Peter Frampton’s ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ Guitar Reunion Footage Surfaces

Peter Frampton’s long-lost guitar was recently discovered after its disappearance in a plane crash 32 years ago. In 1980, a cargo plane carrying Frampton’s equipment for an upcoming show in Panama crashed, supposedly destroying all of the instruments on board including Frampton’s cherished 1954 Gibson Les Paul.

Thanks to the unyielding work of two dedicated fans, one in Holland and one on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, as well as the CEO of the Curaçao Tourist Board, Frampton was reunited with the guitar in an emotional meeting last month in Nashville, TN.

The Curaçao Tourist Board helped acquire the guitar from an individual after hearing news that they may indeed have a lead on the long lost and beloved guitar. Together in Nashville, TN at the Gibson Custom Shop, with experts from Gibson Guitar and Peter Frampton, the team confirmed it was the original guitar long missing from Frampton’s collection.

Frampton’s custom guitar was given to him in 1970 by a man named Mark Mariana when
Humble Pie played at the Fillmore West. Frampton borrowed Mariana’s guitar for the show and afterward tried to buy it from him, “But to my surprise he said he couldn't sell it to me—he wanted to give it to me!” he notes.

Frampton played the guitar exclusively on Humble Pie’s Rock On and Rocking the Fillmore
albums. The guitar also appeared on a number of sessions for other artists including George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, and John Entwistle. Most notably, Frampton played the guitar on the electrifying Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the top-selling live records of all time.

This morning (Monday 2/13), Frampton's Facebook Page sent out the footage.

"Here's a video trailer from all the footage we have taken so far from when my lost guitar came (literally) back into my life Dec 12th 2011. It was lost for 31 years with me believing it had burned in a fiery plane crash in 1980. I will re-introduce it at the Beacon Theater, NYC this Saturday Feb 18th."

As you can see from the footage, the guitar was beat up and weathered, but in remarkably good shape despite it's 'adventure'. The Gibson guys did wonders!