In 1976, there was no more popular rock star on the planet than Peter Frampton. His live album Frampton Comes Alive! spent 10 weeks at the top of the charts Billboard that year, and it outsold Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Wings and every other artist at the top of the charts.
But this was impossible to top, and just over a decade later, he joined David Bowie's backing band, his recording career having stalled completely. However, in the 1990s, he established himself as a very popular performer and continues to perform to this day, despite being slowed by the muscle-wasting disease inclusion body myositis.
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It's a stunning rock 'n' roll story of endurance and resilience, and a new documentary «Frampton »", directed by his longtime bandleader Rob Auther, tells the entire saga. The film will premiere on June 4 at the Tribeca Film Festival, and its trailer will be exclusively released at Rolling Stone .
«"He was the guy who went on a journey where no other rocket had gone before," Cameron Crowe says in the trailer. "This is the pinnacle of rock, right here.".
The film also features interviews with Tom Morello, Kate Hudson, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Bill Wyman, Tommy Shaw, Alice Cooper, Herb Alpert, Roger Daltrey, Chris Lord-Alge, Mary Lindes, Nancy Wilson, Julian Frampton, Mia Frampton, Jade Frampton, Rob Arthur and, of course, Peter Frampton himself.
In 2019, Frampton said Rolling Stone on the long-term challenges Frampton's album Comes Alive! has created for his career. "It's a phenomenon where when something becomes so popular for whatever reason and spreads worldwide, it starts to weigh on you until you get to a point where you can't listen to it anymore," he said. "I truly believe we got to that point. And you know, I really wanted to hear myself on the radio, and then it got to a point where I was like, 'I wish they didn't play me so much.'".
Frampton hasn't toured since November 2025 and has no concerts scheduled. However, he will be attending the Tribeca Film Festival for the film's premiere. Tickets for the documentary are available on the festival's website.
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