Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is a Grammy winning English musician. His solo work in the mid-1970s as an "arena rocker" has earned him a long lasting nationwide recognition.

Career
Peter Frampton was born April 22, 1950 in Beckenham, Kent. Frampton had played in a band called the Little Ravens by the age of ten. "Rock Pile" was an obscure club at the tip of Long Island, NY where Frampton made his first American appearance. The name of the group was Humble Pie where he played lead guitar.

As a member of The Herd, Frampton enjoyed his first taste of fame. He also became a teen idol in Britain. He then worked with Steve Marriott (of Small Faces) in Humble Pie, as well as on albums by Harry Nilsson, Jim Price, Jerry Lee Lewis, and George Harrison's solo masterpiece All Things Must Pass.

With 1972's Wind of Change, Frampton began his solo career. Frampton's Camel (1973), Somethin's Happening (1974), and Frampton (1975) were subsequently released by him. These all were generally considered very solid rock albums, but could not achieve desired commercial success.

With Frampton's breakthrough best-selling live album, Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), everything changed quite dramatically for him. This remarkable album is widely considered a near-iconic 70s album and one of the most acclaimed live rock albums ever.

"Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Show Me the Way" became almost immediate hits, and "Do You Feel Like We Do," also became very much popular. His now-famous use of the talk box is featured in the latter two singles, esp the 14-minute epic "Do You Feel Like We Do". The talk box allows the guitar sounds to be pumped into one end of a tube; the other end of the tube ends in the performers mouth next to the vocal microphone. When the guitar is played and the performer fashions his/her mouth as if speaking, the audial illusion of a "talking guitar" is produced. Frampton has successfully developed a mastery over the use of talk box and has long been considered one of the best at it.

His following album, I'm in You also proved to be a huge success. There was record sales of almost 1 million copies of this album but the critics shredded it.Frampton then accepted an ill-advised co-starring role with The Bee Gees in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It also proved to be a disaster. As a result, his career saw the downfall as quickly as it had risen.

Frampton returned to recording in the 1980s. Stanley Sheldon (bass), Bob Mayo (keyboards/guitar/vocals), Chad Cromwell (drums), and John Siomos (drums/vocals) were among the past band members. His old friend David Bowie also joined him for a time. They continued to make albums, although they could not achieve desired commercial success.

He starred in an infomercial plugging the internationally successful eMedia Guitar Method in the late 1990s. It is a piece of instructional software represented as an alternative to taking actual guitar lessons. He claimed that the software was the best way to learn guitar.

Frampton decided to become a United States citizen after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He actively supported John Kerry in the U.S. presidential election, 2004.He now resides in Indian Hill, a suburb east of Cincinnati.

The album Now was released by him in 2003. He also embarked on a tour with Styx to support it. He also toured with The Elms. He has the honor of appearing on the FOX Broadcasting variety show Celebrity Duets, paired with Chris Jericho of WWE fame in 2006.

A&M released his newest album, an instrumental work titled "Fingerprints" on September 12, 2006. His band consists of drummer Shawn Fichter, guitarist Gordon Kennedy, bassist John Regan, and keyboardist/guitarist Rob Arthur, and guest artists such as members of Pearl Jam, Hank Marvin, and his bassist on Frampton Comes Alive Stanley Sheldon."Fingerprints" was awarded the 2007 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album on February 11 2007. He also made an appearance on the Chicago based PBS television show Soundstage in February 2007.