Eddie Vedder
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Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Seversen III on 23 December 1964; sometimes listed as 1966) is the lead singer, lyricist, and sometime instrumentalist for the band Pearl Jam. Vedder is known for his freakish stage presence which is one of the factors of Pearl Jam's fame throughout the years.
Early years
Young Eddie was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, outside Chicago. After his parents divorced in 1965, when Eddie was only one year old, his mother married a man named Peter Mueller.In the mid-1970s, the family, including Eddie's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. It was at this point that Eddie, who had received a guitar from his mother on his 12th birthday, began turning to music as a source of comfort. Eddie's mother and Mueller divorced when Eddie was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Eddie remained with his stepfather in California so he would not have to change high schools. It was not until some time after the divorce that Eddie learned the truth about his parentage. The man he thought was his biological father was revealed to be his stepfather, and his real father was someone he knew as just a casual aquaintance (Eddie wrote about this in the Pearl Jam song "Alive"). His already bad relationship with his stepfather became increasingly strained, and Eddie eventually dropped out of school and joined the rest of his family in Chicago. He also changed his name to Eddie Vedder, "Vedder" being his mother's maiden name.
In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego with his girlfriend, Beth Liebling. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working at various jobs, including a position as night attendant at a local gas station. Soon the rather shy singer became the vocalist for San Diego band Bad Radio.
After leaving Bad Radio, Vedder's friend and former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons gave him a demo tape from a band in Seattle that was looking for a singer. Vedder recorded vocals for three of the songs, which later became Pearl Jam's "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps". Vedder wrote the song lyrics as a mini-opera, which is known as the "Mamasan trilogy", about a young man scarred by both the death of his father and a sexually abusive mother ("Alive"). The man grows up to become a serial killer ("Once") and is eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death ("Footsteps"). When they heard the tape, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament invited Vedder to come to Seattle to audition for the band that soon became Pearl Jam.
Very soon after joining Pearl Jam, even before recording "Ten", Vedder was brought in to provide backing vocals on the Temple of the Dog album, a tribute to late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood that featured members of both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
With Pearl Jam
In Pearl Jam, Vedder plays guitar on several songs as well as other instruments, including the ukulele, the drums, keytar, cowbell, harmonica, and the tambourine, which he often breaks out for the final songs of a show and casts into the crowd at the end.On Pearl Jam records he uses the pseudonym "Jerome Turner" for his non-musical (usually design and artwork) functions. He has also sometimes used the pseudonym of "Wes C. Addle" ("West Seattle").
In addition to his vocals, Eddie became well known for extreme and political acts during live shows. During the 1992 Lollapalooza shows, he got into a bile drinking contest with Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell that he eventually won. During Pearl Jam's MTV Unplugged performance, Vedder (in behaviour very unusual for an Unplugged show) stood atop his stool, took out a marker pen and wrote PRO-CHOICE down his arm in large letters, baiting the supposedly "conservative" heads of MTV. Pearl Jam were one of the headliners of the 2004 Vote for Change Tour. He is also known for making political commentary throughout the band's live performances, often talking to the crowd and disscussing politics with them onstage.
Other musical activities
In addition to playing with Pearl Jam, Vedder has performed and recorded with numerous well-known artists, including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Robert Plant, Bad Religion, R.E.M., Rolling Stones, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket, Kings Of Leon, Sonic Youth, The Who, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Supersuckers, Ramones, and Peter Frampton.Influence
Many frontmen in the 1990s and early 2000s have attempted to imitate Vedder's deep vocal range and singing style, including the frontmen of Creed, Puddle Of Mudd, and Nickelback, among others. #redirect [[Template:Fact]]Personal life
Vedder married longtime girlfriend Beth Liebling in 1994. The couple divorced in 2000. Vedder is currently dating Jill McCormick, and they have one daughter, Olivia, who was born in 2004.Vedder is a surfer and active in surf related conservation efforts. most notable the Surfrider Foundation [link]. Eddie and the band are helping to keep the stoke going at the [link] Trestles in San 'O.
Vedder smokes American Spirit cigarettes.
External links
- [Eddie Vedder and Neil Young] - Collaborations and Influences
- [Pearl Jam] - Pearl Jam's official web site
| Pearl Jam |
| Eddie Vedder | Jeff Ament | Matt Cameron | Mike McCready | Stone Gossard |
| Boom Gasper | Matt Chamberlain | Dave Krusen | Dave Abbruzzese | Jack Irons |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Ten | Vs. | Vitalogy | No Code | Yield | Binaural | Riot Act | Pearl Jam |
| Live Albums and Compilations: Live on Two Legs | Official Bootlegs | Lost Dogs | Live at Benaroya Hall [[Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003]] | Live in NYC 12/31/92 |
| Videos: Single Video Theory | Touring Band 2000 | Live at the Showbox | Live at the Garden |
| Singles: Alive | Jeremy | Even Flow | Oceans | Go | Animal | Daughter | Dissident | Spin the Black Circle | Immortality | Not for You I Got ID | Who You Are | Off He Goes | Given to Fly | Wishlist | Last Kiss | Nothing As It Seems | Light Years I Am Mine | Save You | Man of the Hour | World Wide Suicide | Life Wasted |
| Related content |
| Green River | Mother Love Bone | Temple of the Dog | Soundgarden | Singles | Grunge music | Mad Season | Wellwater Conspiracy |
| Categories: | | | |
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