You’ve heard of an elderly woman behind the counter in a small town, but what about a 60-year-old man behind the microphone in a hugely successful rock band?
Eddie Vedder hits the big 6-0 on Monday. The Pearl Jam frontman was born Edward Louis Severson III on Dec. 23, 1964, in Evanston, Illinois.
While living in San Diego in the ’80s, Vedder recorded a demo for Seattle musicians Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready, who were forming a band called Mookie Blaylock after the NBA player of the same name. The trio was also in a group called Temple of the Dog alongside Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron.
Vedder was hired as Mookie Blaylock’s vocalist, and he also sang on Temple of the Dog’s debut album, contributing co-lead vocals to the song “Hunger Strike” alongside Cornell. Meanwhile, Mookie Blaylock changed their name to Pearl Jam and started recording their debut album, Ten, named after the player’s jersey number.
Alongside Nirvana‘s Nevermind, Ten helped make “grunge” a household term with songs including “Even Flow” and “Alive,” that latter of which was inspired by Vedder learning that his dad was not his biological father.
Pearl Jam followed Ten with the albums Vs. and Vitalogy while also making headlines for boycotting Ticketmaster, which would last until 1998. Subsequent albums would take more experimental turns, but PJ’s devoted fanbase stayed with them as they built their status into one of rock’s biggest and most enduring bands.
All told, Pearl Jam’s sold over 85 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Vedder’s also put out a trio of solo records, the most recent of which being 2022’s Earthling.
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