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Eddie Vedder

Eddie Vedder
EddieVedder.jpg
Vedder on October 22, 2006
Background information
Birth name Edward Louis Severson III
Also known as Eddie Vedder, Eddie Mueller, Jerome230, Jerome Turner, Wes C. Addle
Born (1964-12-23) December 23, 1964 (age 52)
Evanston, Illinois, US
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
Years active 1979–present
Labels
Associated acts

Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson; December 23, 1964) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the grunge band Pearl Jam, with whom he performs lead vocals and is one of three guitarists. He is known for his powerful baritone vocals.

He is also involved in making music and contributes to albums by other artists. 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.

Vedder will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7, 2017.

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, on December 23, 1964, to Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson, Jr. His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was an infant. His mother soon remarried, to a man named Peter Mueller. Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father, and he went by the name Edward Mueller for a time. Vedder's ancestry includes German and Danish.

While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home. In the mid-1970s, the family, including Vedder's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. It was at this point that Vedder, who had received a guitar from his mother on his twelfth birthday, began turning to music (as well as surfing) as a source of comfort. He particularly found solace in The Who's 1973 album, Quadrophenia. He said, "When I was around 15 or 16... I felt all alone... I was all alone—except for music." His mother and Mueller divorced when Vedder was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Vedder remained with his stepfather in California so he would not have to change high schools.

After the divorce, Vedder learned the truth about his parentage: Mueller was really his stepfather. Vedder had met his biological father briefly as a child, but had believed that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Vedder learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. By his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder was on his own, living in an apartment and supporting himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas. He eventually dropped out of high school in his senior year due to the pressures of balancing school with working. He joined the rest of his family in Chicago, and it was at this time that he changed his name to Eddie Vedder, Vedder being his mother's maiden name.


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Wikipedia

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