This revisionist (or, depending on your viewpoint, visionary) rock quintet was formed in Seattle, USA, by Jeff Ament (b. 10 March 1963, Big Sandy, Montana, USA; bass) and Stone Gossard (b. 20 July 1965, Seattle, Washington, USA; rhythm guitar). Gossard had played with Steve Turner in the Ducky Boys, the latter going on to perform with Ament in Green River. Gossard became a member when Mark Arm (like Turner, later to join Mudhoney) switched from guitar to vocals. Gossard and Ament, however, elected to continue working together when Green River washed up, and moved on to Mother Love Bone, fronted by local "celebrity" Andrew Wood. However, that ill-fated band collapsed when, four weeks after the release of their 1990 debut, Apple, Wood was found dead from a heroin overdose. Both Gossard and Ament subsequently participated in Seattle's tribute to Wood, Temple Of The Dog, alongside Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who instigated the project, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, plus Gossard's school friend Mike McCready (b. 5 April 1966, Pensacola, Florida, USA; guitar). Ex-Bad Radio vocalist Eddie Vedder (b. Edward Louis Seversen II, 23 December 1964, Evanston, Illinois, USA), who had come to Seattle after being passed a tape of demos recorded by Ament, Gossard and McCready by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons (b. 18 July 1962). Both Vedder and McCready subsequently linked up with Ament and Gossard to become Pearl Jam, with the addition of drummer Dave Krusen (the band had also dabbled with the name Mookie Blaylock).
Pearl Jam signed to Epic Records in 1991, debuting the following year with the powerful Ten, by which time Krusen had left the band (he was eventually replaced by Dave Abbruzzese). A bold diorama, it saw the band successfully incorporate elements of their native traditions (Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Nirvana) with older influences such as the Doors, Velvet Underground, the Stooges and the MC5. The self-produced recording (together with Rick Parashar) showed great maturity for a debut, particularly in the full-blooded songwriting, never better demonstrated than on the highly melodic singles "Alive" and "Jeremy". Dynamic live performances and a subtle commercial edge to their material catapulted them from obscurity to virtual superstars overnight, as the Seattle scene debate raged and Kurt Cobain accused them of "jumping the alternative bandwagon". In the USA, Ten was still in the Top 20 a year and a half after its release.
The touring commitments that followed brought Vedder to the verge of nervous collapse. He struggled back to health in time for Pearl Jam's cameo as Matt Dillon's "band", Citizen Dick, in the 1992 movie Singles, and appearances on MTV Unplugged and the Lollapalooza II tour. The following year, Vedder fronted a reunited Doors on their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza hotel, performing versions of "Roadhouse Blues", "Break On Through" and "Light My Fire". They also collaborated with Canadian rock singer Neil Young on his 1993 summer tour. Gossard, meanwhile, involved himself with the acclaimed Brad project. Pearl Jam's eagerly awaited follow-up Vs was announced in October 1993, close on the heels of Nirvana's latest offering. While reviews were mixed, the advance orders placed the album on top of the US charts. The band also reaffirmed their commitment to their fans by protesting against the Ticketmaster booking agency over inflated ticket prices.
The US chart-topper Vitalogy seemed overtly concerned with re-establishing the band's grass roots credibility, a strong clue to which arrived in the fact that the album was available for a week on vinyl before a CD or cassette release (a theme revisited on "Spin The Black Circle"). There were also numerous references, some oblique, others more immediate, to the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Ironically, 1994 also saw Abbruzzese dispensed with, amid unfounded rumours that former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl would be invited into the ranks. Jack Irons subsequently became the band's drummer. In 1995, McCready released an album with his Mad Season side-project and joined his band mates on Neil Young's Mirror Ball, although Pearl Jam's name was not allowed to appear on the album's front cover. No Code was a strong collection that eschewed the band's normal sound in favour of an experimental, semi-acoustic approach. Hailed as a return to their roots, the hard rocking Yield was not a great commercial success despite reaching number 2 on the US album chart, with the effects of the band's long-term feud with Ticketmaster cutting into their fanbase. Irons was replaced later in the year by Matt Cameron, who featured on the concert album Live: On Two Legs. The band bounced back in summer 1999, reaching number 2 in the US singles chart with their cover version of Wayne Cochran's "Last Kiss".
The year 2000 proved to be extraordinary one for Pearl Jam. In addition to a new studio album Binaural, the band and record company decided to compete with the bootleggers. In September they issued an unprecedented 25 separate double albums of live concerts from their recent European tour. Five of the albums entered the Billboard Top 200 chart, putting Pearl Jam in the record books for a brief time as the first band to enter the chart with five new albums in one week. That record was smashed only 6 months later, when a further series of albums was released, this time documenting their American tour. The first batch of releases saw no less than seven albums reach the Billboard chart in the same week. Riot Act was a return to form in 2002 after the mildly disappointing Binaural.
Following the release of the rarities album Lost Dogs in 2003, Pearl Jam announced they would be parting company with longtime label Epic Records. Further live releases swelled the band's discography, and in 2004 they made their debut on their Ten Club label with the acoustic concert recording Benaroya Hall: Oct. 22 2003. The album featured "Man Of The Hour", Pearl Jam's contribution to Tim Burton's acclaimed movie Big Fish. The band then returned to the studio to work on their new album. Pearl Jam, their first album of new songs since 2002, was released through Monkeywrench/J in May 2006.
