Vedder is known for his powerful baritone vocals. He was ranked number 7 on a list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time", based on a readers' poll compiled by Rolling Stone.
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. His third solo album Earthling was released in 2022.
In 2017, Vedder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam.
Early life
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 Norway (Severson) and Dutch, German and Danish (Vedder).
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 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 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. During his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder moved out to live on his own in an apartment, supporting himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas. Because of the pressure of work and school, Vedder dropped out of high school. He joined the rest of his family in Chicago, and it was at this time that he changed his name to Vedder, his mother's maiden name.
In the early 1980s, while working as a waiter, Eddie earned his high school GED, and briefly attended a community college near Chicago. In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego, with his girlfriend Beth Liebling and his friend Frank. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including a position as a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands, including Surf and Destroy and the Butts. One of those bands, called Indian Style, included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk. In 1988, Vedder became the vocalist for the San Diego progressive funk rock band Bad Radio. The music of the original incarnation of the band was influenced by Duran Duran; however, after Vedder joined Bad Radio, the band moved on to a more alternative rock sound influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Musical style and influences
Critic Jim DeRogatis describes Vedder's vocals as a "Jim Morrison-like vocal growl". Greg Prato of AllMusic said, "With his hard-hitting and often confessional lyrical style and Jim Morrison-esque baritone, Vedder also became one of the most copied lead singers in all of rock." Vedder has inducted the Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in his induction speeches he has cited them all as influences. Other influences that Vedder has cited include The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, U2, the Who, Pink Floyd, the Jackson 5, Frank Zappa, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Tom Waits, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan, and the Pixies.
Vedder was heavily inspired by the early Jethro Tull sound, stating that: "I'm a big fan of Jethro Tull, and I listen to this record [Stand Up] every night before I go on stage!"
Vedder's lyrical topics range from personal ("Alive", from Ten; "Better Man", from Vitalogy) to social and political concerns ("Even Flow", from Ten; "World Wide Suicide", from Pearl Jam). His lyrics have often invoked the use of storytelling and have included themes of freedom, individualism, and sympathy for troubled individuals. Other recurring themes include the use of water metaphors, as well as the idea of leaving everything behind to start again (featured in such songs as "Rearviewmirror", from Vs.; "MFC", from Yield; "Evacuation", from Binaural; and "Gone", 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. McCready said in 2006, "Even though there are three guitars, I think there's maybe more room now. Stone will pull back and play a two-note line and Ed will do a power chord thing, and I fit into all that." Vedder's guitar playing helped the band's sound progress toward a more stripped-down style; the songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Corduroy" (from Vitalogy) feature Vedder's raw, punk-influenced guitar playing. As he had more influence on the band's sound, Vedder sought to make the band's musical output less catchy.
He said, "I felt that with more popularity, we were going to be crushed, our heads were going to pop like grapes." He has also contributed performances on the ukulele, harmonica, accordion, and electric sitar to various Pearl Jam recordings.
Hide Your Love Away
Eddie Vedder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feelin' two-foot small
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say
Hey you've got to hide your love away
How could I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in
How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say
Hey you've got to hide your love away
Hey you've got to hide your love away
The lyrics of Eddie Vedder's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" describe the singer's feelings of loss, shame, and isolation after a failed relationship. He stands with his head in his hand, unable to face the world after the woman he loved has left him. He feels small, invisible, and humiliated as he imagines everyone around him laughing and mocking his misery.
Despite his pain, he still loves her and can't figure out how to move on. He feels like an outcast, unable to compete or succeed in a world where love seems to be the sole purpose and driving force. The woman he loved had told him that love will find a way, but he now feels like he's been deceived or misguided. He pleads with a crowd of people, whom he calls clowns, to commiserate with him, to perhaps hide their own unrequited feelings or unfulfilled desires. The repetition of the phrase "Hey you've got to hide your love away" suggests that he believes that love is something to conceal, to keep secret, and to be ashamed of.
One interpretation of this song is that it reflects the themes of the Beatles' songwriting from their early years, which often explored the complexities of love, loss, and youth. The song also has political undertones, as Vedder recorded a cover of it for a benefit album for the West Memphis Three, who were falsely convicted of murder as teenagers.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I stand head in hand
I'm standing alone, feeling helpless and lost.
Turn my face to the wall
I'm ashamed and trying to hide from the judging eyes of others.
If she's gone I can't go on
I'm so dependent on her that I can't imagine living without her.
Feelin' two-foot small
I feel incredibly insignificant and small in comparison to the world around me.
Everywhere people stare
People are judging me and staring at me wherever I go.
Each and every day
This is a constant problem that I have to deal with daily.
I can see them laugh at me
People find my situation amusing and are laughing at my expenses.
And I hear them say
People verbally mock me and reinforce the idea that I have to hide my love.
Hey you've got to hide your love away
I'm urged to conceal my love since it's considered inappropriate by society.
How could I even try
I feel helpless and incapable of fighting against societal norms.
I can never win
I know that trying to fight for my love would be a losing battle.
Hearing them, seeing them
I'm constantly bombarded by negative remarks and judgments from others.
In the state I'm in
My emotional state is fragile, and I'm struggling to cope.
How could she say to me
I'm surprised that my lover thinks we could overcome societal pressure and stay together.
Love will find a way
My lover believes that love is powerful enough to overcome all obstacles, including societal norms.
Gather round all you clowns
I'm mocking the judgmental and narrow-minded people who are pressuring me to hide my love.
Let me hear you say
I want these people to vocalize their opinions so I can confront them.
Hey you've got to hide your love away
This line is repeated to emphasize that societal pressure is strong and will not go away easily.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kirsten Logan
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feelin' two-foot small
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in
How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather 'round all you clowns
Let me hear you say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
franklyn0110
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feelin' two-foot small
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in
How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather 'round all you clowns
Let me hear you say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Kirsten Logan
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feelin' two-foot small
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in
How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather 'round all you clowns
Let me hear you say
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Hey, you've got to hide your love away
Eddie Vedder
Thank you Kirsten for your love and support. How long have you been listening to my songs?
Joey Badinzo
@Eddie Vedder omg Eddie, you’re the best
Tino
Thanks 🙏
Dan Bowen
Bot
Don Reitmeyer
Exactly 💯
Derek Kudjer
One of the best covers of all time
Flip Jupiter
Yes it's pretty great.
Joshua Blaire Dela Cruz
for me.... this song sounds Vedder than The Beatles version.
Jhon S
I gree