Chris Cornell And Eddie Vedder Unite One Last Time For “Hunger Strike”
After Soundgarden’s success, Chris Cornell launched Temple of the Dog in 1990 to honor his late friend Andrew Wood. The band included Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Matt Cameron, with Eddie Vedder providing guest vocals. Vedder performed “Hunger Strike” from their self-titled album.
Temple of the Dog’s only album was released in April 1991 through A&M Records. It gained a loyal following among Soundgarden fans until Pearl Jam’s rise to fame in 1990. After Soundgarden broke up in 1997, Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam, making the lineup almost identical to Temple of the Dog, except for Cornell, who was pursuing his solo career.
Like many songs on Temple of the Dog, “Hunger Strike” reflects on Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in March 1990. He was kept on life support for three days, allowing Chris Cornell and his bandmates to say their farewells.
“Hunger Strike” was the last song recorded for the album, written when Cornell noticed they had only nine tracks. His dislike for odd numbers pushed him to create this powerful critique of wealth and decadence.
In Pearl Jam Twenty, Cornell described the song as follows: “I was wanting to express the gratitude for my life but also disdain for people where that’s not enough, where they want more. There’s no way to really have a whole lot more than you need usually without taking from somebody else that can’t really afford to give it to you. It’s sort of about taking advantage of a person or people who really don’t have anything.”
“Hunger Strike” was recorded on October 8th, 1990, the same day Eddie Vedder arrived from San Diego to meet his future Pearl Jam bandmates. He had been chosen based on a tape where he sang over Temple of The Dog’s tracks.
Initially shy, Vedder’s nerves vanished when he stepped up to the microphone, effortlessly singing the low parts that Chris Cornell had struggled with. It was a perfect moment of harmony. In this 2014 footage, you can see the pure joy on Vedder and Cornell’s faces, as if they were singing “Hunger Strike” for the first time.
