Peter Frampton Reveals Degenerative Disease, Feverishly Recording Music Before It Takes Over Body
Famed guitarist Peter Frampton announced on Friday that he has a medical condition that will prevent him from touring much longer.
He told “CBS This Morning” that his next tour will be his last. He was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, an incurable rare degenerative muscular disease, three and a half years ago after he fell on stage.
“At the beginning of the next tour, I fell one more time. “Wow, he must be getting old!” I guess they just thought that,” Frampton told Rolling Stone. “Yes, we did keep it to ourselves until there was a need to bring it up. The need is now because right now I can play great guitar and we are recording like maniacs at my studio in Nashville.”
The episode caused Frampton to stop touring at the time as the condition progressed.
Frampton initially feared telling his children the news, but he then realized they needed to hear it from him.
“But I said, ‘Look, it’s not life-threatening. It’s life-changing.’ … They’ve been phenomenal, everyone. Every one of my ex-wives have been wonderful, I have to say,” he told “CBS This Morning.”
Frampton fell again while on vacation with his daughter in Maui, Hawaii. This caused him to really consider his health and start the process of leaving the tour scene.
“What will happen, unfortunately, is that it affects the finger flexors,” he said. “That’s the first telltale sign is the flexors, you know. So for a guitar player, it’s not very good.”
Despite his condition, Frampton can still play his coveted guitar and has not lost his singing voice.
“There is another part to the disease that can affect swallowing, but it’s only 50 percent of the people that have it,” Frampton told Rolling Stone. “I don’t have it, thank goodness. I’ve been lucky. And that wouldn’t affect my singing voice either. That’s all good.”
He told “CBS This Morning” that he has been recording new music to share with his fans.
“Between October and two days ago, we’ve done like 33 new tracks,” Frampton said. “I just want to record as much as I can, you know, now, for obvious reasons.”
“We’ve done two albums already. I want to record as much as I can in the shortest space of time. We’re actually working on three projects. I’m very much feeling that I’m playing like always. Some people are saying even better, but I’d let them say that.”
Frampton has been performing for fans since the 1960s when he played with the English band The Herd.
He then played guitar for the rock band Humble Pie after it was formed in 1969, and the group’s music made its way up the British charts.
Frampton quit the band in 1971 to become the solo artist that fans know and love today. He released “Frampton Comes Alive” in 1976 and the live album stayed at No. 1 for 10 weeks.
Over the next 10 years, Frampton would suffer from fickle fans but finally found his way with the help of David Bowie who he toured with in 1987.
Frampton’s farewell tour will take place this summer, where he will delight fans like never before.
“In a year’s time, I might not be able to play,” he told Rolling Stone. “If I’m going to do a farewell tour, I want to play good. I want to rock it. I know that this tour, I will be able to do everything I did last year and the year before. That’s the most important thing to me. I want to go out screaming as opposed to, ‘He can’t play anymore.'”
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