Peter Frampton made rock and roll history in the 1970s when his two-disc “Frampton Comes Alive” sold 11 million copies, more than any other live album up to that point.
Now, the veteran guitarist and singer-songwriter is making medical history as he bravely battles inclusion body myositis (IBM). It’s an autoimmune disease marked by chronic, progressive muscle inflammation, muscle weakness and degeneration, fatigue, disability, and — in early stages — dizziness and a propensity for falling.
“To say that Peter has made history in music and in medicine is accurate in every way. He has now two legacies,” said Frampton’s rheumatologist, Dr. Lisa Christopher-Stine, who is the director of the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center in Baltimore.
These two legacies are inextricably intertwined for this 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee — onstage and off — with or without a guitar in his hand.
“Every note I play now is so much more important to me because I know one of the notes I play will be the last I play within my lifetime,” said Frampton, who now uses a cane and performs seated rather than standing. He concluded the spring leg of his “Never Ever Say Never” tour Sunday in San Diego.
“I’m a very optimistic person and am dealing with what I’ve got,” Frampton continued. “My life has taken this course, and I’m fighting for what we want, which is a cure.”
Best known for such hit songs as “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do?”, Frampton is walking the walk and talking the talk in his quest to combat his disease, find effective treatment therapies and bring attention to other people with IBM.
In 2019, he publicly disclosed his condition during an interview on “CBS This Morning: Saturday.” He established the Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at Johns Hopkins to raise money for research.
On what Frampton thought would be his farewell tour in 2019, he made extra time to meet with fans who have IBM after each concert. For all intents and purposes, he became the public face of IBM, using his public profile to bring attention to a medical condition many people had previously not known about.
The Myositis Association gave Frampton its 2023 Patient Ambassador Award. This honor was in recognition of his “extraordinary effort and success” in raising awareness of myositis diseases, raising funds to support TMA and its educational mission, and his championing legislative advocacy initiatives for rare diseases, including myositis.
‘A beacon of hope’
“Peter is a beacon of hope for so many,” said Dr. Christopher-Stine.
“He has such a great, positive attitude and is still enjoying being a master of his craft and sharing it with others. He’s not unrealistic; he’s very aware of some of the physical decline that has occurred to him over the years. But he hasn’t let it discourage him. He has done a great job of galvanizing people to have empathy for his condition without ever feeling sorry for himself.
“He has increased his odds of functionality longer because he’s so attentive to his physical health, and exercise is nonnegotiable for him. He provides a message for people, with and without this disease, that he will continue to play his guitar as long as he can. I’m so glad he had it in his heart and mind to create a research fund at Johns Hopkins. Everyone is on ‘Team Frampton.’ I think he’s amazing,” Christopher-Stine said.
Frampton will turn 74 on April 22. This is the first year he has made the ballot as a candidate for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, even though he has been eligible since the 1990s.
He spoke to The San Diego Union-Tribune on April 1 for more than an hour. His interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: When we spoke in 2014, you told me you never concentrated so much on your guitar technique as much as your choice of notes. Is that even more the case now that you have inclusion body myositis?
A: I think it’s the same. I’ve never really changed my MO. But what I have to do now is I create new ways (to play) because I’m a fighter and I’m not giving up. I have weakness in my fingers, yes, but I have created different paths to get to the end point of what I want to play. And I am inspired by all the musicians I’ve read about that don’t have full use of their left hand on the guitar, or any instrument, and how they have altered their way of playing and fingering and stuff like that.
Q: You were diagnosed with IBM in 2015. Does music mean something more or different to you now than it did before then?
A: Yes. I savor every note now. For the things I think of that I can’t play, I quickly work out what I can do at that point, and it’s different and I like it. So, there’s an upside and I’m always looking for an upside. I think: “Wow, I wouldn’t have played it that way (before).” And if the end result I want is not there, it’s very sad. But right now, I’m basically having the time of my life. I can’t believe the audiences and I can’t believe where I am at in my career at this point. I never thought I’d be back playing at this level. So, every day is a great day for me.
Q: You announced your “Finale: The Farewell Tour” and subsequent retirement in 2019, after revealing your BMI diagnosis. You resumed performances in late 2022. What happened that made you realize you could continue to tour? And is it muscle memory, mental determination, exercise, or all three, that enables to you keep playing?
A: It’s the love of guitar, the love of my music, first of all. But in 2019, I had a really bad fall on a boat in Maui and I broke some bones in my back. I was with my daughter, Mia, on the last day of our holiday. I went straight from Maui to New York to find a publisher for my (2020) book (“Do You Feel Like I Do? A Memoir”). I was with my manager in a taxicab, and I said: “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to play at this level, and I don’t want to play when I’m not at my peak. So, that’s what drove the “Finale: The Farewell Tour.” I felt I was still at the top of my game, which I was.”
Q: What happened next?
A: Then, I stopped. But with my love of playing guitar, I had to give into myself and say: “I don’t care if I’m not at the top of my game — my band can’t notice the difference, so maybe it’s OK. Because I was adjusting, I thought: “I’ll go back on my promise to myself that I wouldn’t go out and play when people said: “He’s not as good as he used to be.” Well, I’m getting people saying I’m playing better than I used to, which I don’t understand. It was a reassessment of what’s important to me: to not play and be able to get that (previous) level of enjoyment, or to play and be slightly different. I made that decision, and I said: “I don’t think we can plan a year ahead.” But when my agent came to me with another concert date offer, I said “Yes,” and that was two-and-a-half years ago.
Even though I’m sitting down now when I play, I’m having the time of my life and people are cheering me on. I think the audiences know what is going on — not all of them, but a lot of them — and know I’m a fighter and that I’m not giving up. Everybody likes a fighter. I do. So, it’s pretty incredible, the warmth and love I get from the crowd at each show is indescribable to me. It’s very emotional and I can’t thank them enough… I’m not one to toot my own trumpet, but I’m doing great!
Q: How has the way you phrase and inflect on guitar changed, or has it?
A: I don’t think people notice too much. I never used to be a constant shredder. I used to play a little faster than I do now. Each note I play is so much more important to me now. A guitarist might know or might see certain things, or be able to tell there are certain (differences) in my playing. But what I’ve done in the adaptation of my fingering is working, and I do what I can. Sometimes, I go for things I can’t quite do and that’s probably when another guitarist might note that something is up.
I’m professional enough to know what I can and can’t, do. But I don’t think many people notice. My band says to me: “It’s a different way of playing you do now; it’s more mature, more selective.” And for me, it’s just as enjoyable.
Q: Your set list this year, and in recent years, has included a number of songs from your days in the band Humble Pie in the early 1970s, including “Four Day Creep” and “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” Those are both pretty high-velocity songs. How similarly or differently do you play them now?
A: With the same intensity — I haven’t lost that! We kick into another higher gear for those two Pie numbers and that’s no problem for me. It’s built into me. Some nights, I do a little speech to the audience to thank them. I tell them I was worried about my playing, and that, yes, my hands are being affected. But the truth is, when I pick up a guitar and sit down and put my hands on it, my fingers know what to do. This is my 60th year of touring, so they better know!
Q: Are you surprised by the longevity of your career? Even the Beatles thought they would only last as a band for five or 10 years.
A: I’ve always been a person who lives in the moment. That applies to my guitar playing, as well as the way I regard life! I live in the now because yesterday’s gone —and, tomorrow, who knows what’s coming? I don’t want to know what’s coming. I have never thought: “How old will I be when I stop?” Wait. Is today the first of April? So, this interview is taking place April first? This really isn’t an interview! It’s a joke! Ha ha ha ha. I don’t think ahead. I’ll always call someone at the last minute, and say: “Aren’t we supposed to be doing…?” Ha ha ha ha!
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