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Frampton Comes Alive

January 5, 2012 by · Comments Off on Frampton Comes Alive 

Frampton Comes Alive, Peter Frampton’s famous 1954 Gibson guitar – the one from the Frampton Comes Alive! album – has shown up after 31 years… just in time (!) for the 35th anniversary tour of that massively best-selling album.

In a telephone interview with the New York Times, Frampton details this bizarre story:

In 1980 while Frampton was on his way to a gig in Panama, a cargo plane carrying his gear crashed and burned on takeoff in Venezuela. Passengers died, and all contents of the plane was apparently lost, including his favorite guitar.

Turns out the Gibson was rescued and has been played by a local musician on the nearby island of Curaçao for decades. The unnamed musician took the guitar in for repairs two years ago, and it was recognized. And the guitar repairman is also a customs agent. Oh, and a huge Frampton fan. (If this were a t.v. movie, nobody would believe it.)

So for the past two years, negotiations had been fierce, and with the help of the head of Curaçao tourism, the guitar was finally secured and returned to Frampton last month in Nashville, where it is in hospital for minor repairs.

Frampton said in a statement: “I am still in a state of shock, first off, that the guitar even exists, let alone that it has been returned to me. I know I have my guitar back, but I will never forget the lives that were lost in this crash. I am so thankful for the efforts of those who made this possible. Now that it is back I am going insure it for 2 million dollars and it’s never going out of my sight again! It was always my #1 guitar and it will be reinstated there as soon as possible.”

The guitar was a gift to Frampton in 1970 while he was a member of Humble Pie and was his baby for that band’s two classics Rock On and live Rockin’ the Fillmore.

For those of us who knew Peter as a ripping guitar player before he was a pop star, this reunion of guitar and man could be the centerpiece of the anniversary.

2012 Tour Dates for Frampton Comes Alive Anniversary Tour:
2.01.2012 Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center, York, PA
2.03.2012 Lynn Auditorium, Lynn, MA
2.04.2012 Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, Worcester, MA
2.07.2012 State Theatre, Portland, ME
2.08.2012 Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ
2.10.2012 Palace Theater, Albany, NY
2.11.2012 Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA
2.14.2012 Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford, MA
2.16.2012 Theatre at Westbury, Westbury, NY
2.18.2012 Beacon Theatre, New York City, NY
2.19.2012 Warner Theatre, Washington, DC
2.21.2012 Midland Theater, Newark, OH
2.22.2012 Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, OH
2.24.2012 Caesars Windsor -The Colosseum, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
2.25.2012 Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
2.27.2012 Gillioz Theater, Springfield, MO
2.29.2012 Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI
3.01.2012 Old National Centre, Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
3.07.2012 Mesa Arts Center- Ikeda Theate, Mesa, AZ
3.09.2012 Pechanga Resort and Casino, Temecula, CA
3.10.2012 Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino, Indio, CA
3.12.2012 Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, CA
3.14.2012 Long Beach Terrace Theatre, Long Beach, CA
3.16.2012 Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, NV
3.17.2012 Marin Center, San Rafael, CA
3.19.2012 Craterain- Ginger Rogers Theater, Medford, OR
3.20.2012 Cascade Theatre, Redding, CA
3.23.2012 Pantages Theater, Tacoma, WA
3.24.2012 Cordiner Hall, Walla Walla, WA
3.27.2012 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
3.28.2012 Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel & Casino, Deadwood, SD
3.30.2012 Peabody Opera House, St Louis, MO
3.31.2012 Orpheum Theater, Omaha, NE

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