good evening from los angeles, i am tavis smiley, frampton becomes alive of the best singer/congresong writer. he will perform his new song "i saved a bird today," from peter frampton in just a moment.

♪ and by contributions by your pbs station from viewers like you. ♪ thank you. please welcome peter frampton, grammy award winning, after starting his first band at the age of 10. he came arrive in the '70s and sold millions of that copy. he has a new single out which called i sa"i saved a bird toda" so delighted to have peter

frampton. i am honored, sir. >> i am honored my friend. >> thank you for coming in. before i do that, tell me about the lyrics of your new song. i was interested in reading them. >> i wanted to see if i can save it so i googled how to save a bird on your balcony. >> there was something there. >> in nashville and so i did manage to save this thing but the kicker was, i had to call it back because the bird came around and was sort of peacocking around my balcony but would not leave. i called it back and she said well, tell me more of the bird

and she discovered it was an american coop. she started laughing, wow, it is just one thing about, it is one of a handful species of birds that'll not take off from land, it will only take off from water. i said you are kidding me. yeah, i got the river down the streets there. hade to box it up and take it down and and show it the water. as soon as it saw the water, it kicked me and the box and jumped in the river there and ran across the water. it was just me and it was like 6:30 at night and it was getting dark and the light of the city. i saved a bird today. i told gordon, my writing partner for 18 years and it ended up being a song. >> it is about saving a bird but

it is much more about tlas line in there and the reason we are here to look after one another basically. >> that's the line that arrested me. >> yeah. >> so it is something that i thought it is timely. everything is haywired as far people respecting other people and that really bothers me and so i just -- when gordon and i got together, he came up with lyrics for it and i just went, this is so perfect. it is not about the bird anymore, it is about us looking after each other. >> after all th years, you no long amaze and taken aback by the entry points to riding

music. i mean i am not a song writer but it is just amazing to me that a bird finds her way onto your balcony and that turns into a song. you are not surprised that you find inspirations in the most interesting of places. >> yeah, i called gordon right after thit and i told him the story. you could never guess. it is not a song but you know, the next thing we got together it is a song. [ laughter ] >> you never know, do you? >> gordon is phenomenal. we are a great team together. >> the phrase that you used at and i heard somebody going oh in the studio and you said it was signature real madness. since mr. trump was elected and i had so many conversations, i

have asked artists coming on the show of what they think of the role of the citizen artists is. when you use a phrase like signature real madness, you have a take on that. >> madness is signature reurrea. you did not need the surreal in front of it. because of the first amendment and i get criticized by speaking out because of my platform of having more followers than the general person maybe. i think that's wrong. i have the right to say whatever i want to. it got to a point where i found things right now, where it is to a point where it is crazy. >> i could go on and on. >> it is pbs, we have time. [ laughter ] >> okay.

i just think the person who we have running this country is not wo r tho worthy of the position at all. my person view is when he led into trump that he was thinking of running before, that definitely cemented his run and his ammo is to undo everything. no matter if it is good or bad or indifference is to undo everything he's done. >> since you live in nashville, it is the center of your state the, mr. corker, i was asked of bob corker the other day, i sounded off of something of the effective, it is interesting to

me of what happened when people can be free. what i meant by that is the minute corker announced he's not running for election again, this guy is telling the truth left and round. he's no longer bound by having to run. he's giving trump business these days and these two guys going back and forth. he represents your state. what do you make of this with corker and mr. trump. >> i find it sad that he has to not be running to be able to speak his mind and the republicans are not speaking out more about this disaster situation. >> it is just one of those things where the man lies all the time and everyday and tells us what a great job he's doing. >> you are going to love it, you are going to love it. believe me, believe me. >> believe me.

[ laughter ] >> since we are talking about nashville, it is interesting to me and obviously, artists starting vinstar starting individuals and they have to live their lives in their own terms. it is interesting to me when people leave the city and go some place else for whatever reasons. what has done for you and why did you do it? >> we had an earthquake here. that explains it. the why says we are leaving. >> yeah. >> we went to phoenix for about a year. i got asked to do a writing trip for nashville. all the best and so many great song writers are there and musicians. and as i got into the car to go to the airport, my wife says, i hope you like it.

i called and i said, i love it here and it is great and we moved there late in the '90s. >> aside from getting away from the earthquakes, does it do something to you artistically and creatively. i always summarize by and in los angeles and new york and i lived in both places where you meet up with somebody, lets get together and write and you don't and in natu nashville it is like you have to fend off the invitations and everybody works together and there is a lot of different people, fantastic writers and fantastic players. when we errrecorded "save the b today." i could omnivore dream about some where else.

they. >> reporter: all there and you call them up the day before and they come down. it is just the kmupt that i like and the people are friendly and it is like living and still a small town. it is growing too fast. it is a small town field but it is a city. >> when you say players, i am thinking now of all the persons that you collaborated. you are one of these greats. tell me what you taken away from the value of and the joy and all the collaborations you had with everybody from george harrison and bb king. i have been lucky to be at the right place and right time, i think. thumping and being introduced to george harrison in london and in the studio and he knew who i was

which floored me. >> yes, i love to play and this is the beatles. it was unbelievable. i got to play with him there. and all these incredible players and then a couple of weeks later he called me back and said i am making my first solo record, would you come and play some accu accoustic with me and i said okay. >> uh-huh. >> i go down and i tracked about fiver or six of the songs with

him. a and our producer, killer producer. [ laughter ] >> so it is just me and george sitting and in front of the glass over dbbing the whole album and in between and jamming. it does not get any better than that. >> i am glad you mention that they called him the fifth needle. billy does not get as much love as he deserves. i miss him. you are talking about a keyboard that's extraordinary he and clous and nikki all came to the first record. i went around the session and excuse me, mr. president, can i get a number because i am going

to make an album. so it was like i got the roster of the record company and i made my first a&m record at the time and they said you got what coming and who's playing? >> yeah, it was amazing. >> jerry moss was no fool and he understood exactly what he had on his hands when you guys go t around to do the big project. you talked about it so much and asked about it so much but it is impossible to not talk to you of the impact that live album had. as you look back from this distance, what do you make of the impact that project had on your career? >> it was a crazy period to me because we went from opening the bill in a matter of weeks.

i remember going to getting a short breaks and the bahamas and right before we went on tou tour, '76. we had one show book to cobegan, detroit. when i came back, we had four shows booked. it was like what happened? over night, after 16 or 15 years of playing in the business, it seems like i kaem out of nowhere and i was 26 when the record came out. i was 25 when the record came out actually. so it was heavy stuff for me and looking back on it now, i am surprised that i got through it. it is funny to think now but it was the biggest selling record in the world.

>> in a revolutionized live recordings. >> well, there were many live recordings. as i listen to you talking about how massive that thing was and the impact it had on you. the flip side of that success so early on when you had a project that's so big that there is this pressure to sort of repeat that. it is like michael jackson expecting what he did after "thriller." michael was the artist and you are the guy that's feeling the pressure. you are here and michael ain't. tell me how that felt when you are doing something that's massive and after that, what do you do? >> well, first of all, i could not do another live record.

there is something about way i come across record live, there is something extra. it is somomething that i enjoy so much, on the record, it makes you smile and you can feel the enjoyment. i don't know why it was so big. the thing of going back to the studio to do the follow up which would have to be a studio record. i did not want to go back to the studio because i needed i had six years to write the materials for "comes alive" and as well as four of my own album.

i was expected at this point to do a year later coming up with bomba bombastic songs. it was a lot of pressure and i thought i lost it before i started it in a way. >> everyone sort of say, well, you better go out and do another one straight away and i am thinking, it is the biggest selling record of all time. it is over 8 million and now 17 millions now and they want me to rush back. you are only as good as your last record. >> uh-huh. >> you better make sure that follow up is good. i did not feel what i was able to do at that point was good enough. i bent the pressure and i

thought those advisers and managers and agents and recording companies, i thought they had all the great artists and they know what to do, they never had an artist like me, i broke a record. the only guy they had was me and i wanted to wait three years. i always quote the eagles, you think they had so many albums, it is very few because they never went anywhere near until they had 15 or 20 unbelievably good songs. i did not have time to for the records. a minute to go, every love affair cha affair changes overtime. how is your love affair with the guitar changed over the year? >> well, it got stronger and i

think i played more than i ever have in my career. i don't know what it is. i found out passion reinvent itself. we all have lows and maybe i don't want to play it today. it is like mow i am playing so much more and enjoying and i am still learning. i will learn until the day i am not here, you know? >> wow. it is just my passion. we are working on this next project, up next, peter frampton is going to join us with "i saved the bird." >> thank you, sir, an honor to have you on this program. my pleasure. >> thanks for watching and as always, keep the faith.

♪ i heard her at the back door, the little-wing bird ♪lying there, i should have been the end for her. was she going some where? ♪ did she have a place to be? perhaps, today, was on her way to rescue me ♪

♪ sometimes you fly on top of the world, sometimes you cry, sometimes it hurts ♪ we only need somebody to understand. we all need somebody lend a h d hahan hahand ♪ i can see some movement ♪ and i did came clear, to care for the reasons we are here ♪ wrapped her in a blanket, the sky fallen stray, took her to

the river and watched her get away ♪ sometimes you fly on top of the world ♪ ♪ sometimes you cry, sometimes it hurts, we all need somebody to understand. we all need somebody lend a hand ♪ ♪ [ acoustic guitar ]

♪ sometimes you fly on top of the world, sometimes you cry, sometimes it hurts ♪ ♪ we alleed n sobody to understand. we all need somebody lend a hand ♪ ♪ ♪

[ acoustic guitar ] [ applause ] >> thank you. for more information on today's show visit tavissmiley @pbs according. >> hi, join me next time of what's happening around the country, i am tavis smiley, that's next time, we'll see you then. ♪ ♪

and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

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