CMT Music Awards

Peter Frampton Makes CMT Music Awards Appearance Amid Muscle Disease Battle

By Zoe Phillips‍ 8:21 PM PDT, April 2, 2023

Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for The Music Center

Guitarist Peter Frampton made a rare appearance onstage at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday. Frampton stopped performing in 2022 amid a rare muscle disease diagnosis.

Frampton walked out onstage with a cane and told the crowd, "I am here tonight to honor a friend and tour mate of mine, Gary Rossington, who was a southern rock icon. He was an original founding member of the beloved group Lynyrd Skynyrd, alongside Ronnie van Zant and Alan Collins."

Frampton paused for the crowd to cheer, and then continued: "Gary not only helped define the band's sound, he inspired millions of fans and musicians. He has now joined his fellow Skynyrd bandmates in rock and roll heaven, but we will all enjoy their music forever."

Frampton added that Gary's wife, Dale, and daughter, Mary, were in attendance, along with Rickey Medlocke,Ronny Van Zant's widow, Judy, and his granddaughter, Arayah. He went on to introduce Cody Johnson, Billy Gibbons, Paul Rodgers, Slash, Chuck Leavell, Warren Haynes, Wynonna Judd and Leann Rimes for the tribute performance.

Backstage after his appearance, Frampton told ET's Cassie DiLaura that the lineup was "all my favorites." As for the performance, he said the show was "fantastic. How could it not be?"

Frampton initially announced his retirement from touring in 2019 after revealing that he had been diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease called Inclusion-Body Myositis. He performed his final shows in 2022 while remaining seated because of the condition.

The 2023 CMT Music Awards airs live on CBS and is streaming on Paramount+. For more coverage of the big event, including all of the night's winners, keep checking back with ETonline.