Eddie Vedder

I have tickets for the Montréal shows!!!!!

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston,Illinois, the son of Karen Lee (née Vedder) and Edward Louis Severson, Jr.His father was a lounge musician.His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was a year old. His mother soon remarried a man named Peter Mueller, an attorney, and young Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father. 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 12th birthday, began turning to music as a source of comfort. He particularly found solace in The Who's Quadrophenia.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.

It was not until after the divorce that Vedder learned the truth about his parentage, that 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. (This is expressed in the song "Alive" on the album Ten.) Vedder's already bad relationship with his stepfather became increasingly strained. He eventually dropped out of San Dieguito High School in his senior year due to the pressures of balancing school with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas.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.

In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego with his girlfriend, Beth Liebling. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including positions as a night attendant at a local gas station and a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel inLa Jolla. Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands. One of those bands included future Rage Against the Machine andAudioslave drummer Brad Wilk.