Natalie Maines
Natalie Maines in Austin, Texas 2006
Background information
Birth name	Natalie Louise Maines
Born	(1974-10-14) October 14, 1974 (age 37) Lubbock, Texas, US
Genres	Country, alternative country, bluegrass, country rock, folk
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active	1995–present
Labels	SonyBMG, Open Wide, Columbia
Associated acts	Dixie Chicks
Website	www.dixiechicks.com

Natalie Louise Maines Pasdar (born October 14, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter who achieved success as the lead vocalist for the female alternative country band, the Dixie Chicks. Born in Lubbock, Texas, Maines considers herself a rebel who "loved not thinking in the way I knew the majority of people thought."^[1]

In 1995, after leaving Berklee College of Music, Maines was recruited by the Dixie Chicks to replace their lead singer, Laura Lynch. With Maines as lead vocalist, the band earned 10 Country Music Association Awards and 13 Grammy Awards for their work between 1998 and 2007.

On the eve of the Iraq invasion, while in concert in London for the 2003 Top of the World Tour, Maines commented that the Dixie Chicks were "...ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."^[2] Negative public reaction in the United States to this comment resulted in boycotts by country music radio stations and death threats.^[3][4][5]

In 2006, with Maines still acting as lead singer, the Dixie Chicks released Taking the Long Way. The album subsequently won five Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year).

Early life[link]

Maines was born in Lubbock to country musician and producer Lloyd Maines and his wife Tina May Maines. She attended Williams Elementary School in Lubbock where her second grade teacher recalls being told by Maines during a math lesson, "Teacher, I don't need to learn this stuff—I'm gonna be a star."^[6] Maines was a cheerleader while attending O.L. Slaton Junior High School,^[6] and graduated in 1992 from Lubbock High School where she had participated in the school choir.^[7] Maines has described growing up in conservative Texas, saying "...I always rebelled against that. My parents sent me and my sister to public minority schools so I always felt like a hippie and a rebel...As a teenager I always loved not thinking in the way I knew the majority of people thought. I always stood up for minorities...I've always stood up for homosexuals. I just always had these really strong convictions about doing so."^[1]

Following the completion of high school, Maines attended several colleges. She spent two semesters pursuing an undeclared major at West Texas A&M where her studies focused heavily on radio, then a year and a half at South Plains College. One of Maines' instructors at South Plains, and a former member of The Maines Brothers Band, Cary Banks, recalled "She was mostly into rock'n'roll, rhythm and blues... alternative rock." When Banks encountered Maines on campus, he said that she usually needed to vent a little steam. "She would get into a lot of political arguments" at the predominantly Republican school, and was a fan of Texas Governor Ann Richards. "She's always been opinionated and hardheaded like her dad."^[6] In December 1994, Maines auditioned for and received a full vocal scholarship to Berklee College of Music. She pursued the diploma program at Berklee but dropped out before the completion of her studies. Even though Maines is from Lubbock, home of Texas Tech University, she attended only one class at the school, a 1995 summer course in "Introductory Wildlife".^[6]

Career[link]

Maines' first commercially released work was background vocals on Pat Green's debut album, Dancehall Dreamer, produced by her father Lloyd Maines and released in 1995. At the end of 1995, at age 21, Maines joined the all-female country music band, the Dixie Chicks, which had been performing since 1989, but which had been unsuccessful in gaining more than local attention. Maines replaced founding lead singer Laura Lynch. She plays guitar, bass, and papoose in concert in the band.^[8]

Maines co-wrote four tracks for the Dixie Chicks' first three albums, including the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart number one hit "Without You" on Fly. Maines was a primary songwriter on all 14 tracks of the band's 2006 album Taking the Long Way which peaked on the Billboard Top 200 Chart at #1. Taking the Long Way has the Billboard Hot 100 single "Not Ready to Make Nice", (Maines, Robison, Maguire, Wilson) hitting #4.^[9] and for which the band won the songwriting Grammy Award, for Song of the Year. Maines considers the songwriting she did for Taking the Long Way "pure therapy" after the controversy that ensued over a comment Maines made from the stage in London that criticized U.S. President George W. Bush.^[10] "Everything felt more personal this time", Maines said about the album, "...there's just more maturity, depth, intelligence...[These songs] feel more grown-up."^[11]

Maines collaborates with other musical artists, both as a member of the Dixie Chicks and an individual singer. The Dixie Chicks first worked with Sheryl Crow in 1999 while performing for the concert tour Lilith Fair.^[12] Since then, the Dixie Chicks have worked with Crow on her Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live from Central Park album, a Crow remixed version of "Landslide" performed by the Chicks, and the Dixie Chicks' song "Favorite Year" from Taking the Long Way. Other artists Maines has worked with include Pat Green, Charlie Robison, Yellowcard, Stevie Nicks, Patty Griffin, Neil Finn, Eddie Vedder and Pete Yorn.

Maines, along with Jeff Probst, presently hosts Celebrity Superfan Roundtable on Howard 101.^[13]

Philanthropic works[link]

Maines has participated in various fundraising and awareness events. Some include:

• Legendary Bingo (August 23, 2007): Maines participated in "Legendary Bingo", a US bingo game hosted by drag queens and held weekly in Los Angeles, California. Proceeds from the event go to special charity interests; when Maines participated in the event, the proceeds benefited the "Voice for the Animals Foundation".^[14]
• St. Jude Benefit (June 12, 2008): Maines attended "Scrabble Under The Stars" in Beverly Hills, California. The event benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Scrabble boards autographed by celebrity attendees, including Maines, were auctioned through June 30, 2008.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Maines in Glasgow 2003

In 1997, Maines married her South Plains College boyfriend, bassist Michael Tarabay, and the couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Almost two years after they married, they filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.^[6]

Maines met actor Adrian Pasdar in May 1999 at the wedding of bandmate Emily Erwin to Charlie Robison. Maines and Pasdar married on June 24, 2000 at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada for 55 dollars.^[16][17][18] They have two children, Jackson Slade Pasdar (Slade) (born March 15, 2001) and Beckett Finn Pasdar (born July 14, 2004).^[19] She has referred to herself as "Natalie Pasdar."^[20] The family has homes in Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and New York City.

Public statements and controversy[link]

While lead singer for the Dixie Chicks, Maines has encountered several situations of a controversial nature. In August 2002, Maines criticized fellow country musician Toby Keith's song "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue". In March 2003, Maines commented that the Dixie Chicks were " ... ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."^[2]

Feud with Toby Keith[link]

Maines had a public feud with fellow country music star Toby Keith over the 2002 chart-topping country hit "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue", as well as a comment Maines made about U.S. President George W. Bush during a March 2003 Dixie Chicks concert in London.

Maines publicly criticized Keith's song "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" by saying, "I hate it. It's ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant. It targets an entire culture—and not just the bad people who did bad things. You've got to have some tact. Anybody can write, 'We'll put a boot in your ass' ... "^[21] Keith responded by belittling Maines' songwriting skills: "I'll bury her. She has never written anything that has been a hit..."^[22] and "That's what I do -- I write songs..."^[23] Keith further stated, "...she said anyone can write 'We'll put a boot in your ass', but, you know ... she didn't."^[24]

After Maines commented at a March 2003 Dixie Chicks concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire theatre in London that the Chicks didn't want the Iraq War and were "ashamed" President Bush "was from Texas", Keith's 2003 "Shock'n Y'all" tour began displaying a backdrop showing a doctored photo of Maines with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.^[25] Shortly thereafter, on May 21, 2003, Maines wore a t-shirt with the acronym "F.U.T.K." written on the front while performing for the Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast.^[25] The Dixie Chicks website stated that the acronym stood for "Freedom, United, Together in Kindness."^[26] Some saw it as a veiled insult directed at Keith.^[25]

In August 2003, Keith publicly declared that he was done feuding with Maines, explaining, "You know, a best friend of mine ... lost a two-year-old daughter to cancer ... [Recently] I saw ... a picture of me and Natalie and it said, 'Fight to the Death' or something. It seemed so insignificant. I said, 'Enough is enough'."^[27]

In the 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, backstage footage prior to her appearance wearing the F.U.T.K shirt recorded the conversation between Maines and Simon Renshaw and confirmed that the original intent of the shirt was, in fact, a shot at Keith in response to his criticism of her; the acronym stood for "Fuck You Toby Keith".^[20] As of January 2007, Keith continues to refuse to say Maines' name and argues that the doctored photo was intended to express his feeling that Maines' criticism was tyrannical and a dictator-like attempt to squelch Keith's free speech.^[28]

Iraq War criticism and fallout[link]

During the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq ordered by U.S. President George W. Bush after Congress's approval of the Iraq War Resolution, four years after Maines' marriage to an Iranian-American, the Dixie Chicks performed on March 10, 2003 at Shepherd's Bush Empire theatre in London, the first concert stop on their Top of the World Tour. Prior to performing their song "Travelin' Soldier", the band gave an introductory monologue during which Maines said:

Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.^[29]

A review of the concert published in The Guardian abbreviated Maines' comment to read, "Just so you know ... we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."^[2] This abbreviated statement became widely circulated by the media.

Maines' comment, as abbreviated, provoked controversy and anger from some country music fans, and the Dixie Chicks were subsequently denounced by Bush supporters. Country music radio stations boycotted Dixie Chicks music. Scattered protests at which people destroyed Dixie Chicks' CDs occurred. Concerns arose that the Dixie Chicks impending US leg of the Top of the World Tour, slated to start May 1 in South Carolina, would see a lack of fans.^[30]

On March 12, the Dixie Chicks website posted a statement that read, "We've been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our government's position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding ... " Maines added to the statement, "I feel the president is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world ... My comments were made in frustration and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view ... While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."^[31]

A further statement was released on March 14: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect." Maines continued by expressing her discontent regarding the impending war, "We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American."^[32]

Maines performing with the Dixie Chicks during their "Accidents & Accusations Tour" December 4, 2006

At the first US concert after Maines' comment, she is quoted as saying from the stage, "They told me that you may not come, but I knew you'd come because we have the greatest fans in the whole wide world."^[29][30] Despite fan turnout at concerts, the Dixie Chicks began receiving death threats as circulation of the comment increased. Subsequently, security was heightened at all concert venues and metal detectors were installed where possible.^[10][33] A death threat directed at Maines was received prior to the Chicks' July 6, 2003 concert in Dallas, Texas. Maines described the threat as "...scary because...it wasn't just somebody wanting to write a hate letter... It was somebody who obviously thought they had a plan." Security was heightened for the trip to and from the concert venue as well as at the arena.^[34]

On May 21, 2006, while promoting the release of the album Taking the Long Way, Maines recanted her 2003 apology to President Bush, saying, "...I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever ... If people are going to ask me to apologize based on who I am ... I don't know what to do about that. I can't change who I am."^[35]

Maines says she is not looking for more battles but that "The Incident", as it is referred to by the Chicks, reminded her of how she " ... felt in high school: to be angry, to be sure that you're right and that the things you do matter. You don't realize that you're not feeling those feelings until you do. And then you realize how much more interesting life is."^[35]

Two 2006 documentaries, Protesting the Dixie Chicks and Shut Up And Sing, deal with the controversy surrounding Maines' comment and the ensuing fallout. The Dixie Chicks continue to discuss the matter. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on June 15, 2006, regarding the fallout from her comment, Maines again stirred up controversy by stating "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism; Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country... I don't see why people care about patriotism."^[36]

In 2007, the Dixie Chicks won three Grammys for "Not Ready to Make Nice" and two Grammys for Taking the Long Way, receiving all five Grammys for which they were nominated. This was seen by some as vindication for the Dixie Chicks, who were shunned by country radio programmers after Maines' remarks about President Bush. As the Dixie Chicks accepted the album of the year award, Maines said, "I think people are using their freedom of speech with all these awards. We get the message."^[37] Even though the Dixie Chicks received five Grammy awards, they were forced to cancel a select few shows in the States due to lack of ticket sales. Shows were added to Canada, which received high response from fans.

West Memphis Three lawsuit[link]

Maines and the other Dixie Chicks participated in a rally in Little Rock, Arkansas in late 2007, in support of the West Memphis Three, three imprisoned men convicted of the 1993 murder of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. At the rally, Maines made statements claiming new DNA evidence implicated Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one of the slain boys, and also posted a note about the presumed new evidence on the Dixie Chicks' website. Hobbs responded by filing a lawsuit claiming compensatory and punitive damages for "loss of income, injury to his reputation and emotional distress."^[38] The suit was dismissed, however, in December 2009.^[39] On August 19, 2011 Maines joined with Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder in Jonesboro, Arkansas supporting the release of the West Memphis three.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Dixie Chicks[link]

Other works[link]

• 1995: Dancehall Dreamer for Pat Green
• 1997: "Snowing in Raton" on George's Bar with Pat Green
• 2001: "The Wedding Song" on Step Right Up with Charlie Robison
• 2001: "Too Far From Texas" on Trouble in Shangri-La with Stevie Nicks
• 2002: "Abilene" on C'mon C'mon with Sheryl Crow
• 2004: "El Cerrito Place" on Good Times with Charlie Robison
• 2005: "Mary" on Songs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South Asia with Patty Griffin
• 2006: "How I Go" on Lights and Sounds with Yellowcard
• 2006: "The Man" on Nightcrawler with Pete Yorn
• 2006: "Don't Mean Nothing" on Westerns EP with Pete Yorn
• 2006: "Lullaby of Broadway" Duets: An American Classic with Tony Bennett
• 2008: "Another Day (That Time Forgot)" on Home Before Dark with Neil Diamond
• 2011: "God Only Knows" on "God Only Knows" Single (solo)

Awards[link]

Dixie Chicks[link]

Individual[link]

• 2003: VH1 Big in '03: Big Quote of '03^[40][41]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikinews has related news: Dixie Chicks show documentary at TIFF

• Natalie Maines at the Internet Movie Database
• Dixie Chicks.com (Official Site)
• Chicks in the Line of Fire

Template:Grammy Award for Song of the Year 2000s (decade) Template:Grammy Award for Record of the Year 2000s (decade) Template:Grammy Award for Album of the Year 2000s (decade)

Bruce Robison is an Austin-based Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas near San Antonio, and he currently resides in Austin, Texas. His self-titled debut album was released in 1995.^[1]

Bruce has written several songs which have become hits when covered by well known singers, including: "Travelin' Soldier," (recorded in 2003 by the Dixie Chicks, reached No. 1 on the Country charts); "Angry All the Time," (recorded by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in 2001, also reached No. 1 on the country charts); and "Wrapped," (recorded in 2006 by George Strait, also reached No. 1).

Personal[link]

In 1992 he met singer-songwriter Kelly Willis and they married in 1996. The couple have four children, including a set of twins.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Sister, Robyn Ludwick, is an accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Bruce Robison (1996)
• Wrapped (1998)
• Long Way Home From Anywhere (1999)
• Country Sunshine (2001)
• Eleven Stories (2006)
• It Came From San Antonio (2007)
• The New World (2008)
• His Greatest (2009)
• From The Top (2010)

Other contributions[link]

• 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) - "What Would Willie Do"
• Eklektikos Live (2005) - "Travelin' Soldier"

References[link]

1. ^ http://allmusic.com
2. ^ http://www.commotionpr.com/images/BruceKelly_twins.jpg
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ CMT News: Willis has twins
5. ^ Mothers who rock
6. ^ Willis & Robison Welcome Fourth Child

External links[link]

• Official Website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Kelly Willis
Kelly Willis at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, 2007.
Background information
Born	(1968-10-02) October 2, 1968 (age 43)
Origin	Annandale, Virginia, United States
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1990–present
Labels	MCA A&M Rykodisc
Associated acts	Bruce Robison
Website	Kelly Willis

Kelly Willis (born October 2, 1968) is an American country music singer-songwriter, whose music has been described as contemporary country, alternative country and new traditionalist.

Early life[link]

Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, Willis was the youngest of three children. While her father was a U.S. Army colonel, Willis’ mother had a strong interest in music and sang and acted in amateur musicals. Willis began singing when she was nine as a way to comfort herself after her parents divorced. After the divorce, Willis and her siblings lived with her father and moved around the country to accommodate her father’s military job. She spent her middle school years in North Carolina and her high school years in Annandale, Virginia.

Career[link]

Heavily influenced by her mother, who used to sing in local musicals, Kelly became interested in music. One day during a high school visit to the beach, she entered a nearby pay recording booth and sang her own version of Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear." With the demo in hand, Willis impressed her then boyfriend, drummer Mas Palermo, and joined his rockabilly band at the age of 16. The band took her on as the lead vocalist and soon rechristened the band Kelly Willis & the Fireballs. After Willis’ high school graduation, the band decided to move to Austin, Texas, to participate in the vibrant Austin music scene. After a few months in Austin, however, the band broke up. Willis and Palermo, married in 1989, formed a new band called Radio Ranch. In Austin, Willis attracted the notice of several influential Texas singer-songwriters including Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett. Griffith introduced MCA producer Tony Brown to Willis. Brown was very impressed with Willis’ vocal abilities and signed her to the MCA label in 1989.

MCA embarked on a big marketing campaign to tout Willis after she recorded her first album on the label, the 1990 album Well Travelled Love. MCA ensured that Willis was interviewed by several national magazines including unusual venues like Vogue and Mademoiselle. Her voice appeared in the 1991 Ridley Scott-produced movie Thelma and Louise, singing "Little Honey." Willis also had a small part in Tim Robbins’ 1992 film Bob Roberts. Despite of all the publicity and positive reviews from most reviewers, Well Travelled Love and Willis’ subsequent albums for MCA (Bang Bang in 1991 and Kelly Willis in 1993) sold modestly and received very little radio play. During this time, Willis felt uncomfortable with the way she was marketed by MCA. In 1994, MCA released Willis from her contract.

In 1995, Willis collaborated on the song "Rex’s Blues", which appeared on the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Willis continued to pursue her music career after leaving MCA. In 1996, she recorded an EP for A&M Records entitled Fading Fast. However, her relationship with A&M was short-lived; after working with two major labels, Willis decided to record her next album on her own. Her efforts resulted in the 1999 album What I Deserve, which Willis sold to Rykodisc after finishing the album. What I Deserve received quite a bit of press after the album’s release. It was commonly seen as Willis’ response to her history with MCA, and was uniformly praised by critics, becoming a hit for Willis.

Willis was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[1]

In 2003, Willis and Bruce Robison, her husband and fellow country musician, released the record Happy Holidays, a cover album of Christmas songs. Starting in 2005, Willis and Robison appeared in television and radio commercials for the anti-allergy product Claritin.^[2]

In Fall 2007, Willis released Translated From Love. It was recorded at Robison's studio, Premium Recording Services, in Austin, TX.^[3] and produced by Chuck Prophet, formerly of the band Green On Red. The album is co-written by Willis, Prophet and notable songwriter Jules Shear, and includes a cover version of Iggy Pop's "Success."

In early 2008, Willis announced she would take an indefinite hiatus from live performances due to family obligations. Said Willis in a website announcement, "Being a traveling musician with four kids may not make an extremely compelling reality TV show but it is kicking my butt. I plan to continue making records. And I may do the occasional holiday show/song swap/benefit here and there.... Happy trails...until we meet again." Her winter / spring 2008 scheduled dates continued as planned until the final show May 2, 2008.

Willis has recently begun to tour outside of Texas again; first she headlined the Northern Rockies Folk Festival in Hailey, Idaho on August 7, 2010. Next up, she is scheduled to perform at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on October 2, 2010. In the summer of 2011, Kelly has been touring the country with her husband Bruce Robison and performing new songs in preparation for an album she plans to record with Bruce in the fall of 2011.

Kelly's new album, a duet with her husband Bruce Robison is scheduled to be released in September 2012. The album is to be titled "Cheater's Game" under the name The Bruce & Kelly Show.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Kelly Willis performing at McGonigel's Mucky Duck in Houston in 2006

Willis married high school boyfriend Mas Palermo in 1989, but they divorced in 1991. In 1992, Willis met Austin singer-songwriter Bruce Robison. They had a tumultuous relationship for the next few years.^{[citation needed]} After several years of dating, Willis and Robison married in 1996.

After spending years on working, Willis turned to her family. She went through in vitro fertilization treatments, and gave birth to son Deral Otis in January 2001. Willis' experience with raising a child led to a different sort of album than the earlier What I Deserve. In 2002, Willis released Easy. The album expresses Willis' contentment with her new life through songs with a relaxed, mellow vibe. After the album’s release, Willis became pregnant again and gave birth to twins Abigail Esme and Benjamin James^[5] on March 24, 2003^[2][6][7] On January 11, 2006 Kelly welcomed 4th child Joseph Willis Robison; he weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces was 19.75 inches long.^[8][9]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

See also[link]

• Music of Austin

Further reading[link]

• Corcoran, Michael. “Happy holidays, from Kelly and Bruce; A songwriting duo's Christmas: The children will nestle all snug in their beds, while Mom and Dad's records dance in our heads.” The Austin American-Statesman 25 November 2003: E1+.
• House, Silas. “Nothing to Fear.” No Depression July–August 2002: 72-81.
• Manheim, James M. “Kelly Willis.” Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale, 1994. 278-280.
• Patoski, Joe Nick. “What She Deserves.” Texas Monthly March 1999: 114-116.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kelly Willis official website
• Kelly Willis at Allmusic.com
• Kelly Willis Discography
• Exclaim! - Interview with Kelly Willis - Exclaim! September 2007
• Picture of twins Abigail Esme and Benjamin James
• Rykodisc.com
• Cmt.com - Kelly Willis
• Dir.salon.com
• Cmt.com - Bruce Robison
• Blogs.myspace.com

Sandra Bernhard
Bernhard at the Daryl Roth Theater (NYC) April 2006
Born	(1955-06-06) June 6, 1955 (age 57) Flint, Michigan, United States
Medium	Stand-up, television, music, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1970s-present
Genres	Observational comedy Political satire
Subject(s)	Celebrity culture American politics
Website	http://www.sandrabernhard.com

Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.^[1]

Early life[link]

Bernhard has often addressed her childhood in interviews and within the context of her stand-up comedy. She was born in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of Jeanette and Jerome Bernhard.^[2] She has three older brothers. Her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, when she was 10.^[3]

Of her Jewish family, Bernhard stated in her show Without You I'm Nothing: "My father was a proctologist and my mother was an abstract artist, so that's how I view the world." In the documentary program Girls Who Do: Comedy, she discusses being a funny teenager. After graduating from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, she went to live on a kibbutz in Israel. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19. During that time she made ends meet working as a manicurist in a high-end salon.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Bernhard became a popular staple at The Comedy Store. As her popularity as a comedian grew she was cast as a supporting player on The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. Guest appearances on evening talk shows followed. Her big break came in 1983 when she was cast by Martin Scorsese to star as stalker and kidnapper Masha in the film The King of Comedy for which she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She began performing her first one-woman show called I'm Your Woman in 1985, and an album version was released. Bernhard appeared in a variety of tiny film and television roles throughout the 1980s while crafting her stand-up routine into a more performance art oriented show. She launched an Off Broadway one woman show called Without You I'm Nothing, With You I'm Not Much Better in 1988 which played at The Orpheum Theatre. In 1990 it was turned into a film and a double album of the same name. The film was mostly shot on location in 1989 in The Cocoanut Grove located in The Ambassador Hotel. A frequent guest on David Letterman's NBC program, it was during the run of 'Without You I'm Nothing, With You I'm Not Much Better' that she appeared with her then good friend (and rumored lover) Madonna on the show. The two alluded to their romantic relationship and staged a sexy confrontation. They would continue to be friends for several years, with Bernhard even making an appearance in Madonna's film 'Truth or Dare.'

Career after 1990[link]

In 1991 Bernhard began playing the role of Nancy Bartlett on the hit sitcom Roseanne. She appeared in 33 episodes between 1991 and 1997, and was one of the first actresses to portray an openly lesbian recurring character on American television. The role is one of her best known, something she has lamented in her stand-up as being both a blessing and a curse.

In September 1992, Bernhard did a nude pictorial for Playboy. She hosted the USA Network's Reel Wild Cinema for two seasons beginning in 1995. Bernhard continued acting in mostly independent films and TV guest roles and forays into mainstream films such as Hudson Hawk and Dallas Doll. In 1991 she released her first studio album, entitled Excuses For Bad Behavior (Part One).

In 1995, she briefly appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, in an episode titled "Jerk". In 1996, she guest-starred on an episode of Highlander: The Series called "Dramatic License" in which she played a romance novelist writing about the life of the main character. She also appeared (as herself) on Will and Grace in an episode dealing with Will and Grace's spuriously bidding on Sandra's Manhattan apartment in order to become friendly with her and culminates in a diatribe from Bernhard when their ruse is exposed, with obfuscating sounds of a blender (she was having a smoothie made) blotting out supposed obscenities. She returned as herself briefly two years later.

Bernhard returned to Broadway in 1998 with the show I'm Still Here... Damn It!, which was recorded for a live comedy album. At that time of the show Bernhard was pregnant. She gave birth to daughter Cicely Yasin Bernhard on July 4, 1998.^[4][5] For the next several years she would self-record all of her live shows and release cheaply made CD-R versions which were sold in the lobby of her shows. She continued touring and making smaller films and TV guest appearances.

She returned to New York in 2006 with the Off-Broadway show Everything Bad & Beautiful. The CD Everything Bad & Beautiful was critically lauded as one of her best, released by indie label Breaking Records.^[6] The year 2007 saw the creation of Bernhard's show Plan B from Outer Space as well as Indie label upstart Breaking Records release of the compilation "Breaking For the Holidays" where Bernhard co-penned Miracle of Lights with Mitchell Kaplan. She toured "Plan B" through 2008, and performed Miracle of Lights on some morning shows in New York.

Bernhard was a featured guest singer with children's artist Dan Zane's on the Family Dance album's "Thrift Shop".^[7]

In an interview with Howard Stern, the comedian revealed that she was originally offered the role of Miranda Hobbes of TV show Sex and the City, but opted out due to the "terrible" original script and low paycheck.^[8]

Personal life[link]

On July 4, 1998, she had her daughter Cicely Yasin Bernhard via caesarean section.^[9][10]

Controversies and criticisms[link]

In August 2006, Sandra Bernhard served as the spokesperson in a commercial for Make-up Art Cosmetics (MAC). In the commercial, promoting PlushGlass lipgloss, Bernhard referred to someone who might not approve of her outspokenness as a "...little freaked out, intimidated, frightened, right-wing Republican thin-lipped bitch". MAC edited the line from the commercial to avoid offending some of its customer base.^[11]

In September 2008, Bernhard created controversy during one of her one-woman shows by saying that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she entered Manhattan. Bernhard later said that the remark was "part of a much larger, nuanced and yes, provocative (that's what I do) piece from my show about racism, freedom, women's rights and the extreme views of Governor Sarah Palin..."^[12]

Music[link]

Albums[link]

Bernhard performs classic pop music, jazz, and blues tunes. She has released several albums (combinations of music and comedy) including:

• I'm Your Woman
• Without You I'm Nothing
• Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One)
• I'm Still Here... Damn It!
• The Love Machine
• Hero Worship
• Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part Two)
• The Love Machine Remastered (entirely different than The Love Machine)
• Giving Til It Hurts
• Gems of Mystery
• Everything Bad & Beautiful
• Whatever It Takes
• I Love Being Me, Don't you? - featuring White Widow

Singles[link]

• "Everybody's Young"
• "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (#13 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play)
• "Manic Superstar"
• "Phone Sex (Do You Want Me Tonight?)"
• "On the Runway" (#39 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play)
• "Perfection"
• "Miracle of Lights"
• "All Around"

Compilations[link]

• AT&T Presents Stormy Weather; song "Is That All There Is?"
• Divas of Dance - Volume 3 (Remixes); song "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
• Breaking For the Holidays; song "Miracle of Lights"

All of the CDs from The Love Machine through Gems... have been cheaply produced CD-Rs, which is commonly what comedians sell at their shows. In 2004 Bernhard re-released special edition albums of I'm Your Woman and Without You I'm Nothing. The re-releases of both included special tracks, as well as several guests to help attract a new audience. Bernhard has stated that Excuses for Bad Behavior (Part One) will be re-released in late 2007.

The Smoking Popes recorded a song entitled "Sandra", a tribute to Bernhard, wherein lead singer Josh Caterer professes his obsession with Sandra.

Literature[link]

• Confessions of a Pretty Lady - Re-released in 1989
• May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra?
• Love, Love and Love

Filmography[link]

Features:

• Shogun Assassin (1980) (voice in English dub)
• Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (1981)
• The King of Comedy (1983)
• The House of God (1984)
• Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird (1985)
• The Whoopee Boys (1986)
• Casual Sex? (1988)
• Track 29 (1988)
• Heavy Petting (1989) (documentary)
• Without You I'm Nothing (1990)
• Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
• Hudson Hawk (1991)
• Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)
• Sandra Bernhard: Confessions of a Pretty Lady (1994) (documentary)
• Dallas Doll (1994)
• Unzipped (1995) (documentary)
• A Hundred and One Nights of Simon Cinema (1995) (Cameo)
• The Reggae Movie (1995) (documentary)
• Catwalk (1996) (documentary)
• Lover Girl (1997)
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998)
• Plump Fiction (1998)
• One Hell of a Guy (1998) (voice only)
• Exposé (1998)
• Wrongfully Accused (1998)
• Somewhere in the City (1998)
• Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999) (voice only) (direct-to-video)
• I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1999)
• Playing Mona Lisa (2000)
• Dinner Rush (2000)
• Zoolander (2001) (Cameo)
• The N-Word (2004) (documentary)
• The Easter Egg Adventure (2005) (voice only) (direct-to-video)
• Searching for Bobby D (2005)
• Dare (2009)
• See You in September (2009)
• Looking for Lenny (2009) (documentary)

Short Subjects:

• Museum of Love (1996)
• The Third Date (2003)
• Twenty Dollar Drinks (2006)

Television work[link]

• The Richard Pryor Special? (1977)
• The Richard Pryor Show (1977) (canceled after 4 episodes)
• Roseanne (recurring cast member from 1991–1997)
• Sandra After Dark, with Your Hostess, Sandra Bernhard (1992)
• The A-List (1992 - 1993)
• Reel Wild Cinema (1994 - 1996)
• Freaky Friday (1995)
• The Larry Sanders Show (1995)
• The Late Shift (1996)
• Superman: The Animated Series (1997)
• The Apocalypse (1997)
• Ally McBeal (1997)
• Hercules (1998 - 1999) (voice only)
• Sandra Bernhard: I'm Still Here... Damn It! (1999)
• Will & Grace (2000)
• Sandra Bernhard: Giving Them Lip (2001)
• The Sandra Bernhard Experience (2001 - 2003)
• Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (2003)
• Silver Lake (2004) (unsold pilot)
• The L Word (As Charlotte Birch, 2005)
• The Queer Edge (co-host from 2005 - 2007)
• Las Vegas (2007)
• The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Head Case (2009)
• Roseanne's Nuts (episode "Grannies Night Out", 2011)
• Hot in Cleveland (episode "Beards", 2012)
• GCB (episode "Revelation", 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sandra Bernhard

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sandra Bernhard

• Official website
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Movie Database
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sandra Bernhard at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Sandra Bernhard at AllRovi
• Sandra Bernhard on Twitter
• Bernhard's brief appearance in Philadelphia (video)

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (March 2012)

Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder on stage with Pearl Jam in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on June 17, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Edward Louis Severson III
Also known as	Ed Vedder E. Vedder Edward Mueller Eddie Mueller Jerome Turner Wes C. Adle
Born	(1964-12-23) December 23, 1964 (age 47) Evanston, Illinois, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, folk rock, grunge, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, ukulele, accordion, bass guitar, drums, mandolin
Associated acts	Pearl Jam, Bad Radio, Temple of the Dog, Hovercraft, 7 Worlds Collide, C Average
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster Schecter PT Model Gibson SG Gibson SG Jr. Martin 0-18 Earnest Instruments Tululele, Custom Ukulele[1]

Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American musician and singer-songwriter^[2] who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. Known for his powerful vocals, he is widely considered an icon of alternative rock.^[3]

He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums by other artists. In 2007, Vedder released his first solo album as a soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007). His second album, Ukulele Songs, along with a live DVD titled Water on the Road, was released on 31 May 2011.^[4]

Early life[link]

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, son of Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson, Jr.^[5] His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was one year old. His mother soon remarried a man named Peter Mueller, an attorney, and Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father. His adopted name became Edward Mueller.^[6] While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home.^[7]

In the mid-1970s, the family, including Vedder's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. It was at this point that Vedder, who had received a guitar from his mother on his twelfth birthday, began turning to music (as well as basketball) as a source of comfort. He particularly found solace in The Who's 1973 album, Quadrophenia.^[8] He said, "When I was around 15 or 16... I felt all alone... I was all alone—except for music."^[9] His mother and Mueller divorced when Vedder was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Vedder remained with his stepfather in California so he would not have to change high schools.

After the divorce Vedder met Uncle Scott and learned the truth about his parentage, that Mueller was really his stepfather. Vedder had met his biological father briefly as a child, but had believed that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Vedder learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. By his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder was on his own, living in an apartment and supporting himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas.^[9] He eventually dropped out of high school in his senior year due to the pressures of balancing school with working.^[9] He joined the rest of his family in Chicago, and it was at this time that he changed his name to Eddie Vedder, Vedder being his mother's maiden name.

In the early 1980s, Vedder worked as a waiter, earned his high school GED, and briefly attended a community college near Chicago.^[6][10] In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego, California, with his girlfriend, Beth Liebling. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including a position as a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla.^[11] Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands, including Surf and Destroy and The Butts.^[7] One of those bands, called Indian Style,^[12] included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk.^[13] In 1988, Vedder became the vocalist for the San Diego progressive funk rock band Bad Radio. The music of the original incarnation of the band was influenced by Duran Duran; however, after Vedder joined Bad Radio, the band moved on to a more alternative rock sound influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[14]

Temple of the Dog[link]

After leaving Bad Radio, Vedder was without a band, and for the rest of 1990 he worked part-time as a night attendant at a local gas station.^[15] Through the Southern California music scene, Vedder met former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who became a friend of Vedder and who would play basketball with him.^[16] Later in 1990, Irons gave him a demo tape from a band in Seattle, Washington that was looking for a singer. He listened to the tape shortly before going surfing, where lyrics came to him.^[17] Vedder wrote lyrics for three of the songs in what he later described as a "mini-opera" entitled Momma-Son. The songs tell the story of a young man who, like Vedder, learns that he had been lied to about his paternity and that his real father is dead, grows up to become a serial killer, and is eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death.^[17] Vedder recorded vocals for the three songs, and mailed the demo tape back to Seattle. The three songs would later become Pearl Jam's "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps".

After hearing Vedder's tape, former Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament invited Vedder to come to Seattle to audition for their new band. They were instantly impressed with his unique sound. At the time, Gossard and Ament were working on the Temple of the Dog project founded by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell as a musical tribute to Mother Love Bone's frontman Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose at age 24. Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and newcomer Mike McCready were also a part of the project. The song "Hunger Strike" became a duet between Cornell and Vedder. Cornell was having trouble with the vocals at practice, when Vedder stepped in. Cornell later said of Vedder that "he sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."^[18] Vedder would provide background vocals on several other songs as well. In April 1991, Temple of the Dog was released through A&M Records.

Pearl Jam[link]

Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 by Ament, Gossard, and McCready,^[17] who then recruited Vedder and drummer Dave Krusen. The band originally took the name Mookie Blaylock, but was forced to change it when the band signed to Epic Records in 1991. After the recording sessions for Ten were completed, Krusen left Pearl Jam in May 1991.^[7] Krusen was replaced by Matt Chamberlain, who had previously played with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. After playing only a handful of shows, one of which was filmed for the "Alive" video, Chamberlain left to join the Saturday Night Live band.^[19] As his replacement, Chamberlain suggested Dave Abbruzzese, who joined the group and played the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the Ten album.

Ten broke the band into the mainstream, and became one of the best selling alternative albums of the 1990s. The band found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention given to the Seattle music scene and the genre known as grunge. The single "Jeremy" received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance in 1993.^[20] Pearl Jam received four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards for its music video for "Jeremy", including Video of the Year and Best Group Video.^[21] Ten ranks number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[22] and "Jeremy" was ranked number 11 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest songs of the '90s.^[23]

Following an intense touring schedule, the band went into the studio to record what would become its second studio album, Vs., released in 1993. Upon its release, Vs. set the record at the time for most copies of an album sold in a week,^[25] and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Vs. was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.^[26] From Vs., the song "Daughter" received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the song "Go" received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[27]

Feeling the pressures of success, with much of the burden of Pearl Jam's popularity falling on Vedder,^[17] the band decided to decrease the level of promotion for its albums, including refusing to release music videos.^[28] Vedder's issue with fame came from what he stated as "what happens when a lot of these people start thinking you can change their lives or save their lives or whatever and create these impossible fuckin' expectations that in the end just start tearing you apart."^[29] In 1994, the band began a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster, which lasted for three years and limited the band's ability to tour in the United States.^[30] During the mid-1990s, Vedder faced what he called a "pretty intense stalker problem."^[31] Vedder would refer to the issue in the song "Lukin" from No Code.^[32]

Later that same year the band released its third studio album, Vitalogy, which became the band's third straight album to reach multi-platinum status. It was at this time that Vedder began to be featured more on rhythm guitar. Many of the songs on Vitalogy appear to be based by Vedder around the pressures of fame.^[33] The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996.^[34] Vitalogy was ranked number 492 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[22] The lead single "Spin the Black Circle" won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[26] Although Abbruzzese performed on the album Vitalogy, he was fired in August 1994, four months before the album was released.^[31] The band cited political differences between Abbruzzese and the other members; for example, he disagreed with the Ticketmaster boycott.^[31] He was replaced by Jack Irons, a close friend of Vedder and the former and original drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[7]

Regarding the approach Pearl Jam took after its initial success, Vedder stated, "We've had the luxury of writing our own job description...and that description has basically been cut down to just one line: make music."^[35] The band subsequently released No Code in 1996 and Yield in 1998. In 1998, prior to Pearl Jam's U.S. Yield Tour, Irons left the band due to dissatisfaction with touring.^[36] Pearl Jam enlisted former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron as Irons' replacement on an initially temporary basis,^[36] but he soon became a permanent replacement for Irons. "Do the Evolution" (from Yield) received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[37] In 1998, Pearl Jam recorded "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1960s ballad made famous by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. It was released on the band's 1998 fan club Christmas single; however, by popular demand, the cover was released to the public as a single in 1999. "Last Kiss" peaked at number two on the Billboard charts and became the band's highest-charting single.

In 2000, the band released its sixth studio album, Binaural, and initiated a successful and ongoing series of official bootlegs. The band released seventy-two such live albums in 2000 and 2001, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard 200 at the same time.^[38] "Grievance" (from Binaural) received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[39] The band released its seventh studio album, Riot Act, in 2002. Pearl Jam's contribution to the 2003 film, Big Fish, "Man of the Hour", was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2004.^[40] The band's eighth studio album, the eponymous Pearl Jam, was released in 2006. The band released its ninth studio album, Backspacer, in 2009.

On Pearl Jam records, Vedder uses the pseudonym "Jerome Turner" for his non-musical (usually design and artwork) contributions. He has also at times used the pseudonym of "Wes C. Addle" ("West Seattle").

Other musical projects[link]

Eddie Vedder performing at the premiere for Body of War at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

Soundtrack contributions[link]

Vedder has contributed solo material to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking (1995), I Am Sam (2001), A Brokedown Melody (2004), Body of War (2007), and Reign Over Me (2007). Vedder collaborated with Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for his contributions to the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. He covered The Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" for the I Am Sam soundtrack. Vedder wrote "Man Of The Hour" that Pearl Jam recorded for Tim Burton's Big Fish Soundtrack (2003). Vedder wrote two songs for the 2007 feature documentary, Body of War, produced by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue: "No More" (a song referring to the Iraq War) and "Long Nights". Vedder and the supergroup The Million Dollar Bashers, which includes members from Sonic Youth, Wilco, and Bob Dylan's band, covered Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" for the biopic film, I'm Not There (2007). Pearl Jam recorded a cover version of The Who's song "Love, Reign o'er Me" for the film Reign Over Me, which takes its title from the song. In 2010, Vedder recorded a new song, "Better Days", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2010 film Eat Pray Love.^[41][42]

[edit] Into the Wild

Vedder contributed an album's worth of songs to the soundtrack for the 2007 film, Into the Wild. The soundtrack was released on September 18, 2007 through J Records. It includes covers of the Indio song "Hard Sun" and the Jerry Hannan song "Society".^[43] Vedder said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there."^[44] Vedder's songs written for the film feature a folk sound. Thom Jurek of Allmusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where rock & roll makes fleeting appearances."^[45] Vedder won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild.^[46] He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his contributions to the film's original score.^[47] At the 2008 Grammy Awards, "Guaranteed" received a nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.^[48] "Guaranteed" was also nominated a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.^[49] At the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Rise" received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.^[50]

Vedder promoted the Into the Wild soundtrack with his first solo tour, which began in April 2008. The April leg of the tour, dubbed the "April Fools Tour", began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at The Centre on April 2, 2008 and was composed of ten dates focusing on the West Coast of the United States.^[51][52] Vedder continued the tour with a second leg in August 2008 composed of fourteen dates focusing on the East Coast and Canada.^[53] The second leg of the tour began in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Opera House and ended in Chicago, Illinois at the Auditorium Theatre.^[54] In June 2009, Vedder followed his 2008 solo tour with another solo tour composed of fourteen dates focusing on the Eastern United States and Hawaii, which began in Albany, New York at the Palace Theatre and continued through to Honolulu at the Hawaii Theatre.^[55]

[edit] Ukulele Songs

Vedder released his second solo album titled Ukulele Songs, a collection of original songs and covers performed on the ukulele, on May 31, 2011. The first single from the album, "Longing to Belong," was released through digital retailers on March 21. A live DVD titled Water on the Road, featuring live performances from two shows in Washington, D.C. during Vedder's 2008 solo tour, was released the same day as Ukulele Songs.

Collaborations[link]

In addition to playing with Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog, Vedder has performed or record with numerous well-known artists. He has appeared on albums by The Who, Ramones, Neil Young, R.E.M., Neil Finn, Bad Religion, Mark Seymour, Cat Power, Mike Watt, Fastbacks, Wellwater Conspiracy, Jack Irons, and John Doe, and has also recorded with The Strokes, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Supersuckers, Susan Sarandon, and Zeke. In the months of June and July 2006, Vedder made live performances jamming with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, singing on many tracks, including lead vocals on "The Waiting" and backing vocals on "American Girl". Vedder performed the songs "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", "Light My Fire" and "Roadhouse Blues" with the remaining members of The Doors at the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He also performed with R.E.M. at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He also performed with The Stooges at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Vedder made a guest appearance at the Ramones' last show on August 6, 1996 at the Palace in Hollywood.^[56] Vedder has also performed live on stage with some of the biggest names in music and film including Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, Flea, Bryan Adams, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Roger Daltrey, Kings of Leon, Dave Grohl, Perry Farrell, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Jerry Cantrell, Andrew Stockdale, Josh Homme, Mike Ness, Neil Young, Guided By Voices, Ace Frehley, Dave Matthews, Natalie Maines, Tim Robbins, Johnny Depp, and many others.

Other work[link]

Vedder had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie, Singles, along with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. He appeared as himself, playing drums in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick.^[57] He was also interviewed for the 1996 grunge documentary, Hype! He appears in the 2003 Ramones documentary, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones. In 2007, he made a cameo as himself in the comedy film, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. He appears in the 2007 Tom Petty documentary, Runnin' Down a Dream, the 2008 political documentary, Slacker Uprising, and the 2009 Howard Zinn documentary, The People Speak. He had a one-scene cameo in the second episode of the second season of the IFC television show Portlandia.

Vedder is known for his outspoken left-wing/liberal social and political views. Discussing his views on current issues in the United States, Vedder said, "People on death row, the treatment of animals, women's right to choose. So much in America is based on religious fundamentalist Christianity. Grow up! This is the modern world!"^[58]

In 1992, Spin printed an article by Vedder, entitled "Reclamation", which detailed his views on abortion.^[59] Vedder was outspoken in support of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000,^[60] and Pearl Jam played a series of concerts on the 2004 Vote for Change tour, supporting the candidacy of John Kerry for U.S. President. Vedder told Rolling Stone magazine, "I supported Ralph Nader in 2000, but it's a time of crisis. We have to get a new administration in."^[61] In 2005, during Pearl Jam's first South American tour, Vedder stated, to the immediate and effusive support from the crowd in Rio de Janeiro, that "next time we come to Brazil, the world will be a better place to live, as George Bush will no longer be the President of the United States." Vedder supported the candidacy of Barack Obama in 2008.^[62]

In his spare time, Vedder is a surfer and active in surf-related conservation efforts, most notably The Surfrider Foundation.^[63] Vedder shows his support for environmental activism by sporting an Earth First! tattoo on his right calf. The logo is of a monkey wrench crossed with a stone hammer. Vedder is vegetarian.^[64]

Vedder was a longtime and outspoken supporter for the Free the West Memphis 3 movement, a cause that advocated the release of three young men who were convicted in 1994 of the gruesome murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. In an interview with Larry King on December 19, 2007, Damien Echols, who was then on death row for the murders, said that Vedder had been the "greatest friend a person could have" and that he had collaborated with him while in prison.^[65] The song "Army Reserve" on Pearl Jam's 2006 self-titled album features a lyrical collaboration between Vedder and Echols. On their August 19, 2011, release, Vedder and Natalie Maines attended the release hearing and arranged a celebration party for them afterwards.

In 2009, Vedder performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States”.^[66]

Musical style and influences[link]

Critic Jim DeRogatis describes Vedder's vocals as a "Jim Morrison-like vocal growl."^[67] Greg Prato of Allmusic said, "With his hard-hitting and often confessional lyrical style and Jim Morrison-esque baritone, Vedder also became one of the most copied lead singers in all of rock."^[68] Vedder has inducted The Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in his induction speeches he has cited them all as influences. Other influences that Vedder has cited include Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, U2, The Who, The Jackson 5, The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Tom Waits, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan, The Ramones and the Pixies.^[32][69]

Vedder's lyrical topics range from personal ("Alive", from Ten; "Better Man", from Vitalogy) to social and political concerns ("Even Flow", from Ten; "World Wide Suicide", from Pearl Jam). His lyrics have often invoked the use of storytelling and have included themes of freedom, individualism, and sympathy for troubled individuals.^[70] Other recurring themes include the use of water metaphors,^[71] as well as the idea of leaving everything behind to start again (featured in such songs as "Rearviewmirror", from Vs.; "MFC", from Yield; "Evacuation", from Binaural; and "Gone", from Pearl Jam).

Although best known as a vocalist, Vedder also plays guitar on many Pearl Jam songs, beginning with the Vs. songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town". When the band started, Gossard and McCready were clearly designated as rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. The dynamic began to change when Vedder started to play more rhythm guitar during the Vitalogy era. McCready said in 2006, "Even though there are three guitars, I think there's maybe more room now. Stone will pull back and play a two-note line and Ed will do a power chord thing, and I fit into all that."^[72] Vedder's guitar playing helped the band's sound progress toward a more stripped-down style; the songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Corduroy" (from Vitalogy) feature Vedder's raw, punk-influenced guitar playing. As he had more influence on the band's sound, Vedder sought to make the band's musical output less catchy. He said, "I felt that with more popularity, we were going to be crushed, our heads were going to pop like grapes."^[32] He has also contributed performances on the ukulele, harmonica, accordion, and electric sitar to various Pearl Jam recordings. In 2012 his popular black Fender Telecaster was featured in a painting by modern artist Karl Haglund.

'Weird Al' Yankovic wrote the song "My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder" for his album Running with Scissors.

Live performances[link]

Throughout Pearl Jam's career, Vedder has engaged in interactivity with the crowd during the band's concerts. Early in Pearl Jam's existence, Vedder and the band became known for their intense live performances. Vedder participated in stage diving as well as crowd surfing. During the early part of Pearl Jam's career, Vedder was known to climb the stage lighting rig and hang from the stage roof. Looking back at this time, Vedder said, "It's hard for us to watch early performances, even though that's when people think we were on fire and young. Playing music for as long as I had been playing music and then getting a shot at making a record and at having an audience and stuff, it's just like an untamed force...a different kind of energy. And I find it kind of hard to watch those early performances because it's so just fucking, semi-testosterone-fueled or whatever. But it didn't come from jock mentality. It came from just being let out of the gates."^[73]

Vedder began incorporating social commentary and political criticism into his lyrics and performances early in his career with Pearl Jam. He usually comments on politics between songs, often to criticize U.S. foreign policy. During Pearl Jam's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged, Vedder stood atop his stool, took out a marker pen, and wrote "PRO-CHOICE" down his arm in large letters when the band performed the song "Porch". During Pearl Jam's 2007 Lollapalooza headlining show, Vedder and the band played a song telling the crowd in Chicago to boycott the oil company B.P. Amoco because they had been polluting Lake Michigan.^[74]

Personal life[link]

Vedder's first marriage was to longtime girlfriend Beth Liebling. The couple were married in Rome on June 3, 1994. Vedder briefly served as the drummer for Liebling's instrumental experimental rock band Hovercraft in the mid-1990s, going by the stage name Jerome230.^[75] Vedder and Liebling divorced in September 2000 after a 6-year marriage.^[76]

Vedder married model Jill McCormick on September 18, 2010.^[76] They have two daughters, Olivia (born June 11, 2004) and Harper (born September 23, 2008).^[77][78]

Vedder attended San Dieguito High School, now called San Dieguito Academy. Vedder donated proceeds from a 2006 Pearl Jam concert in San Diego toward the construction of a theater for the school in the name of his former drama teacher, Clayton E. Liggett. Liggett was Vedder's mentor in high school. Vedder wrote the song "Long Road" (from Merkin Ball) upon hearing of Liggett's death in 1995.^[79]

Vedder is a friend of The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and former Audioslave and current Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell. Townshend discouraged Vedder from retiring in 1993.^[80] In late 2007, Vedder wrote the foreword to a new Pete Townshend biography, Who Are You: The Life of Pete Townshend. The book was published in the UK in March 2008 and in the U.S. in October 2008. Vedder was a close friend of the late Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone, with Vedder being at his side when he died. Since Ramone's death, Vedder and Pearl Jam have played the Ramones' "I Believe in Miracles" regularly at live shows. While driving home from Ramone's funeral, Vedder wrote the lyrics for the Pearl Jam song "Life Wasted" (from Pearl Jam).^[32] He is also a friend of famed surfers Kelly Slater, Laird Hamilton, and fellow musicians Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. He was featured with Laird Hamilton in an episode of the documentary series Iconoclasts in 2006. While surfing with Tim Finn in New Zealand on March 25, 1995,^[81] Vedder was carried 250 feet (76 m) off the coast and had to be rescued by lifeguards.^[82] He also has paddled outrigger canoes on occasion and in 2005 was nearly lost at sea trying to paddle from Moloka'i to Oahu.^[83]

Eddie Vedder's August 3, 2007 Wrigley Field visit

Singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during seventh-inning stretch

Throwing ceremonial first pitch

Vedder is a Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears fan and a long-time, die-hard fan of the Chicago Cubs.^[84]Vedder also became a fan of the Seattle SuperSonics while he was living in Seattle, and could be spotted at Key Arena many nights attending Sonics games. He is friends with several Chicago sports figures, including former White Sox pitcher Jack McDowell, former Bulls player Dennis Rodman, former Blackhawks player Chris Chelios and Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood. Vedder occasionally wears a Walter Payton jersey while performing onstage. Vedder was wearing a White Sox hat given to him by McDowell during Pearl Jam's 1992 Saturday Night Live and MTV Unplugged appearances. In November 1993, Vedder and McDowell were involved in a bar room brawl in New Orleans, Louisiana that resulted in Vedder being arrested for public drunkenness and disturbing the peace.^[85] The Pearl Jam song "Black, Red, Yellow" (from the "Hail, Hail" single) is about the Rodman/Michael Jordan/Phil Jackson-era Chicago Bulls teams.^[86] The middle of the song features a voice-mail message Rodman left for Vedder asking Vedder to return his call. Vedder sang the national anthem before the third game of the 1998 NBA Finals in Chicago,^[87] and has sung "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at five Cubs games since 1998. In 2007, a few days before performing with Pearl Jam in Chicago for Lollapalooza, he threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubs. Vedder wrote a song at the request of former Cubs shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks paying tribute to the Cubs called "All the Way".^[88][89] On September 18, 2008, the song was made available for digital download via Pearl Jam's official website for US$0.99.^[90]

Discography[link]

Solo discography[link]

Temple of the Dog discography[link]

Pearl Jam discography[link]

• Ten (1991)
• Vs. (1993)
• Vitalogy (1994)
• No Code (1996)
• Yield (1998)
• Binaural (2000)
• Riot Act (2002)
• Pearl Jam (2006)
• Backspacer (2009)
• Ukulele Songs (2011)

Singles[link]

Contributions and collaborations[link]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Performer and actor

Film[link]

Performer and actor

• *denotes performance with Pearl Jam
• **note: "Animal" performed with Pearl Jam and "Rockin' in the Free World" performed with Neil Young & Pearl Jam
• ^note: In the acceptance speech, Eddie notoriously states, "I don't know what this means, I don't think it means anything."
• ^^note: Vedder also performed the songs: "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" & "Getting in Tune" with The Who, but they were not released on the DVD.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] References