Peter Frampton has been eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1998 but wasn’t nominated until this year. That long wait might be because his inclusion is based more on talent and influence than popularity.
His biggest hit was ‘I’m in You,’ which reached #2 for three weeks in 1977. I’d never heard that song before looking it up to write this blog entry. Same goes for his other top ten hits, ‘Show Me the Way’ and ‘Do You Feel Like We Do.’ I just haven’t encountered those songs over the years the way I have so many other 70s classics.
The one Frampton song I do know is ‘Baby I Love Your Way,’ which didn’t chart as high as those others but still feels like a much bigger deal.
Frampton had only one Platinum studio album — 1977’s I’m With You — and that one was riding the coattails of his one huge success, 1976’s live album Frampton Comes Alive!
That record was the best-selling album of its year and sold more than 8 million copies in the U.S. alone. For a time, it was the all-time top-selling live album, before being moved down the list by Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Eric Clapton.
Assuming Frampton didn’t earn his way into the Hall based on one album, I’m curious if any of this blog’s readers are familiar enough with his work to make the case for him.
I wonder how you’re feeling
There’s ringing in my ears
And no one to relate to ‘cept the sea
Who can I believe in?
I’m kneeling on the floor
There has to be a force
Who do I phone?
[Pre-Chorus]
The stars are out and shining
But all I really want to know
[Chorus]
Oh, won’t you show me the way
I want you to show me the way, yeah
[Verse 2]
Well, I can see no reason
You’re living on your nerves
When someone drops a cup, and I submerge
I’m swimming in a circle
I feel I’m going down
There has to be a fool to play my part
[Pre-Chorus]
Someone thought of healing
But all I really want to know
[Chorus]
Oh, won’t you show me the way
I want you to show me the way
I want you day after day, yeah
[Verse 3]
Yeah, I wonder if I’m dreaming
I feel so unashamed
I can’t believe this is happening to me
[Pre-Chorus]
I watch you when you’re sleeping
And then I want to take your love
[Outro]
Oh, won’t you show me the way
I want you to show me the way
I want you day after day, yeah
I want you day after day, hey
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m quite familiar with the hit songs from “Alive” as they were played frequently on classic rock radio stations. Frampton’s commercial success is largely if not entirely from that album, much like Carol King with Tapestry.
Probably the coolest part of his songs is on”Do You Feel” where he sings through the pickup of the electric guitar.
I think that, for his influence and the monster success of Alive, he deserves a place in the Rock Hall. I’m actually surprised it took him so long to be inducted.
Only his name sounds familiar to me. Don’t know his music 🤷♀️
“Framton Comes Alive” was a monster album in 1976. I couldn’t turn on the FM radio without hearing any of the singles pulled from it. It’s funny though, 5 years later I saw him live at the local roller skating arena in a suburb of Montreal. That’s how far he fell from grace in a matter of a few years. After “Alive” in 1978 he starred in the horrific musical film produced by Robert Stigwood (Saturday Night Fever”, “Grease”), “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” that also starred the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind and Fire, Aerosmith, Akice Cooper and a handful of others … a terrible, terrible movie that I recommend any music fan watch if just to see how bad a musical movie with some heavy hitters can be. This vehicle definitely played a part in his fall from grace. All this said, he is a brilliant guitar player, and was on the short list to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones in the early 70’s. Insofar as whether he belongs in the R&R Hall of Fame? In my opinion the bar for that “honor” has been lowered quite a bit over the years … just about anyone can get in … so why not Frampton?
Rob, I remember that movie. It was terrible, though I don’t think that is to blame for Frampton’s popularity declining so quickly. I’m not sure when he started losing that fabulous hair that made him a big sex symbol in the mid 70’s, but that may have contributed to his star fading.