Peter Frampton, now 62, achieved overwhelming overnight success when his top-selling live album “Frampton Comes Alive” was released in January 1976. He was only 25 years old at the time and was suddenly elevated to pop idol status, thanks to the combination of his catchy songs, guitar prowess, pretty-boy looks and long, curly locks. However, the success was more than a decade in the making.

The legendary British rocker performs at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Wednesday. Here’s a chance to catch up on Frampton’s pre-fame past and what he’s doing today.

Starting young

Frampton started playing guitar at age 7 and was doing multitrack home recording with a pair of reel-to-reel tape machines before he was a teenager.

Frampton was 14 and working in a guitar shop in his native Kent, England, when he was recruited for a recording session produced by Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman in 1964. While the cover of an American rock ’n’ roll number wasn’t a hit, it brought the youngster to the attention of a rising band called The Herd.

Going pro

After a full-length album and three top 10 hits in Britain with The Herd, 18-year-old Frampton was recruited by outgoing Small Faces members Steve Marriott for a new band called Humble Pie. He spent four years with the group, which first introduced him to American audiences. Yet after four studio albums and one live record he felt like he needed a change and embarked on a solo career.

Frampton, who has lived in the United States since 1975, released four solo albums but was far from being a household name. His fourth LP, “Frampton,” was his solid-selling solo release (with 300,000 albums sold) before his groundbreaking live smash “Frampton Comes Alive” was released. It sold more than 6 million when it was new and has now sold 17 million copies, making it one of the top-selling albums of all time.

Past and present

While Frampton is open to revisiting the past, he is still focused on working in the present. He won a Grammy Award in 2006 for his instrumental album “Fingerprints.” His latest album, “Thank You Mr. Churchill,” was released in 2010.

Frampton resides in Los Angeles after living in Cincinnati from 2000 to 2010. Cincinnati is the hometown of his former wife. They divorced after moving to Los Angeles, where their daughter is pursuing acting.

It was recently announced that Frampton will return to Cincinnati on April 26-27 to perform at the Aronoff Center with the Cincinnati Ballet. The program, which will close the company’s 2012-13 season, will include a new composition from the guitarist written specifically for the occasion.