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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".