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Mon 24 August 2026 21:30, UK
For Eddie Vedder, rock and roll wasn’t something that one thought about being a part of when they were kids.
The thought of someone with his voice thriving in a rock world dominated by bands like Poison just wasn’t going to happen, and there were more than a few times where he seemed to be making music only for the sake of playing rather than trying to make an honest hit. But when he first started making waves with Pearl Jam, that first rush of fame wasn’t a process that he enjoyed; it was a process he survived.
Because when you think about it, not everyone is going to be equipped for that level of fame to happen all at once. The biggest names of the time didn’t really know how to handle fame, and even if Chris Cornell was the closest thing to a rock and roll god that the grunge scene had, Vedder’s only solution to becoming a rock and roll star was to hide away from the spotlight and wait for everything to blow over.
He never planned to be that out of reach from his fans, and when he talked about the biggest gigs of their career up until that point, he would always talk about wanting to go back to playing the small clubs that the band started in years before anyone had even heard of them. The journey to the top of the charts wasn’t easy, but Vedder at least had the right foundation of people working with him to show him the ropes to handle fame.
In a world full of people who relished the spotlight, Vedder thanked God that someone like Neil Young was still around to be a barometer for what a rock star was supposed to be. He never bought into the mythology of rock and roll, either, and long before he started falling in love with what Young was doing, The Who was the pivotal group that always made Vedder focus on the bigger picture of what music was all about.
Pete Townshend didn’t sign up to be a part of the biggest rock band in the world, either, but the most that he could do was make music that reflected where he was at the time. Every one of his epics had a little piece of himself sprinkled in there somewhere, and Vedder was always going to have time for someone who carried themselves like a normal guy while doing extraordinary things.
Vedder had a plethora of different influences from all across the rock and roll world, but he always considered Townshend to be the ultimate rock and roll survivor, saying, “At this point, Pete has been through and survived more than anyone in rock royalty. Perhaps even beyond Keith Richards, who was actually guilty of most things he was accused of.” And you need to keep those influences close when steering through those musical waters at first.
Further reading: From The Vault
Pearl Jam didn’t know what to do when they got famous, but when Townshend read Vedder the riot act of what a rock star was supposed to be, he had a much clearer idea of what he wanted to be. Not everything had to be commercial as long as it came from the heart, and while Pearl Jam did pull back and make some more artsy records along the way, they were always focusing on the bigger picture of what a rock band should do.
Rock bands can come together almost by accident, but they don’t stay together by accident, and the entire reason why Vedder has been able to carry on is because of people like Townshend being in his life. It wasn’t an easy road to get to the other side of the rock and roll lifestyle, but Vedder figured that he could do anything he wanted as long as he followed his heart like Townshend did.
