Peter Frampton has looked back on how he got his hands on one of Jimi Hendrix’s most experimental instruments – which he later used in David Bowie’s band
The Humble Pie legend often finds himself at the heart of intriguing gear stories. The tale of how he ended up with one of only three electric sitars that were once owned by Hendrix is no exception.
“I was finishing [1977 solo album] I’m in You at Electric Lady in New York, which was Jimi’s studio,” Frampton recalls in the new issue of Guitar World.
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“As we were leaving on the last night, the studio manager came out with a guitar case and said, ‘We’ve really appreciated you being here; I hope you had a good time. We have something here that we think Jimi might have wanted you to have.’”
Plenty of Hendrix’s gear has ended up in the hands of notable players, often as gifts. Frank Zappa acquired the Strat Hendrix charred at the Miami Pop Festival in 1968, Vito Bratta recorded a White Lion classic with his black Strat, and even My Chemical Romance’s Ray Toro has gotten in on the action.
But when the studio manager opened up the case that day, Frampton was caught off guard.
“I was expecting it to be a Strat, but they opened it up and showed me this electric sitar, and I went, ‘Oh, my God,’” he recalls. “Jimi’s road manager Gerry Stickells once wrote, ‘Jimi had three electric sitars. I know where two are, but I can’t find the other one.” [Laughs] I’ve got it here!”
Stickells can consider that mystery solved, then, and Frampton later put the sitar to use in Bowie’s band. It’s believed that Bowie himself used it to track Zeroes, from 1987’s Never Let Me Down, with Frampton taking it to the stage.
Frampton’s tenure with Bowie came at a key point in his career. A chance to join the Who fell through at the time, with Frampton telling GW in 2022 that Bowie helped him regain his “credibility”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Frampton revealed how he met his new favorite guitar player at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch during a private all-star party.
To read Frampton’s interview in full, grab a copy of Guitar World magazine today. Paul McCartney is the cover star, with the feature tracing 60 years of his finest riffs.
Copies can be ordered from Magazines Direct.
