Rock and roll is here to stay, but apparently prized instruments get lost along the way.
Legendary guitarist Peter Frampton got a pleasant and unexpected prize last month when one of his favorite guitars was returned to him after being missing for more than three decades. Frampton used his beloved instrument most famously on the album Frampton Comes Alive but also on two Humble Pie albums and sessions with solo Beatle George Harrison and Harry Nillson. The classic 1954 Gibson Les Paul model was a gift from Humble Pie member Mark Mariana. The talented Frampton never once had to use the guitar to bash a critic.
The formerly long-haired musician and his favorite were separated when a plane loaded with his equipment crashed on its way to Panama in 1980. In addition to the lives lost in the disaster, Frampton assumed his guitar had also been destroyed.
Not so, as two faithful fans tracked down the instrument finding it in the possession of a man on the island of Curacao in the Caribbean. The Curacao Tourist Board aided in retrieving the Gibson and returning its former owner in Nashville. Gibson confirmed that this was Frampton’s long-lost music maker. With the instrument back in his hands, the artist now vows not to let it out of his sight. In addition, he says he’ll insure it for $2 million. That’s more than the $1 million policy for Troy Palamalu’s hair but less than the $13.3 million policy Formula One driver Fernando Alonso has on his thumbs.
What is it about things lost more than 30 years? Just recently, PopFi brought you the unlikely story of a couple recovering an engagement ring lost in a toilet 36 years ago. Unlike the young married couple who knew exactly which toilet held their lost engagement ring, Frampton thought his precious possession was long gone, which may make this even more unlikely.
