Biography of Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 originally as Mookie Blaylock. Members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard were once part of the Seattle punk/grunge band known as Green River, which featured vocalist Mark Arm and at one time guitarist Steve Turner. After an EP and an album Green River split up; Arm then formed Mudhoney. Ament and Gossard formed Mother Love Bone with fellow friend Andrew Wood, whose own band Malfunkshun had split up as well. After getting a major label contract, Mother Love Bone released a well-received EP and was ready to release their debut album before Wood died in a coma caused by an overdose. Ament and Gossard chose to not continue Mother Love Bone anymore, but a close friend of Wood's, Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, asked Ament and Gossard if they could do a tribute to their friend. This project was called Temple of the Dog, which featured Cornell, Ament, Gossard, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, and a vocalist from San Diego named Eddie Vedder. When Cornell went on with his own band, Ament and Gossard decided to form a band with Vedder as vocalist and named it after one of their favorite basketball players, Mookie Blaylock. Later changed to Pearl Jam, they were soon signed with Epic without any underground following. ~ John Book