Penny For Your Thoughts

Album: Frampton (1975)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This 1:27 instrumental is about Penny McCall, the woman Peter Frampton was living with at the time. "I'm going to dedicate this to the one that it was written for," he said when introducing the song on Valentine's Day, 1976 at the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey. "This is for Penny."

    It's the closest Frampton got to putting his relationship with McCall on record at the time. They were both married when they met in 1972 and started dating. They moved in together in 1973, and McCall became Frampton's muse inspiring the songs "Show Me The Way" and "Baby, I Love Your Way." But Frampton was still technically married when he wrote those songs in 1975, so he ascribed them to universal feelings of love. "Penny For Your Thoughts" was his way of naming her without really naming her.

    All of this ended up being drudged up in a court case when they broke up in 1978. McCall wanted compensation for her time devoted to Frampton, but because they didn't have formal agreement in place, Frampton won the case.
  • The song appears on Peter Frampton's 1975 album Frampton, but was much more famously included on his live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, the following year. Both versions are instrumentals with just Peter on acoustic guitar.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.