The most pleasant things in life are often also the most unexpected. There is just something so sweet about the unexpected amounting to something more than just a mere moment, and this is seemingly what happened to Eddie Vedder when he thought of the song that would lead to him auditioning for and becoming a member of Pearl Jam.
Prior to joining Pearl Jam in 1990, Eddie Vedder was a security guard, surfer, and singer in San Diego. During this point in his life, he was trying to make it big, though you can never force that to happen. Rather, it just happens when opportunity and luck meet preparation and talent. That being said, when Vedder unexpectedly got tasked with writing lyrics for a then-unknown Seattle rock band, he knew he needed to make it count. Though, he didn’t do so by diligently trying. Instead, the lyrics just came to him while surfing in the Pacific.
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Surfing & Songwriting—Behind Eddie Vedder’s Lyrical Epiphany
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Eddie Vedder recalled the very instance he thought of the lyrics that would score him an audition for Pearl Jam.
“I went for a surf in the morning, and I remember it being super foggy,” Vedder recalled. “I had the music in my head, the instrumental, and just kind of wrote it.”
As a matter of fact, it was such a spur-of-the-moment occurrence that Vedder recorded the track while he was still soaking wet from surfing.
“I was still wet when I hit record,” Vedder attested.
Subsequently, Vedder sent the vocals to Pearl Jam. When they heard it, they knew they needed Vedder immediately.
“I remember I left and went and got a cup of coffee,” Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament recalled. “And then came back and I listened to it again, and I remember calling Stone and I said, ‘You need to come over here right now.’”
Impressed, Pearl Jam flew Vedder to Seattle to audition. And needless to say, Vedder got the part in the band.
Regarding the band’s origins and immediate chemistry, Vedder said that “you felt it, you were like, ‘oh this is what this is.’ I was like, ‘this is heaven.’”
While writing the song on his surfboard, Eddie Vedder surely didn’t imagine the personal and cultural ramifications this simple task would entail. Though again, that just goes to show that the best things in life often come far out of left field.
Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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