The frontman Eddie Vedder called “the greatest singer on the planet”
Anyone familiar with grunge has probably gotten used to many bands sounding like Eddie Vedder. Throughout his time with Pearl Jam, Vedder’s ability to rattle off intense stories in his baritone croon would become the blueprint for alternative rock soulfulness, with everyone from Creed to Stone Temple Pilots trying to mimic his cadence. While Vedder was doing what came naturally, he thought one of his contemporaries stood alone as one of the greatest singers ever.
When Vedder was first getting started in the music industry, he was never interested in becoming one of the biggest artists in the world. Since most of the 1980s rock scene was dominated by spandex-clad rockstars talking about the wonders of sex and drugs, Vedder was more than comfortable lying low, working as a gas station attendant on his days off from performing.
Once Vedder got a tape of a Seattle musician named Stone Gossard, he knew he might have something to work with. Quickly finishing lyrics to what would become Pearl Jam classics like ‘Alive,’ he ventured up to Seattle to jam with his future bandmates, only to find them putting the finishing touches on another album.
Still reeling from the loss of Mother Love Bone vocalist Andy Wood, the Seattle musicians had been working with Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell for Temple of the Dog, consisting of tribute tracks to their fallen friend. While Vedder would get the chance to duet with Cornell on the song ‘Hunger Strike’, he didn’t think that his vocal would ever come close to what his vocal partner could do.
When talking about Cornell’s range after the fact, Vedder would consider him among the greatest in his field, saying, “I really like Chris’ records, and I think he’s the best singer that we’ve got on the planet. I first met Chris when I moved to Seattle, and we started hanging around.”
Rather than treat Vedder like an outsider, the Pearl Jam frontman was thankful for Cornell taking him under his wing during that initial recording session, explaining, “I feel like I could be real proud of it – because, one, I didn’t write it, and two, it was such a nice way to be ushered onto vinyl for the first time. I’m indebted to Chris time eternal for being invited onto that track.”
Even though Temple of the Dog would dissolve after one album, Vedder would continue taking the band in different directions, bursting onto the scene with the release of Ten and quickly turning into one of the most successful rock bands of the 1990s alongside Nirvana and Soundgarden.
That didn’t mean that the band didn’t have time to collaborate after the fact. Until he died in 2017, Cornell would occasionally pop up at Pearl Jam concerts to perform ‘Hunger Strike’, each time delivering the trademark wails that Vedder had fallen in love with upon his first trip to the Northwest. Some singers might be able to interpret their songs in a specific way, but whenever Cornell opened his mouth, he tapped into certain emotions that could hardly be put into words.