Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive! (40th anniversary)

Today (January 6th) marks the fortieth anniversary of Peter Frampton's double-disk live album Frampton Comes Alive!. This landmark record spent a total of ninety-seven weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, ten weeks of that were spent at the number 1 spot.

For my full album review, click here.

For more from Frampton, click here.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (soundtrack) (35 anniversary)

Today (July 23rd) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band, the soundtrack to the 1978 musical starring Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees and more.

Click here for my thoughts on the film and the album.

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive!

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

After four solo albums with marginal sales and chart success, Peter Frampton released a double-disk live record that finally hit the mark. Frampton Comes Alive! went to number 6 on the UK charts and number 1 in Canada. In the US the album spent ten weeks (ten percent of its incredible 97 weeks on the US Billboard Album chart) at the number 1 spot and was certified multi-Platinum. Of course, it helped that the record company reduced the price on its release to $7.98, only a dollar more than the standard price of $6.98 that most single disk albums went for in 1976. Who couldn’t resist a bargain, especially during those tight economic times? As no surprise, Rolling Stone magazine’s readers voted it the “Album of the Year”.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (soundtrack)

Welcome to another "Soundtrack Sunday" on this Oscar Night 2011, the night Hollywood honors the biggest films from the previous year. My choice for today's blog entry is from a film that is so far away from Oscar-worthy material, however it has some great music.

I'm speaking of the 1978 film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a musical that starred Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, Frankie Howard, George Burns, Paul Nicholas, Sandy Farina, Dianne Steinberg, Steve Martin, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Earth Wind & Fire and Stargard. The story is told entirely in song, as Billy Shears (Frampton) and the Henderson brothers (the Bee Gees) leave Heartland to become a famous band - leaving the idealized town prey to corruption when magical instruments are stolen by evil forces. Yes, you read that right. It is kind of a wonky plot. It was actually an adaption of a 1974 off-Broadway production.