How a brutal hangover led to Peter Frampton’s greatest song
Greatness can arrive at songwriters when they least expect it. Or, in the case of Peter Frampton, at a time when he’d rather have been anywhere else than in a recording studio. However, Frampton was forced to work on music despite suffering from an incredibly testing hangover, which would have left him bedbound if it weren’t for his unmovable commitments.
In 1973, Frampton was recording his second album, Frampton’s Camel, at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City. While in the Big Apple, the English musician allowed himself to enjoy the fruits of NYC and drink its bars dry. However, on this occasion, burning the candle at both ends proved to be a miraculous formula, inspiring him to write a classic track.
Frampton’s Camel didn’t perform well upon release, but when Frampton earned his big break in 1976 with his debut live album, Frampton Comes Alive, ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’ finally found an appreciative audience. The double LP introduced Frampton to a whole new audience, and at long last, his back catalogue was appreciated.
Despite previously ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’ being ignored, Frampton Comes Alive made the song become beloved by a mass audience. Furthermore, the track is an immense source of pride for the guitarist, who named it the one song he wants to be remembered for, to GuitarWorld in 2017.
Reflecting on the creative process which spawned ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’, Frampton explained how it was born out of a fragile mind. He remarked: “It started as a song about a hangover. I woke up with a wineglass by the bed and then went to rehearsal with a hangover. I started playing these chords I’d come up with on the acoustic the night before—D-F-C-G-D—which became the chorus. I added this riff we’d been jamming on in rehearsal, and it all came together. The guys in the band said, ‘C’mon, Pete, write some words—it’s almost there.'”
Frampton continued: “I said I couldn’t, that I had this really bad hangover. They said, ‘Well, sing about that.’ So I started with, ‘Woke up this morning with a wineglass in my hand.’ Nowadays, that’s as far as I get before the audience takes over and sings the whole thing.”
As much as Frampton could recite the chord structure he’d crafted the previous night before the drinking took over, lyrics were a no-go. There was nothing else on his mind besides his hangover, but thankfully, with encouragement from his bandmates, Frampton could channel his brittle frame of mind into his words.
It proved to be a starting point, which Frampton used to create a song that still causes mass hysteria whenever it is performed. The guitarist added: “When I emphasise the second ‘you’ in the chorus, ‘Do you—you…’ everybody’s arm is in the air, pointing. I didn’t know it when I wrote it, but when I start involving the audience, then the personal suddenly becomes universal. And then it’s not my song anymore—it’s everybody’s.”
As Frampton says, ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’ no longer belongs to him. Yet, that’s an achievement that most artists strive to achieve with their songs, and he has a brutal hangover to thank for being successful in the endeavour.
