Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Peter Frampton continues to defy the odds by playing live and has now added a guest spot with Pearl Jam in Nashville to his growing list of 2025 performances.
When the "Show Me the Way" guitarist embarked on his 2019 farewell tour, he did so in light of his inclusion body myositis diagnosis, believing his playing days were numbered. The degenerative disease, which he has been battling against for 10 years now — six of which have been in public — progressively weakens muscles throughout the body. But since that run of dates came to a close, he's proved that, though his legs aren't what they used to be, his chops are as sharp as ever.
Speaking to Guitar Player in the wake of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction last year, Frampton says he isn't sure if his body could take touring, and so 2025 is proving to be a year of guest appearances for the guitarist.
He’s already made a surprise appearance at the Martin booth during NAMM 2025 and has since taken on a Beatles classic with Grace Bowers and Trey Anastasio and, to make it a hat trick, he’s teamed up Seattle icons Pearl Jam, playing "Black" at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on May 8.
“This gentleman was someone we looked up to before the Ramones,” frontman Eddie Vedder had told the crowd before welcoming Frampton onto the stage. “Some of our first guitar heroes, [like] Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend, he was right up there.”
In particular, it seems his 1976 live LP, Frampton Comes Alive!, has resonated with the band.
“It was one of the reasons why we loved live records, and later we decided to release bootlegs because of his influence,” Vedder says.
“He’s such an incredible human being on top of it. It is our honor because at this point he’s become a good friend to the group we get to play with him tonight.”
Guitarist Mike McCready and drummer Matt Cameron — who is set for his second Hall of Fame induction when Soundgarden are honored later this year — featured on Frampton’s 2006 record, Fingerprints. They guested on a cover of “Black Hole Sun,” which saw Frampton’s signature guitar style handling Chris Cornell’s iconic vocals.
Holding Frampton’s presence in high regard, McCready sits back for the performance, letting the 75-year-old prove that age is just a number with crooning-but-biting licks played on a Les Paul through a clear-as-glass clean tone.
Every note I play now is so much more important to me because I know one of the notes I play will be the last
Peter Frampton
McCready opts for an all-white Fender Stratocaster for the spot, offering a yin and yang vibe between the guitars, while the song’s main melody floats around Frampton’s playing.
Discussing the future of his guitar-playing career with Guitar World in April '24, Frampton put his emphasis on making the most of the time he has, rather than counting down the days with a sense of dread and solemnity.
“Every note I play now is so much more important to me because I know one of the notes I play will be the last I play within my lifetime,” he said. “But what I have to do now is create new ways to play because I’m a fighter, and I’m not giving up.
“I have weakness in my fingers, but I have created different paths to get to the end point of what I want to play.”
The guitarist’s pioneering and resilient attitude saw him honored with the Spirit of Les Paul Award last year. He’s also spoken to Guitar Player about guitar lessons learned from George Harrison, which often ended with scribbling obscure tunings down on cigarette packets.
