A mutual friend and ex- Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons declined an invitation to join their new band, but he passed the fledgeling trio’s first demo to vocalist and basketball buddy Eddie Vedder (birth name Edward Louis Severson III) who was then working in a gas station in San Diego, California.ĭigging what he heard, Vedder composed early versions of key Pearl Jam tunes ‘Alive’, ‘Once’ and ‘Footsteps’. Devastated by Wood’s loss, Gossard began jamming with fellow Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, who encouraged Ament back into the fold.
Having inked a deal with PolyGram, Mother Love Bone promised great things, but Wood tragically died prematurely from a drug overdose and the band folded before their lone, critically acclaims album, Apple, was released in 1990. However, Green River called it quits when Arm and Turner formed Mudhoney in ’87, leaving Ament and Gossard to form Mother Love Bone with flamboyant vocalist Andrew Wood. Bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard originally played alongside future Mudhoney stars Mark Arm and Steve Turner in legendary Seattle noiseniks Green River, whose aggressive 1984 mini-LP, Come On Down, is often cited as the blueprint for grunge. The band’s roots can be traced deep into the Seattle underground of the 80s. Revered for their integrity and passionate live performances, Pearl Jam remain one of rock’s most successful modern rock acts and their ten studio albums have collectively moved around 60 million copies worldwide. Lesser bands could easily have folded under the pressure, but Eddie Vedder and company hung on in there, outstripping their plaid-clad contemporaries and carving out their own highly individualistic niche. Their initial rise to prominence was truly astronomical, with the 15 million sales from the band’s first two albums rapidly catapulting them from obscurity to superstardom. Along with fellow Seattleites Nirvana and Soundgarden, Pearl Jam will forever be synonymous with grunge, the heavy, revolutionary rock’n’roll sound from the Pacific north-west which thrust alt.rock onto the world stage on the cusp of the 90s.
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