Peter Frampton Being Honored With Les Paul Spirit Award

Peter Frampton performs during Live at The Music Center: Concert Celebrating Jerry Moss, Co-Founder of A&M Records at The Music Center on January 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Music Center

Legendary musician Peter Frampton is receiving a very special award to honor his life and accomplishments, the annual Les Paul Spirit Award (in partnership with Gibson Gives), on June 9, 2024. The award is presented each year to a musician “who exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music.” In addition, a grant will be made in Frampton’s name from the Les Paul Foundation to the charity of his choice.

Frampton joined the supergroup Humble Pie and achieved huge success in the United Kingdom when he was just 18 years old. In the ’70s, he left the group and released his first solo album titled Winds of Change. He changed history in 1976 with the release of Frampton Comes Alive!, which featured a talk box to create an unprecedented sound. His hit songs “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “Show Me the Way” are perfect examples of how his innovation and experimentation changed the music industry forever. Frampton has also been named a 2024 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and continues to write and perform despite a diagnosis of body myositis in 2019, which causes muscle weakness.

English-American rock musician and singer Peter Frampton, UK, 29th September 1971

McCarthy/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

“I cannot think of anyone more fitting to be honored with this year’s Les Paul Spirit Award than Peter Frampton. Not only is he an extraordinary talent who has given us an amazing array of extraordinary music, but he is an innovator who understands music, technologies, and the spirit of Les Paul,” says Michael Braunstein, executive director of The Les Paul Foundation. “If Les were still alive today, I have absolutely no doubt that he and Peter would be experimenting together at Les’ house. I am personally thrilled to be able to present Peter with this award because I know he exemplifies everything Les was about and wanted to accomplish. I want to also thank the Gibson Gives Foundation for partnering with us on this exciting annual award and for everything they do to keep Les’ name alive.”

Peter Frampton performs onstage at One More For The Fans! - Celebrating the Songs & Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd at The Fox Theatre on November 12, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Blackbird Productions

The award itself is meant to showcase how no two artists are alike, as they are made from hand-carved acoustic boards built by Les Paul, and no two are the same. Congrats to Frampton!

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May 2019

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