Peter Frampton Always Hated Infamous ‘I’m in You’ Album Cover

Peter Frampton has enjoyed a legendary career, though there were certainly mistakes along the way. One was his much-mocked outfit on the cover of the 1977 album I’m in You.

“That was the ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ outfit, I call that one,” Frampton quipped during a recent appearance on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast.

“I should have been in jeans and a t-shirt on the cover with a leather jacket or something,” the famed guitarist admitted, noting the outfit choice was one of several “terrible mistakes” in his career. “But I was still in the Lord Fauntleroy outfit with the satin pants, the white nurse’s shoes and some god awful woman’s top.”

READ MORE: Why Peter Frampton’s ‘I’m in You’ Was Doomed to Fail

The I’m in You cover was supposed to appeal to pop and female fans, but instead was ridiculed for its overt cheesiness. As the guitarist explained, the photo wasn’t just embarrassing — it was also out of touch with the times.

“(The outfit would have) looked fine the year before,” Frampton noted. “But now, Sex Pistols are happening. Things have changed drastically overnight. And I’m behind the times already and out of sync.”

Frampton Was Pressured to Release ‘I’m in You’ Quickly

Coming off the monumental success of 1976’s Frampton Comes Alive, the guitarist knew expectations for his next album would be high. He wanted to take his time creating the LP, but was forced into getting it out quickly.

“They say you’re as good as your last album,” Frampton explained. “Well, until we released the next record, I’m as good as Frampton Comes Alive. But everyone was saying, well, you don’t want to leave it too long because you’ll just get too scared.”

READ MORE: Top 100 Live Albums

By his own admission, Frampton didn’t have “what I would call great songs,” noting that the material wasn’t “up to par.” “I’m kind of writing it in the studio. I’m drinking, it’s drugs, it’s all these distractions, and it was demoralizing,” he further recalled.

Frampton added that he went into his record label’s offices and begrudgingly handed over what would become I’m in You. “I said, I don’t want this out, but I know you guys are going to put it out,” the rocker remembered. “I was just very disappointed that I couldn’t have the time to spend another couple of years writing.”