The one album Eddie Vedder credits with saving his life: “I was there trying to hold myself”
With Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder has illuminated the lives of millions with his emphatic brand of rock that has made them a stadium-sized powerhouse that helped define a generation.
Before he found fame during the grunge movement in the early 1990s, Vedder’s life was far from straightforward. Thankfully, he had music on hand to use as a source of escapism, allowing him to forget about everything else temporarily.
As much as his life was in chaos during his teenage years, he successfully found solace upon discovering one album from a legendary British band that successfully spoke to him on a level nobody else could.
Vedder’s teenage life wasn’t full of colour or joy, and instead, was a rather lonely place. It was a distinctly different picture during his earliest years, when life was sunshine and rainbows, but the rain started to pour when his parents divorced. In another cruel twist of fate, which left Vedder searching for answers, he later discovered that the man he believed was his father wasn’t a biological relation.
Thanks to the abundance of hormones swirling at 100 miles per hour, life as a teenager is difficult for anybody. For Vedder, this was all amped up to a million, which could have led him down a destructive route. Thankfully, he fell in love with The Who, which proved to be the perfect tool to deal with his inner anguish.
The rock singer opened up about his troublesome youth during a discussion with comedy director Judd Apatow, which appeared in the book Sick In The Head. During their conversation, Vedder singled out The Who’s Quadrophenia as a pivotal album for him, noting how even though Pete Townshend was raised on the other side of the Atlantic, it seemed his work was written personally for the Pearl Jam singer.
When asked about the watershed impact of the seminal 1973 release, Vedder said, “Yes and also saved my life. It was something I could catch, because, for some reason, it seemed like I could not relate to anyone in the world. With no one in my school and certainly with no one in my house, and all of a sudden, this London guy named Pete (Townshend) came in who knew everything that was going on in my life.”
Vedder then candidly reflected on his teenage turmoil, adding, “I was about 13, 14, and all kinds of things were happening to me at the time. I was like, let’s say, a bridge with its structures covering a great and deep abyss, and this bridge was about to collapse, Do you understand me? Throughout this period I was there trying to hold myself.”
In another honest turn, Vedder went on to question what his life could have potentially become if it weren’t for the emergence of Quadrophenia in his existence. “It’s a good thing the record shop prescribed me this drug, because it was she who helped me through all that, you know? Even with no response at all, it was important to know that I was not the only one who was going through those things,” he gratefully said.
As the famous saying goes, ‘Never meet your heroes’. However, Vedder’s history with Townshend suggests otherwise, and their relationship would make his teenage self proud beyond belief.
They have performed together on multiple occasions, including Vedder making a special appearance with The Who at Wembley Stadium in 2019.
Their friendship goes deeper beyond music, too. Townshend came to his side in his moment of need when, tragically, nine fans lost their lives during Pearl Jam’s show at Roskilde Festival in 2000. As Townshend had been through a similarly horrific incident with The Who, the guitarist inspired Vedder to fight on and continue.
With his teenage hero’s words ringing in his ears, Vedder stopped himself from waving goodbye to his dream and continued to inspire the next generation, like The Who did to him.
