Heres some bits n pieces :
Born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964, now known as Eddie Vedder, is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of three guitarists of the American rock band Pearl Jam. He is known for his powerful baritone vocals. He also appeared as a guest vocalist in Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to the late singer Andrew Wood. Vedder has been ranked at number 7 on a list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time", compiled by Rolling Stone.
Ed is an Athiest, God knows what that means, and is known for his social and political views. He is also a vegetarian. No bacon butties for him then!
In his spare time, Vedder is a surfer and active in surf-related conservation efforts, most notably The Surfrider Foundation.
Vedder shows his support for environmental activism by sporting an Earth First! tattoo on his right calf. The logo is of a pipe wrench crossed with a stone hammer
Vedder had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie, Singles, along with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. He appeared as himself, playing drums in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick.
Vedder wrote "Man of the Hour" that Pearl Jam recorded for Tim Burton's Big Fish Soundtrack
Also, Ed collaborated with Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for his contributions to the Dead Man Walking soundtrack.
He has also contributed solo material to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking, I Am Sam, A Brokedown Melody, Body of War, and Reign Over Me.
In 2007, Vedder released his first solo album as a soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007). His second album Ukulele Songs and a live DVD titled Water on the Road were released in 2011
Also in 2007, he made a cameo as himself in the comedy film, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
He appears in the 2007 Tom Petty documentary, Runnin' Down a Dream, the 2008 political documentary, Slacker Uprising, and the 2009 Howard Zinn documentary, The People Speak, based upon "A People's History of the United States".
Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 by Ament, Gossard, and McCready, who then recruited Vedder and three different drummers in sequence. The band originally took the name Mookie Blaylock, but was forced to change it when the band signed to Epic Records in 1991, instead calling their debut album Ten, after Blaylock's jersey number.
Vedder was a close friend of the late Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone, with Vedder being at his side when he died.
Since Ramone's death, Vedder and Pearl Jam have played the Ramones' "I Believe in Miracles" regularly at live shows.
While driving home from Ramone's funeral, Vedder wrote the lyrics for the Pearl Jam song "Life Wasted" (from Pearl Jam).
Although best known as a vocalist, Vedder also plays guitar on many Pearl Jam songs, beginning with the Vs. songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town".
When the band started, Gossard and McCready were clearly designated as rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. The dynamic began to change when Vedder started to play more rhythm guitar during the Vitalogy era.
So, that's our number 22 boy. When Ten came out, and then Vs, I played those albums to smithereens. I loved Vedders vocals. Listen to Black from the Ten album with his vocals haunting from the tracks pored. Awesome track. After Vitalogy, I did lose a little interest in PJ, but nothing could take away from me those first 2 albums.
Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit was ground-breaking stuff and shook the world. On Nevermind, there was also Lithium and In Bloom. Great tracks, but personally, that was it. Nevermind or Ten? Ten all the time for me. Just as much the music, it was Eddie's vocals. His good friend Chris Cornell had a great voice, but so did Vedder. But Vedder, or Pearl Jam, wrote better music.
When Ten, then Vs, took off, with Eddie being the frontman, it put on extra pressure on his shoulders and the burden was so great on him that the band did not promote Vitolagy with the same gusto as the previous 2 albums. This brings me to my next point, Pearl Jam are a rare entity in the world of grunge, in that their main contributors, past and present are still alive and still actively performing.
I for one, am a huge fan of Eddie Vedder and think he deserves a spot. Awesome voice, great stage presence and a hugely talented musician. People forget that at one time, Pearl Jam were the biggest band on the planet. Yes, the sales of Nevermind beat the shit out of Ten, but the follow up, 'Vs' returned the favour over Nirvanas follow up, 'In Utero'!
For me, a solid 22. Got the lot without going over the top. Thumbs up from me.
Graeme will be here later with the last poll of the day. Question is...who is it?
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