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Pearl Jam

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Pearl Jam, one of the big four grunge bands, made as many headlines for its lack of conformity to the music industry methods as for their success. At the height of their popularity Pearl Jam refused to make music videos, took on the strongest ticket seller in the U.S., tried to lower the price of ticket sales, and chose to play more intimate venues instead of large stadiums. Their actions solidified a Pearl Jam cult following but they came at a price.

Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament took a new direction when Mother Love Bone bandmate Andrew Wood overdosed on heroin in 1990. They brought in guitarist Mike McCready and formed a new band that would become Pearl Jam. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons hooked up vocalist and lyricist Eddie Veder with his friends who were forming a band in Seattle. Dave Krusen was hired as the full-time drummer. He would be replaced by Dave Abbruzzese and later by Jack Irons, then Matt Cameron.

Originally called Mookie Blaylock, after the NBA basketball player, the group changed the name to Pearl Jam. The Pearl Jam debut, Ten, came out in the fall of 1991. However, Pearl Jam sales didn't pick up until after Nirvana broke through to mainstream radio, legitimizing the draw of grunge bands on the radio. Soon Pearl Jam outsold Nirvana. Appearances at the second Lollapalooza tour and on the Singles soundtrack further popularized Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam made a point of defining their own path. Pearl Jam did not release any videos or singles from their second album in 1993. Yet Vs. debuted at No. 1 and went multi-platinum. They played smaller venues in the spring of 1994, including college campuses, even though they were popular enough to fill stadiums. And they cancelled their summer tour in 1994 in an effort to fight the rising cost of ticket prices.

Pearl Jam testified against Ticketmaster in front of the Justice Department citing unfair business practices. Pearl Jam continued the anti-trust battle with Ticketmaster in 1995, but the Justice Department ruled in favor of the ticket agency. Vitalogy, the third Pearl Jam album, was released in 1994. Then Pearl Jam recorded an album with Neil Young featuring all Neil Young Songs. The individual Pearl Jam members were credited on the Mirror Ball album but it was released under Neil Young's name and could not legally mention the name Pearl Jam.

The members of Pearl Jam pursued individual projects, later regrouping to release a fourth album. The 1996 No Code album strayed from the previous Pearl Jam style and did not perform as well as previous albums. A full-scale tour wasn't easily feasible at the time, which also hampered record sales. Pearl Jam responded with the February 1998 harder-rocking record Yield. The album did well at first but slid down the charts quickly. Pearl Jam supported the record with a full-scale arena tour in the summer of 1998, issuing the concert LP Live on Two Legs at the end of the year. In 1998, for the first time since 1993, Pearl Jam released a music video. Health considerations limited Jack Irons and Matt Cameron, formerly of Sound Garden, took on the role of drummer.

Pearl Jam scored an unlikely pop radio smash with their cover of the J. Frank Wilson oldie "Last Kiss." Released originally as part of a fan-club-only series, fans and radio programmers drew attention to the song and it became the band's highest-charting pop hit to date, peaking at No. 2 and going gold.

The group returned in 2000 with Binaural and in 2002 with Riot Act but sales diminished with each release. Noting the popularity of illegal bootleg recordings and fans' link the shows they attended, Pearl Jam decided to professionally record each show on their tour. The 72 live albums set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard Top 200 at the same time.

The 2000 Pearl Jam European tour ended in tragedy with an accident in Denmark. Fans were crushed and suffocated as the crowd rushed to the front. Pearl Jam stopped playing and calmed the crowd when they saw the chaos, but nine people had already been killed. The group considered retiring after the incident but did remain together.

In May 2006 Pearl Jam is due to release a new studio album, Pearl Jam, on the J Records label. The album is said to be reminiscent of their earlier style. A much anticipated 2006 stadium tour will follow.