In less than a month, on Friday, April 7, Pearl Jam will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the highest honor bestowed by the music industry in recognition of an artist’s lifetime work. The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center (New York). The band members who will be inducted by friend and colleague Neil Young are Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron and Dave Krusen, their first drummer. In addition to Pearl Jam, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2017 will also honor Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Tupac Shakur and Yes. An edited version of the ceremony will air on HBO on April 29.
A few days ago, Pearl Jam shared a handwritten note (see below), which will hopefully put to rest a controversy that started after former drummer Dave Abbruzzese expressed his disappointment over his exclusion from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a series of Facebook posts that made headlines in recent months. The inductees are solely determined by the Hall of Fame Committee, which has confirmed that all former drummers have been invited by the band to attend the event, but made it clear once again that only Krusen and Cameron would be inducted.
“With the date of the Hall of Fame event coming up it is just now sinking in what it means to us.
While awards and accolades are understandably subjective and a countless number of our peers have yet to be honored, we do feel fortunate to be recognized and provided the opportunity to reunite with everyone who has been part of the group.
Specifically the drummers who all left their distinctive mark on our band in the pre-Matt Cameron years
Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Abbruzzese and Jack Irons are each individually great players who gave their all to the early recordings and live gigs.
Looking forward to seeing them and all the other musicians on the bill. Have to say wish [Bad Brains singer] H.R. and Perry Farrell were gonna be there too. If nothing else it makes us feel lucky and appreciative of the nod.
The beat goes on.
– PJ”
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.