Before there was Pearl Jam, there was the grunge band Green River with members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. The band split in 1987, but Gossard and Ament remained together. They were eventually joined by Andrew Wood (with Malfunkshun at the time) to form Mother Love Bone. Winning support through local gigs, the band was eventually signed, releasing their debut album, Apple, in July 1990. Everything was looking up until tragedy struck. Riddled with addiction, Wood overdosed on heroin and died four months after the album’s release.
Reeling from the loss, Ament and Gossard went their separate ways. Gossard channeled his anger into music with a harder, darker edge. He connected with Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, who was the driving force to bringing Ament and Gossard back together.
The subsequent threesome began sending out demo tapes. They tried to secure Jack Irons, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he declined. But Irons did send the demo to close friend and San Diego native Eddie Vedder. Vedder wowed the fledgling band, and he was accepted on the spot.
They officially performed their first gig October 22, 1990, at a Seattle club called the Off Ramp. They signed to Epic Records, took the name Pearl Jam, and were unwittingly on their way to superstardom.
Despite an inability to keep a solid drummer (Kursen left for rehab and Chamberlain left to be a part of the Saturday Night Live band), Pearl Jam entered the studio and recorded their first album together, Ten. The subject matter was distinctively dark, containing tracks about suicide, depression, murder, and sexual abuse. The album provided a kind of anthem to the new generation of music-listeners who were craving a hard, heavy outlet for their angst. Initially slow to sell, the album caught on in 1992 and has since gone platinum twelve times over. It remains one of the best selling rock albums to date.
They became a pivotal part of the grunge movement along with bands Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and others. Despite heavy criticism for "selling out" (including criticism from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, former husband of Courtney Love), Pearl Jam continued to tour, sell records, and achieve higher levels of success.
Success slowly took its toll, however, and the brunt of the burden fell on vocalist Vedder. Although their second album, Vs, sold exceedingly well, they scaled back on commercial efforts. They embroiled themselves in a protest against Ticketmaster and proved uncooperative with their label, refusing to make music videos, release singles, or release albums on any other medium than vinyl. This resulted in more band changes, including adding Irons at the drums. Yet again, amid turmoil and problems, Pearl Jam pulled out a successful album with Vitalogy.
However, their continued refusal to play Ticketmaster venues hurt their tour and proved bad for album sales as well. Reprieve didn’t come until 1998, when they found another massive hit with the classic J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers hit "Last Kiss."
The accidental death of nine fans at a 2000 concert in Denmark led the band to seriously consider retiring. They were cleared of all responsibility, but they still cancelled the remaining shows of their tour.
Pearl Jam continues to release albums to impressive sales, but they have never quite recaptured the whirlwind success of the mid-90s.
Currently, they are heavily involved in charity performances and benefits, translating their iconic status into raising money and awareness for various causes.
YUDDY
