Peter Frampton and  Director (and fellow musician) Rob Arthur kicked off the 57th Nashville Film Festival on Thursday, September 24, 2026, showing their documentary “Frampton” to two theaters packed with film and music lovers. A local resident since 2014, Frampton and Arthur stopped in each theater prior to the showing of the 104 minute documentary and delivered  remarks.

Frampton acknowledged that the film would be “the entire story—-the good and the not-so-good.” It was not quite everything that has happened in his amazing life, but the bio-pic covered a lot of ground.It seemed long at 104 minutes,  but the audience, now exposed to films that routinely run 3 hours, seemed okay with its length.

Now 76 and afflicted with a degenerative muscle condition known as Body Myositis that has him using a cane, the accomplished musician who literally owned 1976 after “Frampton Comes Alive,”  his breakthrough album was released, made remarks to the assembled audience that urged perseverance. A Frampton quote  “You have to accept the things you cannot change.  I learned that in AA (2002) and in many other places  What I have is not life-threatening, but it is life-changing, and I’m going with the flow.” “Frampton Comes Alive” stayed on the Billboard ranks for 97 weeks, 10 of them at Number One and spent 55 weeks in the Top 40. It was the third-best selling album of 1976.

DOWNFALLS

Peter Frampton in the 1970s.

After tremendous success, a cover photo (shirtless) by fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo caused Frampton to be viewed less seriously as a musician. It was a miscue akin to Burt Reynolds’ centerfold appearance when his “Deliverance” appearance had critics mentioning Oscar nods. Director Cameron Crowe, who gave Frampton a job as technical advisor for his 2000 film about the rock life, “Almost Famous,” agreed that that photo, plus Frampton’s appearance in the turkey “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with the BeeGees, a Robert Stigwood production, were missteps that led to Frampton’s downfall after huge success. For “Almost Famous” Frampton had to teach lead actor Billy Crudup to play guitar in just 6 weeks. (Frampton also had a small role as a tour manager,) Crowe gave much credit to Frampton for nailing the film’s 1973 authenticity,

INTERVIEW SUBJECTS

Connie Wilson at work covering the 57th Nashville Film Festival on September 24, 2026.

Frampton’s first wife, Mary Lovett (1972-1976) spoke. She alluded to Frampton’s leaving her for J. “Penny” McCall, but spoke of him in a friendly fashion, with references to Penny’s drug use and dalliances with other men, which was discovered by Frampton upon his return to his small Bahamas house. Wikipedia put that second relationship this way: “Frampton was sued by J. “Penny” McCall in 1978 for palimony. McCall asked for Frampton’s earnings during the five years that they were together. According to McCall, she left her husband and gave up her job as a rock promoter and devoted herself full-time to Frampton, just as he achieved superstar status. A New York judge ruled that Frampton and McCall never intended to marry each other and “never held themselves out to the public as husband and wife” and dismissed her complaint because to act otherwise would condone adultery. The case set precedent in New York, “All three of Frampton’s kids, Jade, Julian and Mia appear and speak of his recent fragility due to his health issues. Peter has performed with his son, Julian.

INTERVIEW SUBJECTS

Those featured on the documentary, talking about Frampton’s prowess as a musician from an early age included Ringo Starr, Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Bill Wyman, Kate Hudson, Cameron Crowe, Sheryl Crow, Matt Pinfield and Tom Morello—as well as archival footage of David Bowie. Bowie (then David Jones) was a student in Beckenham, Kent at the Bromley Technical School where Frampton’s father was head of the art department and taught Bowie (who used to spend lunch hours with Frampton playing Everly Brothers songs.) Bowie reached out in 1987 and invited Frampton to join him on his Glass Spider tour, which helped revitalize Frampton’s career. Another good friend (who wrote him a check for $100,000 when Frampton found out he was penniless because his manager had stolen from him) was Music Producer Ahmet Ertegan, co-founder and president of Atlantic Records.

PERSONAL LIFE

Married three times with three children, Frampton and others mused on life at the top and the demands of fame. Also, the pressure of  always striving to “best” one’s previous highs was tremendous.These remarks echoed some by Mick Jagger in a recent New York Times interview.Today, Frampton acknowledges the importance of family, but, at the peak of his fame, he was touring nearly all of the time. After the Bahamas incident, Frampton got drunk and  crashed his car, almost losing his arm.

Still, Frampton has a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, introduced by old friend Roger Daltrey, who wondered why it took so long to vote him in. Daltrey said that there weren’t many people he’d fly all the way to Cleveland in January to introduce, [which caused me to laugh out loud.] Sheryl Crow performed “Every Day Is A Winding Road” at the January, 2024, induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Crow shared a touching story of attending a Frampton concert “live” at the age of 14, her first, that made her think she would like to do that for a living.

TRUE FRIENDS

David Bowie, who was taught art by Frampton’s father, the head of the art department at Bromley Technical Schoot in Beckenham, Kent was an old school classmate who helped him when he was down and out. Another old friend who appears on the documentary was former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, who met the young Peter Frampton at age 14 and was amazed by his talent.  Wyman  used the young man in a group when Frampton was just a teenager.

PITFALLS OF FAME

The familiar saga of a manager ripping off the star and the star’s struggles with substance abuse featured  in the documentary, which was well-received by the crowd and opens  a week of films in a year with quite a few fewer major studios release on the festival circuit —a trend started by “One Battle After Another” last year, which skipped the festival circuit and went directly to theaters.

Peter Frampton at the  57th Nashville Film Festival from September 24-30, 2026.

 

Archival footage from the UK (Susanne Salvati) and the U.S. (Paul Cain) were edited into an entertaining look at much of the career of the musical master of whom Ron Wyman (a Rolling Stone for 30 years) said, meeting him in 1965 at the tender age of 14, “God Almighty! This kid is amazing!” Daniel E. Atullo was thanked specifically by the documentary’s star and director for shepherding the film through to completion.It is a tribute to an indomitable spirit, a true talent and a man who refuses to give up.  “I am stronger than I thought.”

As we filed out of the theater on this opening night, the song Peter Frampton was playing onstage, as the film’s credits rolled, was “My guitar gently weeps.”