Peter Frampton Reunited With Guitar After Three Decades
After 31 years, Peter Frampton has been reunited with his cherished electric guitar—a 1954 Gibson Les Paul. The guitar, a gift from a fan during Frampton’s days with the band Humble Pie, was thought to be lost in a plane crash in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1980.
According to The New York Times, Donald Balentina, an amateur luthier and Frampton fan in the Caribbean island of Curaçao, told an almost unbelievable story. A local musician had been playing the guitar for 30 years unaware of its history when he brought it to Balentina for repairs. After getting verification that it was indeed Frampton’s guitar, Balentina spent another two years convincing the musician to part with it.
The reunion took place last month in Nashville and just happened to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the album “Frampton Comes Alive.” On the cover, you'll see the beloved Gibson.
War-Torn Afghanistan Turns to Music
In central Kabul, music drifts out of the only music academy in the country. Ahmad Sarmast, head of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, told Reuters, “We are committed to build ruined lives through music, given its healing power.”
The academy, formed two years ago, sits on the former site of the School of Fine Arts, which closed in the early 1990s as civil war engulfed the country. Things went from bad to worse for musicians when the Taliban took over in 1996 and banned music outright.
The academy currently has 140 students, a third of which are girls, and upon graduation all will be awarded internationally recognized music diplomas. Sarmast hopes that the school will help revive the once music-rich region and that one day his graduates will form Afghanistan’s first national symphony orchestra.
New Edition Plans Tour for 2012
Getting a jump on the 30th anniversary of “Candy Girl” (1983), New Edition is planning a reunion tour for 2012. According to CNN.com, Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill (who originally joined in 1988) will hit the road performing their classics like “Candy Girl” and “Cool It Now” starting Feb. 10 in Louisville, Ky.
The group got their start in 1978 and was heavily influenced by the Jackson 5. Regarded as one of cornerstones of the New Jack Swing style and as one of the first boy bands, New Edition’s success spawned other projects like hip-hop trio Bell Biv DeVoe as well as the solo careers of Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown. Their last studio recording as New Edition was 2004’s “One Love.”
Tour dates have been announced through May and tickets are on sale now.
Sir Paul McCartney Releases New Album
Sir Paul McCartney’s new album is set for release on Feb. 7, and the legendary Beatle is having some fun. The new album “Kisses On the Bottom” is a tribute to the songs he remembers from his childhood, a collection of standards, as well as two new McCartney compositions—“My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts”—according to his website.
He chose the title as a nod to Fats Waller. He covers Waller’s 1935 song “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” the lyrics of which contain the phrase used as the title of McCartney’s new disc. The 16-track release also features the classics “It’s Only a Paper Moon” and “The Glory of Love” and has guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Krall.
Compiled by Stacy Fogarty.
