Gibson Guitars Celebrate Peter Frampton With Custom ‘Phenix’ Les Paul
Gibson has announced it will celebrate the iconic Peter Frampton this year with the release of the new Peter Frampton “Phenix” Les Paul Custom VOS guitar from Gibson Custom Shop.
Peter Frampton’s career began at the age of 16, when he became the lead singer and guitarist for the British band The Herd. By 18, Frampton had co-founded one of the first supergroups: Humble Pie, which included Steve Marriott (Small Faces), Greg Ridley (Spooky Tooth) and Jerry Shirley (The Apostolic Intervention).
A multi-platinum-selling artist, his fifth solo album, Frampton Comes Alive!, remains one of the top-selling live records of all time, having sold more than 17 million copies worldwide.
In 2007, Frampton won the GRAMMY Award for “Best Pop Instrumental Album” for Fingerprints and in 2014 he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame, alongside Buddy Guy and Barbara Mandrell.
As a touring musician, Frampton worked with an array of fellow stars, including David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Gregg Allman, Ringo Starr, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick and Steve Miller Band. While his session work includes collaborations with artists such as George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Entwistle, and Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam.
Frampton released his memoir, Do You Feel Like I Do?, in October 2020, where it debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list, and covers everything from Frampton’s childhood, his friendships with fellow rock musicians including David Bowie and The Beatles, as well as his struggles with depression, physical afflictions, divorces, and band breakups.
Speaking about his custom Gibson, Peter Frampton said: “My brand-new Gibson Les Paul Custom VOS is here and boy is it good.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the look and sound. Gibson has gone that extra mile in every area to make this feel and sound the closest to my original, storied Phenix Les Paul Custom guitar. The neck and weight of this mahogany guitar will amaze you at how great it feels and how light it is (and it’s even a hair lighter than the Phenix). This is the real deal. Thank you, Gibson!”
While Mat Koehler, the Head of Product Development at Gibson Brands said: “It was such a thrill and a privilege to work with Peter on this project.
“Thanks to recent technology we were able to get the guitars to feel and sound closer than ever to Peter’s iconic original. The incredible craftspeople at Gibson Custom Shop are proud to honor Peter’s indelible legacy in music with these instruments. Each one is inspiring and magical like the man himself.”