Plum
A plum whole and split
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Subfamily:	Maloideae or Spiraeoideae [1]
Genus:	Prunus
Subgenus:	Prunus
Species
See text.

A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc.) in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds (not clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side and a smooth stone (or pit).

Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them a glaucous appearance; this is easily rubbed off. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom". Dried plum fruits are called dried plums or prunes, although prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have antedated the fruits now commonly known as plums.^{[citation needed]}

Species[link]

Prunus cultivar (mature fruits with natural wax bloom)

Plum flowers

The subgenus is divided into three sections:

• Sect. Prunus (Old World plums)- leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1-3 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed
  • P. cerasifera (cherry plum)
  • P. cocomilia (Italian plum)
  • P. consociiflora"
  • P. domestica (species of most "plums" and "prunes" sold as such)
  • P. insititia (damsons)
  • P. simonii
  • P. spinosa (blackthorn or sloe)
• Sect. Prunocerasus (New World plums) - leaves in bud folded inwards; flowers 3-5 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed
  • P. alleghaniensis (Allegheny plum)
  • P. americana (American plum)
  • P. angustifolia (Chickasaw plum)
  • P. hortulana
  • P. maritima (beach plum)
  • P. mexicana _(Mexican plum)
  • P. nigra (Canada plum, Black plum)
  • P. × orthosepala (P. americana × P. angustifolia)
  • P. subcordata (Klamath, Oregon, or Sierra plum)
• Sect. Armeniaca (apricots) - leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers very short-stalked; fruit velvety; treated as a distinct subgenus by some authors
  • P. armeniaca (apricot)
  • P. brigantina
  • P. mume (Chinese plum, Japanese apricot)
  • P. sibirica

Cultivation and uses[link]

Cultivar Regina Claudia yellow

Plum fruit tastes sweet and/or tart; the skin may be particularly tart. It is juicy and can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz, Rakia, Ţuică or Pálinka. In central England, a cider-like alcoholic beverage known as plum jerkum is made from plums.

Dried plums (or prunes) are also sweet and juicy and contain several antioxidants. Plums and prunes are known for their laxative effect. This effect has been attributed to various compounds present in the fruits, such as dietary fiber, sorbitol,^[2] and isatin.^[3] Prunes and prune juice are often used to help regulate the functioning of the digestive system. Dried prune marketers in the United States have, in recent years, begun marketing their product as "dried plums". This is due to "prune" having negative connotations connected with elderly people suffering from constipation.^[4]

Dried, salted plums are used as a snack, sometimes known as saladito or salao. Various flavors of dried plum are available at Chinese grocers and specialty stores worldwide. They tend to be much drier than the standard prune. Cream, ginsing, spicy, and salty are among the common varieties. Licorice is generally used to intensify the flavor of these plums and is used to make salty plum drinks and toppings for shaved ice or baobing.

Pickled plums are another type of preserve available in Asia and international specialty stores. The Japanese variety, called umeboshi, is often used for rice balls, called onigiri or omusubi. The ume, from which umeboshi are made, is more closely related, however, to the apricot than to the plum.

As with many other members of the rose family, plum seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, including amygdalin.^[5] These substances are capable of decomposing into a sugar molecule and hydrogen cyanide gas. While plum seeds are not the most toxic within the rose family (the bitter almond is the most toxic^{[citation needed]}), large doses of these chemicals from any source are hazardous to human health.

Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum.

Plums come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Some are much firmer-fleshed than others, and some have yellow, white, green or red flesh, with equally varying skin color.

Plum cultivars in use today include:

• Damson or Damask plum
• Greengage (firm, green flesh and skin even when ripe)
• Mirabelle (dark yellow, predominantly grown in northeast France)
• Satsuma plum (firm red flesh with a red skin)
• Victoria (yellow flesh with a red or mottled skin)
• Yellowgage or golden plum (similar to greengage, but yellow)

When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered in blossoms, and in a good year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after 80 growing degree days.

If the weather is too dry, the plums will not develop past a certain stage, but will fall from the tree while still tiny, green buds, and if it is unseasonably wet or if the plums are not harvested as soon as they are ripe, the fruit may develop a fungal condition called brown rot. Brown rot is not toxic, and very small affected areas can be cut out of the fruit, but unless the rot is caught immediately, the fruit will no longer be edible. Plum is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera, including November moth, willow beauty and short-cloaked moth.

The Serbian plum (Serbian: шљива / šljiva) is the third most produced in the world and the alcoholic drink slivovitz (plum brandy) (Serbian: шљивовица / šljivovica) is the national drink of Serbia. The plum production averages 424,300 tons per year; FAO 1991–2001.^{[citation needed]}

A large number of plums, of the Damson variety, are also grown in Hungary, where they are called szilva and are used to make lekvar (a plum paste jam), palinka (a slivovitz-type liquor), plum dumplings, and other foods. The region of Szabolcs-Szatmár, in the northeastern part of the country near the borders with Ukraine and Romania, is a major producer of plums.

The plum blossom or meihua (Chinese: 梅花; pinyin: méihuā), along with the peony, are considered traditional floral emblems of China.

The plum is commonly used in China, Yunnan area, to produce a local plum wine with a smooth, sweet, fruity taste and approximately 12% alcohol by volume.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology[link]

The fruit Prunus armeniaca gained its name from the beliefs of Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian and scientist of the first century, who maintained the apricot was a kind of a plum, and had originally come from Armenia.^[6] Armenian sources support their claims by referring to a 6,000-year-old apricot pit found in an archaeological site near Yerevan.^[6] Other historians point to Mesopotamia as a clue to the Latin name. Apricots were cultivated in Mesopotamia, and it was known as armanu in the Akkadian language, but this did not refer to Armenia as that is not the name by which that geographic region was known in the Akkadian language. It is likely that Pliny's explanation is a folk etymology based on the similarity between the Mesopotamian name for the fruit and the Latin name for Armenia.^{[citation needed]}

Production[link]

Plum and sloe output in 2005

Top ten plum producers in 2009
Country	Production (tons)	Note
China	5,373,001	[E]
Serbia	662,631
USA	561,366
Romania	533,691
Turkey	245,782
Spain	200,100
Italy	194,100
Bosnia and Herzegovina	155,767
France	150,000	[E]
Ukraine	136,700
World	10,679,206	[A]
No symbol = official figure, E = FAO Estimate, A = may include official, semi-official or estimates.FAOSTAT

See also[link]

• Dietary fiber
• Fruit tree forms
• Fruit tree propagation
• Fruit trees
• Plumcot, Apriplum, Pluot, or Aprium
• Prune (fruit)
• Pruning fruit trees
• Sljivovica

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Plum on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Handbook of Practical Gardening - Gardening information about plums
• Prunus americanum images hosted by the Department of Biological Sciences of Vanderbilt University

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