In 1976, Peter Frampton became one of the most popular musicians in the world after his double live album Frampton Comes Alive! was released. It became the best-selling release in the U.S. that year, and would go on to sell 11 million copies. His hit singles from that album – “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do” – remain classic rock staples to this day.
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That’s the part of Frampton’s story that many people know – and he does discuss that era in his life in Do You Feel Like I Do?: A Memoir, the autobiography he’s releasing via Hachette Books on October 20. But the book also delves deep into the non-superstar moments in his life, giving even longtime fans much to discover.
Frampton was born and raised in England, but he has lived in the U.S. for decades. Calling from his Nashville home, he’s in high spirits: he has just finished a Zoom chat with his New York City-based daughter, who has recently had a daughter of her own – Frampton’s first grandchild. (He’s already been dubbed “Frampa.”) “I get to Zoom twice, sometimes three times a day if the baby does something really new,” he says, clearly delighted.
In his book, Frampton makes it clear that family has always been particularly important to him, especially when he recounts his childhood in London and how that helped shape him into becoming a professional musician. By the time he was a teenager, Frampton was in bands, playing professional gigs across London, and he says his parents were always supportive of his endeavors.
“I was very lucky to have incredible parents,” Frampton says, recalling how they “loved music in general – they weren’t picky. My father was a musician a little bit when he was at college. And then my mother, I get my creativity from her, I think, because as I explain in the book, she was offered a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She was not allowed to follow her dream, but she would have been a phenomenal actress, I just know it.” He laughs and adds, “She had all the drama that one needed!”
Frampton’s father was also creative: he was an art teacher at the local high school. Ironically, this initially made Frampton hesitant to explore anything artistic. “My father was such an incredible artist that I was intimidated by how great he was,” he says. “I figured that I cannot compete with my father on this level, and therefore I virtually never picked up a paintbrush.”
Fortunately, when he was seven, Frampton found his grandmother’s banjolele – a banjo/ukulele hybrid – and he immediately showed an unusual aptitude for playing it. “I knew that after I picked up that banjolele that this was something that came easily to me,” he says. Soon after, his parents gave him his first guitar, which he pursued with gusto. “Music was something I could pick up by ear after my dad taught me the first three songs. I then picked up all these other songs off the radio with one listening.”
Frampton went on to join a series of bands, eventually becoming the guitarist and co-vocalist for Humble Pie. That group would enjoy a moderate level of success during his tenure, but he left to pursue a solo career in 1971. He released his debut album, Wind of Change, came out in 1972. That album, and his next two releases (Frampton’s Camel in 1973 and Somethin’s Happening in 1974) didn’t get much traction in the charts, however.
Things started changing for Frampton in 1974 when he released the album Frampton, which contained the songs “Show Me the Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way.” This album proved more popular than his earlier releases, and he toured extensively to support it. Some of those shows were recorded – and the results were released as a double live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, in 1976. It was an international sensation, becoming one of the biggest-selling live albums of all time.
Unfortunately, this enormous success proved overwhelming for Frampton. In his book, he is candid when he talks about the sheer terror he felt as he faced having to follow up Frampton Comes Alive!, and the self-destructive way in which he handled this fear.
“There were some not so great times,” Frampton says. “Depression and drinking and drugs and all that, as I recounted in the book. I didn’t leave anything out there. But I have resilience, and I do have this talent that was laid upon me – I know I’m not a big head, but I know how good I am.”
In the 1980s, Frampton successfully overcame his addictions, but his music career seemed in shambles – until his longtime friend David Bowie hired him to play guitar on his 1987 album Never Let Me Down and the subsequent world tour. This lifeline helped Frampton reestablish his credibility as an artist who can once again sell out arena shows.
Frampton first met Bowie when they attended school together (the same school where Frampton’s father was the art teacher). Bowie was three years older than Frampton, but they still bonded immediately over their shared love for music. They would remain close friends until Bowie’s death in 2016.
As for why his bond with Bowie was so tight, Frampton says, “We both came from the same area. We were both brought up with the same values. Good parents. When David and I were hanging out at school, it was the beginning of, everybody wanted to be a musician. There were so many bands when I was growing up.”
Now, decades later, Frampton is still enthusiastic about music, though he admits it hasn’t always been an easy career to pursue. “Have I been discouraged along the way? Yes. Does my passion fade? Yes. But once I pick myself up, brush myself off after something has not gone the way I wanted it to, then the passion comes back,” he says.
Frampton’s resilience is once again being tested as he faces his latest challenge: a few years ago, he was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis (IBM), an incurable muscular disorder. Although this disease progresses slowly, it will eventually rob Frampton of the ability to play guitar. In light of that, he undertook a farewell tour in 2019. He completed the North American portion, but the European leg has been postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, when discussing this illness, Frampton shows no self-pity, either in his book or in this phone call.
“I don’t want to be the person that goes on stage with a line before I start playing: ‘I’m not as good as I used to be, but I’m here, I know you want to see me,’” Frampton says. “I cannot do that. And I won’t do that. Because it will be too frustrating for me to not be able to [have] what’s in my head come out my fingers.”
For now, though, Frampton says he can still play as well as he ever could, and he is just as devoted to his instrument as he’s always been. “I’m very lucky that, if I’m just not feeling great and I put the guitar down for a day or two, then I’ll be walking through the room on the third day and I’ll look at it and I’ll go, ‘That needs to be played!’” he says with a laugh. “It’s something I know is a dear friend and it will make me feel better if I play it. If I’m in a great mood, it will make me feel even better. If I’m in a sad mood, it will bring me out of that, eventually.”
Frampton’s optimistic attitude comes through in Do You Feel Like I Do?, making it a case study in what happens when dogged determination is paired with immense talent. Still, for someone who has achieved so much, Frampton seems modest. “I’ve never thought of myself as anything other than a regular guy that plays music for a living,” he says. “I think it’s very important to know that deep down, you’re not exactly how you’re perceived. I always say, ‘We’re all the same as human beings – we just do different things for a living.’ Some are more lucky than others. I have just been very lucky.”
Photo by Austin Lord, Courtesy of Sacks & Co.
