In 1976, when rocker Peter Frampton released his seminal live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, the whole world changed for him. Not only did the LP include delightful renditions of songs like “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do,” but the six-string player became famous as an instrumentalist for his ability to seemingly make his guitar talk (through pedals and other gear).
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The live record propelled Frampton to superstardom. But before he was a solo star, Frampton came up in the British-born rock band Humble Pie, formed in 1969. We wanted to highlight his early days in Humble Pie by sharing four songs fans may not know he wrote for the classic rock outfit.
“Shine On”
Written by Peter Frampton
This song appears on Humble Pie’s 1971 album Rock On, the final record from the band to feature Frampton on guitar before he departed the group shortly after. But that didn’t mean he left this song behind, as he would continue to play it live, including on Frampton Comes Alive! On the psychedelic track, Frampton sings,
Find it hard to see you in the dark
I looked around
You were beside me
Don’t you realize it’s hard to dream
Without your helping hand to guide me
This could be the one, girl
If you will be my sun
“Strange Days”
Written by Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott, Jerry Shirley, Greg Ridley
Another track from Rock On, this song was a collaborative effort between band members Frampton, Steve Marriott, Jerry Shirley, and Greg Ridley. The piano-driven song leans on a sense of both the blues and the rock, with some Latin influences sprinkled in. On the druggy track, singer Marriott croons with a psychedelic flair akin to Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
Here come a dealer with a bag full
He’s pushing from the corner of his eyes
But you can tell by the shine on his shoes
He’s working for the FBI
Well, there’s a cop on every corner, yeah
He’s got an axe to grind
Waitin’ for some guitar-playing, grass-smoking long-hair
He got promotion on his mind
“Stone Cold Fever”
Written by Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott, Jerry Shirley, Greg Ridley
The fourth track on Rock On, this song was also written by Frampton, Marriott, Shirley, and Ridley. It reads as a more straight-ahead rock song with big electric guitar chords, drum fills, and a propelling rhythm befitting of the band’s classic status. Ridley, like the track above, sounds like Plant as he banshee-wails, singing minimally between harmonica riffs,
Oh! Stone cold fever, yerr!
So hard to see
I’ve got trouble in my backbone
Since that lonesome day
Oh! Yerr!
“Red Light Mama, Red Hot!”
Written by Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott, Jerry Shirley, Greg Ridley
From the band’s self-titled 1970 album, this song was again a group effort, written by Frampton, Marriott, Shirley, and Ridley. Let’s face it—the tune’s about sex. If lust had a soundtrack, this song would assuredly be on it. Marriott growls about bodies, drugs, red lights, and the cost of carnal relations. He offers,
Red light mama looking for a ride
There’s fire in your loins but you’re cold inside
Quiet to the world, that your nights are free
At 50 cents a time understandably, it don’t make it
Now, I don’t expect you to take my advice
But you can make it easy, just review the price
‘Cause you’re looking awful pretty
And twice as nice to know, let’s get it on, peel it off
Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
