Peter Frampton (Photo: Amy Harris; used with permission)
A new album of covers, All Blues, by the Peter Frampton Band, was released on June 7 via UMe. The album is a collection of Frampton’s favorite blues classics and was recorded with his longtime touring band, made up of Adam Lester (guitar/vocals), Rob Arthur (keyboards/guitar/vocals) and Dan Wojciechowski (drums).
“Georgia on My Mind,” was released in advance. Of the song, which was written by Hoagy Carmichael, Frampton explains, “It’s the standard. I’ve heard Ray Charles kill it, I’ve heard Steve Winwood kill it and I would never attempt to sing this song. There’s just too many great versions by so many great singers. I decided we would do this song as an instrumental. It’s turned out to be a highlight on this record and just shows the versatility of the band.”
All Blues was recorded at Frampton’s studio in Nashville, Studio Phenix, and was co-produced by Frampton and Chuck Ainlay. The album features additional collaborations with Larry Carlton, Sonny Landreth and Steve Morse.
The vinyl is available as a double LP and also as a limited-edition translucent blue color pressing exclusively at PeterFrampton.com. The double LP includes the bonus track “I Feel So Good,” which was written by Big Bill Broonzy and popularized by Muddy Waters.
Listen to “The Thrill is Gone,” with Frampton on lead vocals
The Peter Frampton Band
Of the album, Frampton explains in a press release, “I have always loved to play the blues. When we formed Humble Pie, the first material we played together was just that. For the last two summers I had been playing a handful of blues numbers every night on stage with Steve Miller Band. I enjoyed this immensely and it gave me the idea of doing an ‘All Blues’ album live in the studio with my band. We started the resulting sessions 9 days after coming off the road last year. Over a two-week period, we recorded 23 tracks, all live in the studio. The energy of these tracks is completely different from building a track one instrument at a time. With this recording, we pay tribute to all the original artists who invented this incredible music. I hope you can hear and feel our enjoyment. I’m not sure if you can say we had fun playing the blues. But we definitely did.”
Listen to “She Caught the Katy”
“I Just Want To Make Love To You” (featuring Kim Wilson) was the first song to be released from the new album.
Frampton announced earlier this year that he will mount his farewell tour. The classic rock legend, in an interview that aired February 23 on CBS This Morning: Saturday, revealed that he has a rare and incurable muscular disease that causes the muscles to weaken slowly.
The primarily U.S. run, announced on Feb. 22, Peter Frampton Finale—The Farewell Tour presented by SiriusXM, and produced by Live Nation, will begin on June 18 and continue throughout the summer and fall.
Frampton revealed his condition to CBS This Morning: Saturday co-host Anthony Mason and said that he is recording many tracks so that he will be able to release new music. “Between October and two days ago, we’ve done like 33 new tracks,” he told the broadcaster. “I just want to record as much as I can, you know, now, for obvious reasons.” He said that he was diagnosed with the condition about three and a half years ago, after a fall on stage. “What will happen, unfortunately, is that it affects the finger flexors,” he explained. “That’s the first telltale sign is the flexors, you know. So for a guitar player, it’s not very good. It’s not life-threatening. It’s life-changing,” he added.
Watch the CBS This Morning segment
The tour will feature special guest Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, as well as Julian Frampton on the west coast stops, with additional surprise guests to appear on select dates.
Tickets are available here.
Frampton remains one of the most lauded artists in rock history. He just celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his fifth solo album, Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the top-selling live records of all time, with over 17 million copies sold worldwide.
At age 16, he was lead singer and guitarist for British band The Herd. At 18, he co-founded one of the first supergroups, seminal rock act Humble Pie. His session work includes collaborations with such legendary artists as George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, David Bowie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, John Entwistle, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam), among many others.
Related: Peter Frampton interview
Frampton has appeared as himself on television shows The Simpsons and Family Guy. He also served as technical advisor on Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous as well as appearing in it and writing songs for the soundtrack. In 2007 he won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album for Fingerprints and in 2014 he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame.
Inexplicably, he has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He turned 69 on April 22.
Peter Frampton Finale—The Farewell Tour (Tickets are available here and here)
June 18—Tulsa, OK—Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa+
June 20—Little Rock, AR—Robinson Performance Hall
June 22—Montgomery, AL—Wind Creek Casino & Hotel+
June 23—Chattanooga, TN—Tivoli Theatre+
June 26—Memphis, TN—Orpheum Theatre+
June 27—Nashville, TN—Ascend Amphitheater*
June 29—Salamanca, NY—Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino*^
June 30—Bethel, NY—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts*
July 2—Pittsburgh, PA—Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
July 3—Syracuse, NY—St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview*
July 5—Montreal, QC—Montreal Jazz Fest- Place des Arts: Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier+
July 7—Gilford, NH—Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion*
July 9—Boston, MA—Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion*
July 10—Philadelphia, PA—The Met Philadelphia*
July 12—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center*
July 13—Stayner, ON—Roxodus Music Festival+
July 23—Traverse City, MI—Interlochen Center for the Arts-Kresge Auditorium+
July 25—Detroit, MI—DTE Energy Music Theatre*
July 26—Morgantown, WV—MountainFest Motorcycle Rally*+
July 28—Chicago, IL—Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island*
July 29—Cedar Rapids, IA—McGrath Amphitheatre
July 31—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 2—Minneapolis, MN—Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater*+
August 4—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
August 5—Kansas City, MO—Starlight Theatre*
August 8—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center*
August 11—Atlanta, GA—Ameris Bank Amphitheatre at Encore Park*
August 16-21—Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean+
August 30—Charlotte, NC—PNC Music Pavilion*
September 1—Albany, NY—Saratoga Performing Arts Center*
September 2—Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun Arena*
September 4—Jacksonville, FL—Daily’s Place*
September 6—Miami, FL—Coral Sky Amphitheatre at the S. Florida Fairgrounds*
September 7—Tampa, FL—MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds*
September 10—Simpsonville, SC—CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park*
September 11—Washington, DC—The Anthem*
September 13—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden*#
September 14—Raleigh, NC—Coastal Credit U”nion Music Park at Walnut Creek*
September 21—Houston, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman*
September 22—Dallas, TX—The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory*
September 24—Albuquerque, NM—Sandia Resort & Casino*+
September 26—Phoenix, AZ—Comerica Theatre*
September 28—Las Vegas, NV—Red Rock Resort Spa & Casino+
September 29—Temecula, CA—Pechanga Casino-Pechanga Summit*†
October 2—San Diego, CA—Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU*†
October 3—Paso Robles, CA—Vina Robles Amphitheatre*†+
October 5—Los Angeles, CA—The Forum*†
October 6—Tuolumne, CA—Black Oak Casino Resort-Westside Pavilion*†+
October 9—Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre*†
October 10—Portland, OR—Ilani Resort & Casino-Cowlitz Ballroom*†+
October 12—San Francisco, CA—Concord Pavilion*†
*with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening
†with Julian Frampton
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
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