Here is another example of how time flies. Peter Frampton recorded the first of two shows at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on this day 44 years ago. Songs from these sets would make their way onto his chartbusting live album Frampton Comes Alive. Frampton Comes Alive is highly regarded as one of the best live albums ever. It sold over 6 million copies in 1976 alone and it spent 97 weeks on the charts.
There are several options for songs I could choose to feature for today’s post, but I am going with ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ based on the pure rock and roll experience you perceive in the video I shared in the introduction. I realize that it is from a show at nearby Oakland Coliseum a little over one year later, but it captures the adoration of fans toward Peter Frampton in the mid ‘70s. Watch the women in the crowd as the camera focuses on them. It is intriguing. They are in heaven as the sexy rocker sits on a stool before the massive crowd and strums his acoustic guitar and sings his ode to the woman he adores. Every girl in the audience truly believes he is singing to them, as they gaze up at the stage.
‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ was written by Peter Frampton in 1975 and it was originally released on his self-titled album Frampton that same year. It was the live version that was released a year later that really grabbed people. Peter Frampton’s solo career was highly anticipated as a result of his previous work with Steve Mariott in Humble Pie. After Humble Pie broke up in 1971 Frampton recorded a few unspectacular solo albums before capturing lightning in a bottle with ‘Frampton Comes Alive. Somehow everything came together. It was the biggest selling album of 1976 and at the time it became the #1 live album in terms of sales, of all time. It is believed Frampton Comes Alive now resides at #4 in that category. As the album soared in the charts he was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine in a shirtless pose. The success of the album and the extreme exposure this cover granted, resulted in an image that Frampton would come to regret. Almost overnight, Frampton became regarded as a sex symbol rather than a legitimate rock star and nearly as quickly as the mass hysteria came, it went. It was almost as though he had become cursed by fame. His follow up album I’m in You’ was considered a flop and in 1978 Peter Frampton made the disastrous decision to be a part of Robert Stigwood’s. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. Later in 1978 he was nearly killed in a car accident in the Bahamas. In 1980, he released an album called Rise Up, and he intended on touring it in Brazil. He had sent his equipment on a cargo plane ahead of him and shockingly the plane crashed, killing three crew members and less importantly, but still troubling he lost his equipment, including the black Les Paul custom guitar that he had used since his Humble Pie days. The same guitar that was famously pictured on the cover of Frampton Comes Alive. In a bizarre twist of fate, the guitar was recovered in 2011 and returned to Frampton.
In between those years Peter Frampton performed with several iconic acts remaining visible, but less prominent. Most notably he was perceived as immensely talented and viable. One of the most noteworthy collaborations was his work with long time friend David Bowie on Bowie’s 1987 Glass Spider Tour, and as a part of Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band in 1995. He is still touring to this day, but in so many ways his success goes back to the iconic Frampton Comes Alive release. One of his most successful tours in recent years was the Frampton Comes Alive 35th Anniversary Tour in 2011 where he and his band recreated the iconic album. The career points I have touched upon here don’t even come close to representing his musical contributions, nor do they reflect how highly regraded he is among his peers. The issue seems to be, to way too many he was regarded as a one album wonder, or sadly as a sex symbol pop star in the mold of David Cassidy, Sean Cassidy or Leif Garrett. Unfortunately, at this time this is how male rock stars were being packaged. As much as he enjoyed staggering success for a period of about two years, the adulation was unsustainable. Fortunately, he remained relatively stable through it all and as a result he retains a ton of credibility through a wide circle to this day. When it all comes down to it, that is a true testament to his character and his talent.
Here is the original album version of ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’.
Here is the version from Frampton Comes Alive.
When a song or album is as huge as Frampton Comes Alive it is natural that other acts are moved to pay tribute. ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ is no exception. Check out his beautiful version by Big Mountain. This reggae act from the ‘90s does a great job in interpreting Frampton’s feel. This cover was very big in 1994/5.
Perhaps most intriguingly, the great Diana Ross covered Peter Frampton at the height of his success in 1977. I save this version to close out this post because I feel it adds to Peter Frampton’s credibility as an artist and it speaks to my point. He was and remains a very important singer, songwriter and guitarist over the past 50 years, and he is very highly regarded by his contemporaries.
Have a great day!
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