Peter Frampton (Photo: Amy Harris; used with permission)
On February 22, 2019, a few months before he turned 69, Peter Frampton announced his farewell tour. A day later, in an interview that aired on CBS This Morning: Saturday, Frampton revealed that he has a rare and incurable muscular disease that causes the muscles to weaken slowly.
Frampton told CBS This Morning 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.
After four studio albums as a founding member of Humble Pie, Frampton launched a solo career. His first three albums were moderately successful and yielded no hit singles. That all changed, of course, with the spectacular success of Frampton Comes Alive!, the two-record live set that topped the sales charts for weeks and made him a star.
Related: When Frampton Comes Alive! hit #1
That momentum helped his follow-up studio album, I’m in You, reach #2 in the U.S. and he’s continued to be a popular draw on the road. Inexplicably, Frampton has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Peter Frampton Finale—The Farewell Tour began June 18, 2019, in Tulsa, Okla. Its final North American date was Oct. 12 in Concord, Calif., near San Francisco.
[On Dec. 12, 2019, Frampton announced a European edition of the tour for 2020. On April 21, 2020, he canceled it, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 28, 2022, came the surprise announcement that he would play several U.K. and European concerts in November 2022. Tickets are available here.]
At the Concord Pavilion on that Oct. 12, 2019 night, Frampton played a 16-song set, including such classic rock favorites as “Show Me the Way,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” and “Baby, I Love Your Way.”
After a slide show featuring photos of Frampton through the years, he opened with 1974’s “Baby (Somethin’s Happening)”
Frampton was born April 22, 1950. On his 70th birthday, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he wrote: “I’m staying home and my girlfriend Robin and I are both going to dress up and have a romantic birthday dinner. The best, most exciting part of the evening will be deciding where we’re going to eat. I’m thinking guest bedroom, haven’t eaten in there yet.”
Watch him perform “Show Me the Way”
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
Watch him perform his longtime showpiece, “Do You Feel Like We Do”
As he has done throughout the tour, Frampton closed the concert with a cover of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Related: Earlier in 2019, Frampton and Eric Clapton shared the stage for the first time to perform the song
He remains active. On April 23, 2021, he released Frampton Forgets the Words, featuring instrumental tributes to some of his favorite songs including ones by David Bowie, George Harrison and Stevie Wonder.
He also published the 304-page Do You Feel Like I Do?: A Memoir in Oct. 2020, via Hachette Books.
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationFrampton quiting is the saddest, that alive album has still a very majical atmosphere and his latest blues album is brilliant showing he still had much to give us I wish him all the best his music has been with me all my life. He is a really nice man I asked him a question once on Facebook and he responded I couldn’t believe it.
I saw his setlist for the show on another site, and was surprised he didn’t throw in a Django Reinhardt tune. Peter is a big fan of his, for one thing. And especially since Django was someone that overcame adversity(had to adjust his p[laying style due hands being damages in an accident).
Have something similar hang strong sweet man
We saw Peter for the first time last September 20th at Crossroads guitar festival and it was great, 2 days later we saw his full show in Dallas and it was great!