Things About Eddie Vedder That Even Pearl Jam Doesn’t Know!

Things About Eddie Vedder That Even Pearl Jam Doesn’t Know!

Music legend Eddie Vedder is still going strong. As the frontman of Pearl Jam, he’s become one of the most prominent rock icons of his era. And while he’s never fallen into the throes of addiction, he’s nevertheless faced numerous challenges in his life.

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23rd, 1964. His life got off to a rough start, as his parents, Karen and Edward, divorced in 1965, and his mother remarried a man named Peter Mueller. For much of Vedder’s early years, he was led to believe that his stepfather was his real dad, and he went by the name “Eddie Mueller.” When he finally found out that he’d been lied to, the truth hit him hard.

Vedder later told the Los Angeles Times that his childhood wasn’t particularly happy. The environment was tense, and by age 15, he’d already moved out into his own apartment. He worked at a drugstore and struggled to keep up in school. He resented his peers for the privileges they took for granted, such as going to prom or having parents who could give them a car as a gift. For the most part, he felt alone. As he put it,

“I’d fall asleep in class and they’d lecture me about the reality of their classroom. I said one day, ‘You want to see my reality?’ I opened up my backpack to where you usually keep your pencils. That’s where I kept my bills […] electric bills, rent. […] That was my reality.”

Soon enough, it was too much to balance, and he dropped out of school. Watch the video to see the truth about Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder!