A Moment In Time With Peter Frampton

[drumbob]

I met Peter Frampton around 1980 after he had that great success with Frampton Comes Alive. I was doing artist relations for the Guild Guitar Company at the time and had contacted Peter's management to bring a solidbody up to his home for him to try in hopes of landing his endorsement.

I drove up through Westchester County, New York, to the town of Croton-On-Hudson, where Peter lived at the time. His gated estate was surrounded by a fence, with a guard at the entrance. I was admitted after showing my Guild credentials and proceeded to the house, which was modest by rock star standards. There were a few other buildings on the property, including what appeared to be two other houses. I rang the bell.

Peter himself answered door and welcomed me warmly, leading me into the living room, past walls decorated with gold and platinum albums and singles, artwork, family photos and more. We sat and chatted for a few minutes, and Peter invited me downstairs to his "guitar room." Sitting in a rack were the iconic instruments he played in concert; the black triple pickup Les Paul Custom; the Fiesta Red pre-CBS Strat he used on "Show Me The Way;" and the old black Gretsch Duo Jet he played with The Herd and Humble Pie. There were many other guitars, but I remember these three.

He let me play every one of them, although my guitar skills weren't much at the time.

Then, Peter said, "I want to show you something."

He opened the door to a built-in fireproof vault, and came out with a coffin-like guitar case made of wood. He removed an ancient Selmer guitar severely in need of repair, and exclaimed, "This was Django Reinhardt's guitar."

Then, he went back in the vault and came out with a Coral Electric Sitar.

"This was Jimi Hendrix's. He gave it to me in England. The strings are corroded, but I won't change them. It's exactly as it was when I got it from Jimi."

At this point, my eyes must have been like saucers.

We soon went back upstairs and into Peter's kitchen.

"How about some coffee?" Did you think I was about to say no to Peter Frampton?

Peter boiled water, and when it was ready, he began mixing up a coffee-flavored concoction with sugar and cream that I had never tasted.

"Johnny Halliday, a French rocker, taught me how to make 'fake espresso' this way."

I don't recall how Peter did it, but the 'fake espresso' was delicious.

When we were finished, Peter played the Guild S-300D I had brought, said he liked it, and agreed to endorse the instrument. He signed our standard endorsee form. We chatted a little bit more about Humble Pie, he signed a few autographed photos for co-workers at Guild, and I made my way home to northern New Jersey. Peter Frampton was down-to-earth, likeable, a gracious host, friendly, and completely lacking in rock star attitude.

Unfortunately, he never took delivery of a guitar and therefore, never officially endorsed a Guild electric. I still don't know why.

[jps]

That was a quite an encounter, to say the least, Bob! it is so nice to hear of these folks as being real, down to Earth people. When I lived in L.A. and selling pro camera gear at some of the bigger camera shops there I met ( got to know a few) a whole slew of movie stars; with the exception of a couple prima donnas, all were great, friendly people, who it seemed, their job just happened to be acting.

[kiramdear]

How refreshing. I always like hearing that the people I admire actually deserve it.

[beatlefreak]

Cool story, Bob.

[winston]

One of my favourite artists. He is a great guitarist and thanks to your very well told story Bob, I can now add that I have it by good authority that he is also a very cool and down to earth person.

Thanks Bob, I love reading your stories.