Peter Frampton has recounted a particular incident so frequently that it almost seems staged, despite the fact that it still obviously bothers him. He and his son Julian were carrying guitars on a hiking trail in Big Sur, California, and when they came to a rise in the path, Julian had easily climbed ahead. Frampton reached the summit, breathing more forcefully than was comfortable. He was sixty years old. It felt harder than usual, he told his son. He believed he was simply growing older. He was mistaken.
It would take years to fully resolve the story that begins with that trail moment in Big Sur. Frampton, whose live album Frampton Comes Alive! was released in 1976, started to notice things that didn’t quite add up after he spent ten weeks at number one and became one of the defining rock faces of that decade. He was exhausted after a backstage Frisbee toss. The physical demands of a working musician who had performed live since his early teens were not met by the overall heaviness of movement. Most of it was dismissed by him. Long-career musicians do that. When you’ve been living at full speed for decades, it’s easy to mistake aging for illness.
Reference: AXS TV
Then, in just three weeks in 2015, there were two falls on stage. Every time he stood up, the audience seemed to laugh it off with him. However, a pragmatic person could not continue to rationalize away falling twice in such a short window. In Nashville, where he had just moved, he visited his physician. Since his last visit, he had lost ten pounds. It felt like a signal, too.
The subsequent neurological examination was subtly concerning. After instructing him to form a fist and hold it, his doctor easily forced his fingers back open. Frampton was instructed to jump ten times on each leg. No issues with the right leg. He scored four on his left leg. Following tests, including a muscle biopsy, the diagnosis was inclusion body myositis (IBM), a neuromuscular disorder that gradually weakens and wastes muscle. At first, the neurologist suspected ALS. The good news was that it wasn’t ALS. But IBM was a unique kind of bad news.
Because inclusion body myositis is so uncommon, many general practitioners only occasionally come across it. Although it is progressive and incurable, it is not fatal. It targets different muscle groups in patients in ways that are not fully understood. The hands would be a guitarist’s first concern because the finger flexors are frequently among the afflicted areas. Frampton had anticipated severe hand impairment when she initially visited rheumatologist Lisa Christopher-Stine at Johns Hopkins.
Instead, she discovered something remarkable: decades of focused playing had maintained Frampton’s finger dexterity in ways that defied the disease’s usual course. She pointed out that his dominant right hand was actually weaker than his fretful left. Her advice to other IBM patients changed as a result; she started suggesting musical instruments like the piano or guitar as a useful way to preserve muscle.
Frampton has discussed the diagnosis in a straightforward manner, which is, to be honest, uncommon for a public figure dealing with a degenerative illness. Both fake optimism and stoicism are absent. He admits to having darker times. He claims that the illness has increased his empathy, saying that passing a stranger now feels different after sitting in a neurologist’s office, having your worst fears identified, and then partially walking back. He started the Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at Johns Hopkins and has been traveling ever since, describing the illness as it truly is—life-altering rather than fatal. He was on a tour titled “Never Say Never” in 2023. It’s difficult to avoid seeing something subtly rebellious in that name.
The hands continue to function. He claims to notice changes gradually and incrementally, such as a slight loss of power or an occasional adjustment. However, decades of muscle memory developed long before any diagnosis existed kick in when he picks up a guitar. He hasn’t yet lost that much, at least.
FAQs
Q1: What illness was Peter Frampton diagnosed with?
He was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis (IBM) in 2015.
Q2: Is Peter Frampton’s illness fatal?
IBM is progressive and incurable but not fatal.
Q3: When did Frampton first notice something was wrong?
Early signs appeared during a hiking trip in Big Sur around 2010.
Q4: How has Frampton’s guitar playing been affected?
Decades of practice have remarkably preserved his finger dexterity despite IBM.
Q5: What has Frampton done to help others with IBM?
He established the Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at Johns Hopkins.