Eddie Vedder

Eddie Jerome Vedder, born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23, 1964, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Known for his baritone vocals, Vedder has also worked as a guest vocalist for the supergroup Temple of the Dog and built a solo career contributing to feature film soundtracks and solo albums.

Vedder was born in Evanston, Illinois, to Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson Jr. His parents divorced in 1965, and his mother married Peter Mueller. Vedder grew up believing Mueller was his biological father and went by Edward Mueller for a time. In the mid-1970s, the family moved to San Diego County, California. On his twelfth birthday, Vedder received a guitar from his mother and found comfort in music and surfing. In his late teens, he learned that Mueller was his stepfather and that his biological father had died of multiple sclerosis. Vedder eventually dropped out of high school, moved to the Chicago area, earned his GED at Oakton Community College, and took his mother's maiden name.

During the 1980s, Vedder worked various jobs while performing with San Diego bands including Surf and Destroy, the Butts, Indian Style, and Bad Radio. In 1990, drummer Jack Irons gave him a demo tape from a Seattle group seeking a vocalist. Vedder recorded lyrics and vocals for three songs, which earned him an invitation to Seattle to audition. While there, he participated in Temple of the Dog, a tribute project to singer Andrew Wood, contributing vocals to several tracks including a duet on the breakout single "Hunger Strike."

In 1990, Vedder joined Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready in a band first named Mookie Blaylock, which signed with Epic Records in 1991 and changed its name to Pearl Jam. Their debut album, Ten, became one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s, featuring the single "Jeremy." The band followed with multi-platinum releases including Vs. in 1993 and Vitalogy in 1994, despite navigating the pressures of fame and a three-year boycott of Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam continued to release studio albums across four decades, including No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act, Pearl Jam, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton, and the 2024 album Dark Matter.

Beside his work with Pearl Jam, Vedder released his debut solo album in 2007 for the soundtrack to Into the Wild, winning a Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed." He later released the solo albums Ukulele Songs in 2011 and Earthling in 2022, as well as the 2011 live DVD Water on the Road. He has also contributed to soundtracks for films such as Dead Man Walking, I Am Sam, Body of War, Eat Pray Love, and Flag Day.

Vedder was ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's readers' poll of the "Best Lead Singers of All Time." In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam. In June 2024, Vedder released a single cover of The English Beat's "Save It for Later" for the TV series The Bear.