Last Saturday's 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Cleveland was full of memorable moments. However, one definite standout was Peter Frampton's performance alongside Keith Urban. Long considered overlooked by Rock Hall, Frampton finally received his honors at a critical moment for the inventive guitarist, who is currently battling a degenerative disease.
Frampton was introduced by The Who's Roger Daltrey and promptly treated audiences to a stellar rendition of Baby (Somethin’s Happenin), complete with a blistering guitar solo on his Gibson "Phenix" 1954 Les Paul Custom.
“This is fantastic, thank you. I wanna bring on a dear friend of mine for a very long time, a great singer-songwriter and guitar player,” Frampton said with a smile, as Urban joined him on stage.
The country star was fully equipped with his 40th Anniversary Fender Telecaster for a solo-dueling Do You Feel Like We Do, featuring a shortened version of Frampton's signature talk box solo – which typically stretches up to 20 minutes in his concerts.
“That’s the one everybody wants to hear,” Frampton told Billboard, “so we edited that down, and that includes jamming with Keith as well.”
Urban added: “When he called and asked me if I’d play that song, of all songs, I was very happy to get to do it. It was amazing getting to play with Peter. He’s just got such a control over sensitivity and dynamics and intents. He makes it look easy, but it’s really hard to do what he does. He’s like a black diamond (trail) skier making it look like a green. It’s insane.”
Meanwhile, Daltrey gushed about Frampton's pioneering work and performance, noting: “It was fabulous to hear the sound of real guitars instead of all the fuzz box shit that they put out these days, detuned. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll. It’s not music… and it was wonderful to hear Peter’s guitar sound and Keith and the band work together, and the sensitivity in (Frampton’s) voice.”
In recent news, Frampton claimed he was forced to cancel a live show after Megadeth damaged the stage during their soundcheck a few nights before his scheduled performance.
