Peter Frampton’s musical career began as a teenager, playing with The Trubeats, who were managed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. His next band, The Herd, had several hits while Frampton was named “The Face of 1968” by U.K. teen magazine Rave . Shortly after that, Frampton joined the band Humble Pie alongside The Small Faces’ Steve Marriott. Along the way, Frampton became an in-demand session musician, performing on recordings by Jerry Lee Lewis, Harry Nilsson, and The Who’s John Entwistle.
Before Frampton’s solo career began in the early 1970s, one of his key sessions involved playing with a Beatle. Explained Frampton on the red carpet of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ 2017 Ripple of Hope Awards to Hype Magazine , when asked about his favorite career moment so far, “At Abbey Road Studios, overdubbing acoustics for All Things Must Pass . Especially jamming between takes with George [Harrison], I still get chills thinking about it.”
This particular session was not Frampton’s only Beatles-related moment. His debut solo effort, 1972’s Wind of Change , featured playing by drummer Ringo Starr and Beatles collaborator Billy Preston. In 1978, Frampton portrayed “Billy Shears” in the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band , as inspired by the Beatles album of the same name. Frampton has toured with Starr as part of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, and in 2014 was one of the participating musicians in the television special The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles .
THE RIPPLE OF HOPE AWARDS DINNER HELD IN NY ATTENDEES ALEC BALDWIN, USHER,AND MANY MORE https://t.co/CNZqDqGQuG pic.twitter.com/3JWJwSa4Xy
— CelebrityScoopMag (@CelebScoopMag) December 14, 2017
Beatles aside, Frampton continues to keep busy as a writer and performer. In 2014, Frampton released Hummingbird in a Box: Songs For a Ballet , a collection of music written for a 2013 performance by the Cincinnati Ballet. His next release will be a reissue of his 2006 effort, Fingerprints , which will be getting its first-ever release on vinyl. Frampton also recently announced a 2018 tour alongside The Steve Miller Band.
Frampton was not the only major name in attendance of this year’s Ripple of Hope Awards event at the New York Hilton. Other notables present included host Alec Baldwin, honoree Harry Belafonte, Kerry Kennedy, Tony Bennett, Kenneth Cole, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Gloria Steinem, Usher, and Colin Kaepernick. Reportedly, the event raised over $3 million for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization.
Honored to have performed #WeAreTheWorld with the Sing Harlem Choir & friends last night at the @RFKHumanRights ‘ Ripple Of Hope Awards???????? Special congratulations to Mr. @HarryBelafonte on the award. Amazing night! pic.twitter.com/X3KNxZBUoZ
— Usher Raymond IV (@Usher) December 14, 2017