The more simple my life is, the happier I am.
In 1978, I had a near-fatal car accident in the Bahamas. There was a point when I could have lost my right arm - but it was good because it forced me to slow down and take a break.
People love to play 'Baby, I Love Your Way' at their weddings. They even play it for births and deaths - whatever the occasion, it seems to fit. Over the years, it's been used in lots of movies, and it's been covered by other artists more than any of my songs. I've written a standard... which is pretty incredible to me.
I'm lucky. I've got my own studio. I can make my own music, but not many people can do that. I will always be making new music, because that's what I have to do; that's why I'm here. I will always do that.
I formed Humble Pie when I was only 18. We were one of the first 'supergroups,' with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces on guitar and Greg Ridley of Spooky Tooth on bass. With Humble Pie, I tasted American success for the first time.
The perception that I was just a pop star was pushed upon me by the public, and it's very hard to change the public's perception even though I never really pushed aside the musician aspect of my career. After I released 'Fingerprints,' my peers reassured me that I was on a level that I always hoped I would be on.
I was on 'The Mike Douglas Show' twice. I was on the cover of practically every magazine in the United States. I never said no to anything. I told everything to everybody. I gave everything away, and when you give it all away, you have nothing left.
I'd often use a Leslie cabinet on its own in the studio because everyone in the late Sixties and Seventies was experimenting with them. We'd stick anything through a Leslie because it made everything sound so good.
Most rock movies are never authentic - you'll have someone supposedly in 1958 playing a 1990 guitar, and a 1986 microphone.
It got to the point where I couldn't afford to borrow any more money to lose. Know what I mean? That was just before 'Frampton,' my fourth album. As we were recording it, I was very down and depressed.
After 'Frampton Comes Alive!' became a huge success, I really needed to take time off to work out what the hell just happened. Instead, I just kept working.
I'm lucky that I enjoy playing live; it's my passion to do that. There's certain artists that never want to play live. They just want to be in the studio. Good luck, because there is no income.
The reason I wanted to play guitar was because I saw Buddy Holly and then our own homegrown Shadows on TV in 1957 or '58. I wanted to learn to play guitar so I could do what they did and be in a band.
I wrote 'Show Me the Way' in the morning and wrote 'Baby, I Love Your Way' in the afternoon of the same day. I've been trying to figure out what I ate for breakfast that morning ever since!