Eddie Vedder

Early life and education

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23, 1964, in Evanston, Illinois, to Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson Jr. His parents divorced in 1965 when Vedder was an infant. His mother soon married Peter Mueller. Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father, and he went by the name Edward Mueller for a time. Vedder's ancestry includes Dutch, German, English, and Danish on his mother's side (Vedder) and Norwegian on his father's side (Severson).

While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home. In the mid-1970s, the family, including Vedder's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. Vedder received a guitar from his mother on his 12th birthday, and began turning to music and surfing as a source of comfort. He especially found solace in The Who's 1973 album, Quadrophenia. He said, "When I was around 15 or 16...I was all alone—except for music." His mother and Mueller divorced when Vedder was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Vedder remained with his stepfather in California so he did not have to change schools.

After the divorce, Vedder learned the truth about his parentage and learned that Mueller was really his stepfather. This discovery later inspired the song "Alive". As a child, Vedder briefly met his biological father, but was led to believe that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Vedder learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. During his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder moved out on his own to live in an apartment and supported himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas. Because of the pressure of work and school, Vedder dropped out of high school. He joined the rest of his family in the Chicago area and changed his last name to Vedder, his mother's maiden name.

In the early 1980s, while working as a waiter, Vedder earned his high school GED from Oakton Community College.

Career

In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego with his girlfriend Beth Liebling and his friend Frank. While living in the San Diego area, Vedder recorded demo tapes at his home and worked various jobs, including as a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands, including Surf and Destroy and the Butts. One of those bands, called Indian Style, included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk.

In 1988, Vedder became the vocalist for Bad Radio, a San Diego–based progressive funk rock band. The band's original incarnation was influenced by Duran Duran; however, after Vedder joined, the band moved to a more alternative rock sound influenced in part by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Temple of the Dog

In the 1980s, Vedder worked part time as a night clerk at a local gas station. Through the Southern California music scene, Vedder met former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who became a friend and would play basketball with him. Later in 1990, Irons gave him the demo tape of a Seattle band looking for a singer. Vedder listened to the tape shortly before going surfing, where lyrics came to him. He wrote lyrics for three of the songs in what he later described as a "mini-opera" entitled Momma-Son. The songs tell the story of a young man who, like Vedder, learns that he had been lied to about his paternity and that his real father is dead, grows up to become a serial killer, and is eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death. Vedder recorded vocals for the three songs, and mailed the demo tape back to Seattle. The three songs would later become Pearl Jam's "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps".

After hearing Vedder's tape, former Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament invited Vedder to come to Seattle to audition for their new band. They were instantly impressed with his unique sound. At the time, Gossard and Ament were working on the Temple of the Dog project founded by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell as a musical tribute to Mother Love Bone's frontman Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose at age 24. Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and newcomer Mike McCready were also a part of the project. The song "Hunger Strike" became a duet between Cornell and Vedder. Cornell later said that Vedder "sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."

Vedder also provided background vocals on several other Temple of the Dog songs. In April 1991, Temple of the Dog was released by A&M Records. "Hunger Strike" became Temple of the Dog's breakout single; it was also Vedder's first featured vocal on a record. "I really like hearing that song. I feel like I could be real proud of it – because one, I didn't write it, and two, it was such a nice way to be ushered onto vinyl for the first time. I'm indebted to Chris (Cornell) time eternal for being invited onto that track", Vedder said in 2009. In the 2011 documentary Pearl Jam Twenty, Vedder said, "That was the first time I heard myself on a real record. It could be one of my favorite songs that I've ever been on – or the most meaningful." Vedder and Cornell performed the song together for the last time on October 26, 2014, at a benefit for Bridge School.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam, initially called Mookie Blaylock after the former National Basketball Association player of the same name, was formed in 1990 by Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready, who then recruited Vedder as lead singer but hired and fired three different drummers. The band was forced to change its name when they signed to Epic Records in 1991, becoming Pearl Jam, and instead naming their debut album Ten after Blaylock's jersey number.

Ten became one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s, being certified 13× Platinum. The single "Jeremy" received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance in 1993. Pearl Jam received four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards for its music video for "Jeremy", including Video of the Year and Best Group Video. Ten ranks number 209 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and "Jeremy" was ranked number 11 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest songs of the '90s.

Following an intense touring schedule, the band recorded its second studio album, Vs., which was released in 1993. Upon its release, Vs. set the record at the time for most copies of an album sold in a week, and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Vs. was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995. From Vs., the song "Daughter" received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the song "Go" received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Feeling the pressures of success, with much of the burden of Pearl Jam's popularity falling on Vedder, the band decided to decrease the level of promotion for its albums, including refusing to release music videos. Vedder's issue with fame came from what he stated as "what happens when a lot of these people start thinking you can change their lives or save their lives or whatever and create these impossible fuckin' expectations that in the end just start tearing you apart." In 1994, the band began a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster, which lasted for three years and limited the band's ability to tour in the United States. Vedder faced what he called a "pretty intense stalker problem" during the mid-1990s. Vedder would refer to the issue in the song "Lukin" from No Code.

Later that same year the band released its third studio album, Vitalogy, which became the band's third straight album to reach multi-platinum status. On the album, Vedder was featured more extensively on rhythm guitar, and also provided back up vocals and some drumming. The pressure of fame is a common theme of Vedder's songs on the album. The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996. Vitalogy was ranked 485th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The lead single "Spin the Black Circle" won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Although Dave Abbruzzese performed on the album Vitalogy, he was fired in August 1994, four months before the album was released. The band cited political differences between Abbruzzese and the other members; for example, he disagreed with the Ticketmaster boycott. He was replaced by Jack Irons, a close friend of Vedder and the former and original drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Other musical projects

Soundtrack contributions

Vedder has contributed solo material to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking (1995), I Am Sam (2001), A Brokedown Melody (2004), Body of War (2007), and Reign Over Me (2007). Vedder collaborated with Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for his contributions to the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. He covered the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" for the I Am Sam soundtrack. Vedder wrote "Man of the Hour" that Pearl Jam recorded for Tim Burton's Big Fish Soundtrack (2003). Vedder wrote two songs for the 2007 feature documentary, Body of War, produced by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue: "No More" (a song referring to the Iraq War) and "Long Nights". Vedder and the supergroup the Million Dollar Bashers, which includes members from Sonic Youth, Wilco, and Bob Dylan's band, covered Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" for the biopic film, I'm Not There (2007). Pearl Jam recorded a cover version of The Who's song "Love, Reign o'er Me" for the film Reign Over Me, which takes its title from the song. In 2010, Vedder recorded a new song, "Better Days", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2010 film Eat Pray Love. Vedder contributed original music for the soundtrack to the 2021 film Flag Day, which also featured the musical debut of Vedder's daughter Olivia on lead vocals in the first single, "My Father’s Daughter", written by Vedder and Glen Hansard.

Into the Wild

Vedder contributed an album's worth of songs to the soundtrack for the 2007 film, Into the Wild. The soundtrack was released on September 18, 2007, through J Records. It includes covers of the Indio song "Hard Sun" and the Jerry Hannan song "Society". Vedder said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things". He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there." Vedder's songs written for the film feature a folk sound. Thom Jurek of AllMusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where rock & roll makes fleeting appearances." Vedder won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his contributions to the film's original score. At the 2008 Grammy Awards, "Guaranteed" received a nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. "Guaranteed" was also nominated a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Rise" received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.

Vedder promoted the Into the Wild soundtrack with his first solo tour, which began in April 2008. The April leg of the tour, dubbed the "April Fools Tour", began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at The Centre on April 2, 2008, and was composed of ten dates focusing on the West Coast of the United States. Vedder continued the tour with a second leg in August 2008 composed of fourteen dates focusing on the East Coast and Canada. The second leg of the tour began in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Opera House and ended in Chicago, Illinois at the Auditorium Theatre. In June 2009, Vedder followed his 2008 solo tour with another solo tour composed of fourteen dates focusing on the Eastern United States and Hawaii, which began in Albany, New York at the Palace Theatre and continued through to Honolulu at the Hawaii Theatre.

Ukulele Songs

Vedder released his second solo album titled Ukulele Songs, a collection of original songs and covers performed on the ukulele, on May 31, 2011. The first single from the album, "Longing to Belong", was released through digital retailers on March 21. A live DVD titled Water on the Road, featuring live performances from two shows in Washington, D.C. during Vedder's 2008 solo tour, was released the same day as Ukulele Songs.

Earthling

In September 2021, Vedder released the single "Long Way", taken from his third studio album Earthling. This was followed by "The Haves" on November 18, 2021, and "Brother the Cloud" on January 14, 2022. "Long Way" and "The Haves" have been released as a limited edition 7" vinyl. To tour the album, Vedder assembled a backing band dubbed "The Earthlings", which includes Glen Hansard on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Josh Klinghoffer on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Chad Smith on drums, Chris Chaney on bass, and guitarist Andrew Watt. Watt also produced the album.

Collaborations

In addition to playing with Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog, Vedder has performed or recorded with numerous well-known artists. He has appeared on albums by the Who, Ramones, Neil Young, R.E.M., Neil Finn, Bad Religion, Mark Seymour, Cat Power, Mike Watt, Fastbacks, Wellwater Conspiracy, Jack Irons, and John Doe, and has also recorded with the Strokes, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Supersuckers, Susan Sarandon, and Zeke. In the months of June and July 2006, Vedder made live performances jamming with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, singing on many tracks, including lead vocals on "The Waiting" and backing vocals on "American Girl". Vedder performed the songs "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", "Light My Fire" and "Roadhouse Blues" with the remaining members of the Doors at the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He also performed with R.E.M. at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and with the Stooges at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Vedder made a guest appearance at the Ramones' last show on August 6, 1996, at the Palace in Hollywood.

Film

Vedder had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie, Singles, along with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. He appeared as himself, playing drums in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick. He was also interviewed for the 1996 grunge documentary, Hype! He appears in the 2003 Ramones documentary, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones. In 2007, he made a cameo as himself in the comedy film, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. He appears in the 2007 Tom Petty documentary, Runnin' Down a Dream, the 2008 political documentary, Slacker Uprising, and the 2009 Howard Zinn documentary, The People Speak, based upon A People's History of the United States. He was featured in the 2008 Greg Kohs documentary, Song Sung Blue, performing with Lightning and Thunder. He had a one-scene cameo in the second episode of the second season of the IFC television show Portlandia. He also appears in the 2012 documentary West of Memphis, protesting against the case. Vedder made an appearance in the season 3 episode 16 of David Lynch's Twin Peaks Aug 2017. He was referred to by his birth name, Edward Louis Severson.

The character of Jackson Maine in the movie A Star is Born was partly influenced by Vedder. Bradley Cooper, who wrote the screenplay, produced, directed, and starred in the film as Jackson Maine, hung out with Vedder for four or five days to get some tips from him about the character.

Matter of Time, a documentary concert film highlighting Vedder's attempts to raise awareness for the rare disease epidermolysis bullosa, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the summer of 2025.

Activism

Vedder has used his role as a musician to speak on several politically-oriented themes. In 2009, he said, "People on death row, the treatment of animals, women's right to choose. So much in America is based on religious fundamentalist Christianity. Grow up! This is the modern world!" In 1992, Spin printed an article by Vedder, titled "Reclamation", which detailed his views on abortion. Vedder and Pearl Jam performed at Rock for Choice in 1994. During the band's appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1992, Vedder stood up on his stool during the instrumental break of the song "Porch" and wrote "PRO-CHOICE" on his left arm with a magic marker.

Vedder was supportive of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000 and played at Green Party super rallies in Chicago and New York City. Pearl Jam played a series of concerts on the 2004 Vote for Change tour, supporting the candidacy of John Kerry for U.S. president. "I supported Ralph Nader in 2000, but it's a time of crisis. We have to get a new administration in", Vedder told Rolling Stone magazine in 2004. In 2005, during Pearl Jam's first South American tour, Vedder said, "next time we come to Brazil, the world will be a better place to live, as George Bush will no longer be the President of the United States." Vedder supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and 2012, Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 primaries, Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, and Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.

In his spare time, Vedder is a surfer and active in surf-related conservation efforts, including supporting The Surfrider Foundation. In 1993, Vedder supported fellow Surfrider Foundation member/environmentalist, Aaron Ahearn who had gone AWOL from the United States Navy in protest of the Navy's at sea dumping policies. Vedder and Pearl Jam performed a concert in San Francisco, donating over $3,000 to Ahearn's legal fees.

Vedder supports Earth First! with a tattoo on his right calf. The logo is of a pipe wrench crossed with a stone hammer.

Vedder was a longtime and outspoken supporter for the Free the West Memphis Three movement, a cause that advocated the release of three young men who were convicted in 1994 of the gruesome murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. In an interview with Larry King on December 19, 2007, Damien Echols, who was then on death row for the murders, said that Vedder had been the "greatest friend a person could have" and that he had collaborated with him while in prison. The song "Army Reserve" on Pearl Jam's 2006 self-titled album features a lyrical collaboration between Vedder and Echols. On August 19, 2011, Vedder and Natalie Maines attended the release hearing of the West Memphis Three.

Musical style and influences

Music critic Jim DeRogatis has described Vedder's vocals as a "Jim Morrison-like vocal growl". Greg Prato of AllMusic said, "With his hard-hitting and often confessional lyrical style and Jim Morrison-esque baritone, Vedder also became one of the most copied lead singers in all of rock." Vedder has inducted Aerosmith, the Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in his induction speeches he has cited them all as influences. Other influences that Vedder has cited include Pete Townshend and the Who, which the singer considers to be his favorite band of all time, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Fugazi, and the Clash.

Vedder's lyrical topics range from personal ("Alive", from Ten; "Better Man", from Vitalogy) to social and political concerns ("Even Flow", from Ten; "World Wide Suicide", from Pearl Jam). His lyrics have often invoked the use of storytelling and have included themes of freedom, individualism, and sympathy for troubled individuals. Other recurring themes include the use of water metaphors, and the concept of leaving everything behind to start again, which is featured in "Rearviewmirror", from Vs.; "MFC", from Yield; "Evacuation", from Binaural; and "Gone", from Pearl Jam).

Although primarily a vocalist, Vedder began playing guitar on some Pearl Jam songs with the Vs. songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town". When the band started, Gossard and McCready were clearly designated as rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. The dynamic began to change when Vedder started to play more rhythm guitar during the Vitalogy era. McCready said in 2006, "Even though there are three guitars, I think there's maybe more room now. Stone will pull back and play a two-note line and Ed will do a power chord thing, and I fit into all that." Vedder's guitar playing helped the band's sound progress toward a more stripped-down style; the songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Corduroy" (from Vitalogy) feature Vedder's raw, punk-influenced guitar playing. As he had more influence on the band's sound, Vedder sought to make the band's musical output less catchy. He said, "I felt that with more popularity, we were going to be crushed, our heads were going to pop like grapes." He has also contributed performances on the ukulele, harmonica, accordion, and electric sitar to various Pearl Jam recordings.

Live performances

Throughout Pearl Jam's career, Vedder has interacted with the crowd during the band's concerts. Early in Pearl Jam's existence, Vedder and the band became known for their intense live performances. Vedder participated in stage diving as well as crowd surfing. During the early part of Pearl Jam's career, Vedder was known to climb the stage lighting rig and hang from the stage roof. Looking back at this time, Vedder said, "It's hard for us to watch early performances, even though that's when people think we were on fire and young. Playing music for as long as I had been playing music and then getting a shot at making a record and at having an audience and stuff, it's just like an untamed force...a different kind of energy. And I find it kind of hard to watch those early performances because it's so just fucking, semi-testosterone-fueled or whatever. But it didn't come from jock mentality. It came from just being let out of the gates."

Vedder began incorporating social commentary and political criticism into his lyrics and performances early in his career with Pearl Jam. He usually comments on politics between songs, often to criticize U.S. foreign policy. During Pearl Jam's 2007 Lollapalooza headlining show, Vedder and the band played a song telling the crowd in Chicago to boycott the oil company BP because they had been polluting Lake Michigan.

Vedder is known to use a Mike Lull-modified, vintage Fender Telecaster that features a single coil pickup in the bridge position and a P-90 pickup in the neck position, as well as various stickers as a tribute to his favorite band of all time, The Who. He uses three vintage Fender Tweed amplifiers, including a 1959 Deluxe and a 1957 Custom Twin. His two main acoustic guitars are a 1930s-era Martin 00-17 and a vintage Gibson Pete Townshend Signature SJ-200.

Legacy

Lamenting the constant waning of rock 'n roll from the music scene, Bono, in 2017, expounded that "Rage" is the fundamental component of rock 'n roll and said, "Some great rock’n’roll tends to have that, which is why the Who were such a great band. Or Pearl Jam. Eddie has that rage."

Vedder was ranked seventh on a list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time" compiled by Rolling Stone. Loudwire put him at number 35 on their Top 66 Hard Rock + Heavy Metal Frontmen of all time. He has been ranked at number 5 on a list of "Singer with the Most Unique Voice", compiled by Rolling Stone. Singers Roger Daltrey of the Who, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and drummer John Densmore of the Doors have praised him for his singing ability. Hit Parader magazine placed him at number 23 on their list of the "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time". His solo album Into the Wild was ranked at number 20 on the list of "Top 20 Rock 'n' Roll Solo Albums" by Consequence of Sound. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Vedder at number 105 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Personal life

Vedder attended San Dieguito High School, now called San Dieguito Academy, and donated proceeds from a 2006 Pearl Jam concert in San Diego toward the construction of a theater for the school in the name of his former drama teacher, Clayton E. Liggett. Liggett was Vedder's mentor in high school. Vedder wrote the song "Long Road" (from Merkin Ball) upon hearing of Liggett's death in 1995.

While living in the basement of Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis' house in Seattle in the early 1990s, Vedder was roommates with Alice in Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Vedder was also friends with Alice in Chains' lead singer Layne Staley, and wrote the song "4/20/02" (from Lost Dogs) on the night that he found out about Staley's death, on April 20, 2002 (though Staley had died over two weeks earlier on April 5, his body was found on April 19). Vedder also paid tribute to Staley during a Pearl Jam show in Chicago on August 22, 2016, which would have been Staley's 49th birthday; "It's the birthday of a guy called Layne Staley tonight, and we're thinking of him tonight too. 49 years old", Vedder told the crowd before dedicating the song "Man of the Hour" to his late friend.

In 1994, Vedder married Hovercraft bass player Beth Liebling, whom he had dated since he was a teenager, circa 1984. Vedder was Hovercraft's drummer during their opening slot for Mike Watt's U. S. tour in 1995. The couple divorced in September 2000. In an interview published in the June 29, 2006, edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Vedder said that his divorce from Liebling had devastated him. The divorce happened around the same time as an incident where nine fans were crushed to death during Pearl Jam’s set at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 30, 2000. In an interview with Chris Cornell's daughter Lily in 2020, Vedder explained that their show started on a high because they had just been told about her birth, until about 40 minutes into their performance when the tragedy happened. Vedder revealed that Pete Townshend helped him through the early stages of dealing with the tragedy.

On September 18, 2010, Vedder married his longtime girlfriend, model Jill McCormick, whom he had been dating since 2000. They have two daughters, born in 2004 and in 2008. In 2011, McCormick appeared in the music video for Vedder's solo single, "Longing to Belong". In 2014, Vedder and McCormick co-founded the EB Research Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for the genetic skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa. They have raised over US$25 million to fund research to find a cure.

Discography

Music videos

"Hard Sun" (2007)

"Guaranteed" (2008)

"No More" (2008)

"Better Days" (2010)

"You're True" (2011)

"Longing to Belong" (2011)

"Can't Keep" (2011)

"Sleeping by Myself" (2012)

"Matter of Time" (2020)

"Say Hi" (2020)

"Long Way" (2021)

"The Haves" (2021)

"Brother the Cloud" (2022)

Filmography

Television

Performer and actor

Film

Performer and actor

*denotes performance with Pearl Jam

**note: "Animal" performed with Pearl Jam and "Rockin' in the Free World" performed with Neil Young & Pearl Jam

^note: In the acceptance speech, Eddie notoriously states, "I don't know what this means, I don't think it means anything."

^^note: Vedder also performed the songs: "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" and "Getting in Tune" with the Who, but they were not released on the DVD.

2017 Documentary, Let's Play Two featuring Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. Can be found on Amazon Prime and was directed by Danny Clinch. Concert documentary centering around Pearl Jam's August 2016 shows at Wrigley Field.