Eddie Vedder

Singer, songwriter. Born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23, 1964 in Evanston, Illinois. With a tumultuous homelife, Vedder (who adopted his mother's maiden name) turned to surfing and rock music as a teenager. He was especially influenced by such punk rock bands as The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and Black Flag, as well as U2.

After playing with the San Diego group Bad Radio in his twenties, Vedder joined Pearl Jam in 1990. The band (named for Vedder's great grandmother Pearl's famous homemade jam) was comprised of Mother Love Bone guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, Mike McCready (lead guitar), Dave Krusen (drums) and Vedder (vocals). Based in Seattle, Pearl Jam led the growing contingent of grunge artists, bringing the genre to the forefront of America's youth culture.

In 1991, Pearl Jam released its first album, Ten, which shot to the top of the charts with its angry lyrics and stadium-style rock. With the hits "Alive," "Evenflow" and "Black," the band explored angst, depression and suicide, giving voice to a disillusioned generation of teenagers known as Generation X. Furthering their anti-mainstream stance, Pearl Jam refused to produce any videos for songs from their second release, Vs., which came out in 1993 and featured a new drummer, Dave Abbruzzese. In addition, the band's summer 1994 tour was canceled when the band entered into a heated battle over high-ticket prices with Ticketmaster. The dispute was eventually settled in 1995 when the Justice Department sided with Ticketmaster.

The band's third album, Vitalogy featured yet another new drummer, this time the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Jack Irons. Just like the first two, the record quickly climbed to the top of the charts and was registered multiplatinum. The band teamed up with Neil Young in 1995 for a European tour. The tour was so successful that Pearl Jam collaborated with Young for his 1995 release, Mirror Ball.

With a relatively low profile, Pearl Jam continued to put out well-received albums throughout the late 1990s, including No Code in 1996, Yield and the live album Live on Two Legs in 1998, and Binaural in May 2000. Vedder has also contributed to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking, I Am Sam, and Into the Wild.

Eddie Vedder is alsoactive in several environmental and pro-choice causes.