Peter Frampton surprised everyone with his rare appearance years after he announced his retirement from touring.
The 2023 CMT Awards dedicated a segment to honor Lynyrd Skynyrd. The tribute was to mark the 50th anniversary of the band's debut album.
Aside from the band as a whole, Gary Rossington was also honored by several musicians, including Frampton.
Peter Frampton Gives Time To Honor Late Friend Gary Rossington
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Facebook page confirmed in March that Rossington passed away at the age of 71. He previously suffered a heart attack in 2015 and underwent emergency heart surgery in 2021.
Frampton, who had been Rossington's good friend until his death, made a rare appearance to honor the late musician.
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"I'm here tonight to honor a dear friend and tourmate who we lost very recently. Gary Rossington was a southern rock icon and an original founding member of our beloved group, Lynyrd Skynyrd," he said as he stood in front of the crowd with a cane, per People. "Alongside Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins. Gary not only helped define the band's sound, he inspired millions of fans and musicians."
The 72-year-old rock icon noted that Rossington has joined the other Skynyrd bandmates in heaven. Still, he comforted fans by saying that they would still enjoy their music forever.
Peter Frampton's Health Condition
Frampton announced his last tour in 2019 and the health condition he was diagnosed with.
He told "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Anthony Mason that he has a rare degenerative muscular disease called inclusion body myositis. It led him to decide to put an end to his touring life.
At that time, he revealed that he was diagnosed with it after a fall on stage years before his revelation. The condition then progressed gradually, leading him to feel the effects even more.
"What will happen, unfortunately, is that it affects the finger flexors," he went on. "That's the first telltale sign is the flexors, you know. So for a guitar player, it's not very good."
Frampton told Classic Rock magazine in a separate interview that the disease also affected his legs.
In 2021, Johns Hopkins Division of Rheumatology magazine LEAP reported that he provided the medical facility with new insights to help medical professionals treat IBM.
According to Muscular Dystrophy Association, IBM is the most common disabling inflammatory myopathies that cause progressive weakness of the muscles of the wrists and fingers of a person.
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