric Lady Studios without a drummer when John Siomos took his call. Siomos, like keyboardist Bob Mayo, mentioned and forever immortalized on “Do You Feel Like We Do,” have since passed. Frampton recalled how the custom green drum kit he ordered for Siomos was thought lost. But Frampton was amazed to find the drum kit on EBay and bought it back for the second time. Frampton also stood playing his black Les Paul that he held on the cover of Frampton Comes Alive  which was thought to be destroyed in a plane crash but found its way back to him after a thirty-year absence.

The set resurrected many of Frampton’s signature songs from that era, kicking off with “Baby (Something’s Happening),” “Lines on My Face” and “Show Me The Way,” “(I’ll Give You Money)” and “Baby I Love Your Way.” Frampton’s meteoric rise was counterbalanced by subsequent ups and downs over the years. But in 2019 he is back at the top of his game and could proudly say that he had a number one charting album All Blues. Inspired by touring with Steve Miller, Frampton made the collection of traditional blues greats. He broke into two Freddie King covers, “Me and My Guitar” and “Same Old Blues,” worthy of someone who cut his teeth first as a teenager in the Herd before joining Steve Marriott of Small Faces to form Humble Pie.

Back in 2006, Frampton made an all-instrumental album Fingerprints and did a stunning version of Hoagey Carmichael’s “Georgia.” When recalling the journey to make it, he took us to Seattle, his “first port of call” where he connected with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell to record “Black Hole Sun.” At the Anthem, Frampton was content to play from far stage left but mosied over to center stage to add his signature talk box to “Black Hole Sun” and perhaps his most famous song which closed the set.

“You know this song,” he teased and we all knew what was coming.

  As the cover of Frampton Comes Alive showed with its worn cardboard, Frampton signature guitar chords led through the extended jam of ”Do You Feel Like We Do.”  We were all back in time again.

I never did find Stanley Coles that night in Springfield. For my friends and I there would be other shows. After Natural Gas and Gary Wright opened at Colt Park in Hartford, my oldest friend Don Principe saw Frampton run onstage breaking a rib. There was the show in New Haven we saw opened up by the Climax Blues Band. We were at Madison Square Garden the night he sang “I’m In You.” I remember it was the summer that the tabloid killer Son of Sam was on the loose and I remember being terrified being dropped off and walking a short distance to my grandparents’ house in Yonkers, New York, which turned out to be the killer’s hometown.

After Frampton went through “(I’ll Give You) Money,” it was encore time at the Anthem.

“Do you want some Humble Pie?” he asked rhetorically.

Frampton launched into Ida Cox’s “Four Day Creep” and Ray Charles’ “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” alternating verses with his band mates like had originally with the late Steve Marriott. There was an emotional montage of pictures of he and Steve Marriott, the great soul singer and original member of Small Faces and front man of the band, the two kids who made the gems Town and Country and As Safe as Yesterday before taking the world by storm with Rockin’ The Fillmore just as Frampton left to make his first solo album and attempt at anti-stardom, Wind of Change .

This was the man whose power chords still sounded as dense and loud as when I’d get home from East Ridge Junior High School and had the house to myself. Frampton left the band at the height of their popularity to take a chance on a solo career. I’ve often thought about it as a life lesson and frame of reference in my own business career.

At the Anthem it was the anniversary of 9/11. It’s always a difficult day for my wife Kelly and I. We lived in New York and this day was the birthday of her mother who passed away a few years ago. The British-born Frampton described his reaction to 9/11 and becoming an American citizen. He is now a Nashville resident and betrayed a little southernness when at one point I heard him say “thank y’all.”

Over the years the memory of that night in Springfield endures. Shortly after, my friend Frank who was with me was tragically hit by a car and died.

As my friend Steve Houk put it in his Facebook post paraphrasing Frampton, “There are so many people, my family of friends, who have come and gone since then and some remain. But life has been good and he’s been along for the whole ride. Cheers Peter, we love you. Do you feel like we do? I think you do.”

Houk, who grew up a town away from me, is the writer of the music website Living on Music.  He still marvels at the time he spoke to Frampton for an article and was greeted by the voice on the other end: “Hello, Peter Frampton here.”

My high school friend Ange Canessa, now a program director for a classic rock station in Louisville, most recently saw an acoustic show and was taken by how grateful, humble and kind he was to the audience. “He was so authentic,” he told me.  

At the Anthem, Melissa Maphis stood in the front row, a spot she’d held since waiting online with Kelly earlier in the afternoon. At one point she held up her Farewell Tour t-shirt and peeked around the side when Frampton made eye contact with a genuine smile.

“There’s so many people, my family of friends,” Frampton had sung earlier in “Lines In My Face,” the guitarist preferring to stand on the side of the stage but a master showman who played to every corner of the theater. 

On this night it was a soundtrack of his life and ours and the years in between.

I’d be lying if I said the tears in Frampton’s were the only ones.

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2 thoughts on “ the end, my friend: peter frampton makes his last stand ”.

Tears. What a great article. So, so many of us loved Frampton when he came alive. And still do.

FYI Humble pie wrote 4 day creep, not any way associated or even remotely similar to Ida Cox, it was mislabeled on the fillmore and people still repeating the mistake!

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Thanks for voting Peter into the 2024 class of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame! The Ceremony will take place on October 19th at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH. It will once again stream live on Disney+ with a special airing on ABC at a later date and will be available on Hulu the next day. Check out Peters response here

Peter Frampton at Royal Albert Hall released September 1st on CD and digital. The live record features highlights from his 2022 sold out show in London at the legendary venue. Available in Peter’s webstore on cd or here

Peter is the only artist to appear on 2 songs on Dolly’s new Rockstar album! It’s out NOW - order it HERE

The Intervention Records Vinyl Box Sets are now available and are available on cds and SACDs! Check out this fun video to hear from Peter directly click here

You can get the vinyl box set with a signed poster at click here or the regular vinyl box set at click here

• Frampton Forgets The Words - Peter's New Album
• Do You Feel Like I Do - Peter’s Memoir

On April 22, 1950 Peter Kenneth Frampton was born to Owen and Peggy Frampton in Beckenham, Kent, UK

At the age of 10, Peter played in a band called The Little Ravens. He and David Bowie both went to Bromley Technical School and would spend lunch breaks together, playing Buddy Holly songs. The Little Ravens and Bowie's band, George and the Dragons, played shows together. When he was 11 years old, he played in the Trubeats before joining The Preachers, a band that Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman produced and managed.

Peter became a successful child guitarist, and in 1966 he became a member of The Herd, landing three British Top 10 hits. He was also named The Face of 1968 by Rave, a teen magazine.

In 1969, when Peter was 18 years old in 1969, he co-founded one of the first super groups, seminal rock act Humble Pie with Steve Marriott.

Peter met Pete Drake in 1970, on George Harrison’s session for his All Things Must Pass album.  Pete introduced Peter to the "talk box" which would become one of Frampton's trademark guitar effects. In 1972, Peter's solo career debut Wind of Change was released, with guest artists Billy Preston and Ringo Starr.

Peter released a whopping 6 albums in this decade: Frampton's Camel was released in 1973 and Somethin's Happening was released in 1974. In 1975, Frampton was released and rose to #32 in the US charts, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. In 1976, Frampton Comes Alive! was released and became a best-selling live album with hit singles "Baby, I Love Your Way," "Show Me the Way," and "Do You Feel Like We Do". In 1977, I'm In You was released and went platinum

In 1978, Peter starred in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with The Bee Gees, Aerosmith, Billy Preston, George Burns and others. Later that year, Peter was in a near-fatal car accident in the Bahamas.

Peter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979 and that same year, Where I Should Be was released.

Rise Up was released in 1980. The same year, Peter's black Les Paul Custom, "Phenix", was lost in a plane crash. In 1981, Breaking All the Rules was released and was recorded almost completely live. 1982 brought the release of The Art of Control. In 1986, Premonition was released with the hit single, "Lying". Frampton played on David Bowie's album Never Let Me Down in 1987 and joined Bowie on his Glass Spider tour.

In 1994, the Peter Frampton album was released. Frampton Comes Alive! II was recorded on June 15, 1995 at The Fillmore Theater in San Francisco. In 1996, Peter appeared as himself on the hit tv show The Simpsons headlining Homerpalooza.

In 2000, Peter was the technical advisor for Cameron Crowe’s Oscar winning movie, Almost Famous. Peter wrote a lot of the music on the soundtrack and appeared in the film as Humble Pie’s road manager. The album Now was released in 2003 and Frampton embarked on a tour with Styx. In 2006, Peter released the album Fingerprints. And in 2007, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Peter was immortalized as himself on The Family Guy in 2009.

Thank You Mr Churchill was released in 2010 and was Peter's 14th studio album. The album included a song written with his son, Julian Frampton. Peter went on a North American tour with the band Yes. 2011 marked the 35th anniversary of Frampton Comes Alive! and Peter embarked on a 69 date tour playing the songs exactly as they were recorded on the album. In 2012, Peter received ASCAP’s Global Impact Award. In 2013, Frampton's Guitar Circus went on tour featuring guest performers 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. Frampton was one of several musicians to participate in 2014's The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles tribute to the Beatles on the 50th anniversary of their first appearance on American television. Hummingbird in a Box was released in 2014 and Peter performed a few shows live onstage with the Cincinnati Ballet. Acoustic Classics was released in 2015, featuring many of his hits. In 2016, Frampton was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Peter toured with the Steve Miller Band in 2017 and 2018 and was given the Les Paul Innovation Award at NAMM in 2018 as well.

On February 22, 2019 Frampton announced his retirement from rigorous touring with his 'Peter Frampton Finale—The Farewell Tour' after disclosing his diagnosis of inclusion body myositis (IBM), a progressive muscle disorder. That same year, Peter was honored at The Music Business Association Awards & Hall Of Fame Dinner with the Chairman’s Award For Sustained Creative Achievement. Also in 2019, All Blues was released and debuted at number one and stayed there for 15 weeks on the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart.

In 2020 Frampton published his memoir, Do You Feel Like I Do?, co-written with Alan Light that debuted on the New York Times Best Seller List. Also, in 2020, Frampton Comes Alive! was inducted in to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Frampton Forgets the Words album released in 2021.