Song:Last Kiss
Album:The Essential Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam was one of the most popular bands of the 90s mostly as an album band. They didn't seem to need hit singles. So it's a little odd that their biggest hit single was a cover of a 60s hit for a benefit album. Pearl Jam are from Seattle. Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were members of the 80s band Green River. When that band split up, they formed Mother Love Bone with singer Andrew Wood. They released an album on PolyGram in 1989. And then Wood died of a heroin overdose. Gossard and Ament were devastated because it looked like this band could be big. Jamming with guitarist Mike McCready encouraged Gossard to form a new band. They recorded a demo to try and find a drummer and singer. They gave the demo to drummer Jack Irons. He passed but he thought his friend Eddie Vedder would be interested. He was and then they added drummer Dave Krusen. They named themselves after NBA player Mookie Blaylock. They changed the name to Pearl Jam after signing with Epic Records. Vedder says the name is a reference to his great grandmother. They released the 1991 album Ten which was Mookie Blaylock's number. It was a huge worldwide success and Pearl Jam was a big part of the Seattle grunge explosion. But when grunge faded, Pearl Jam continued to be a huge success mostly as a live draw. And their albums continued to sell great. They were never a singles band. Their only top ten hit in their early days was I Got Id in 1997. That brings me to Last Kiss. It was written and recorded by Wayne Cochran in 1961. J. Frank Wilson's cover of Last Kiss reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. Vedder heard that record and he convinced the band to try it. They performed it a few times in 1998. They recorded it and released it as a 1998 fan club Christmas single. But then radio stations started to play it and Pearl Jam had to release it. But they didn't release it on a Pearl Jam album. Last Kiss appeared on the 1999 charity CD No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees. Last Kiss reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it helped raise $10M for the charity. It is to date Pearl Jam's highest charting single. The Kosovar CD is out of print and the song only appears on a couple of Pearl Jam comps like the 2CD comp The Essential Pearl Jam. Of course Pearl Jam is still successful. They have a new album coming shortly and they are on tour. Here's Pearl Jam performing Last Kiss 1999.
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