Ten was the debut studio album by Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. Following the disbanding of bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard’s previous group Mother Love Bone, the two recruited vocalist Eddie Vedder, guitarist Mike McCready, and drummer Dave Krusen to form Pearl Jam in 1990. Most of the songs began as instrumental jams, to which Vedder added lyrics about topics such as depression, homelessness, and abuse.
Stone Gossard Demos ’91 Photo By: Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Mike McCready went into the studio to record some instrumental demos which were compiled onto a tape called "Stone Gossard Demos ’91.” It was then circulated in the hopes of finding a singer and drummer for the trio
Agytian Crave Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Eddie Vedder acquired a copy of the "Stone Gossard Demos ’91” in September 1990. Vedder listened to the demo, went surfing, and wrote lyrics the next day for "Dollar Short," "Agytian Crave," and “Footsteps." "Dollar Short" and "Agytian Crave" were later retitled "Alive" and “Once," respectively
Eddie’s Audition Photo By: PRPhotos.com
Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament heard the demo with Vedder's vocals and lyrics, and flew him out to Seattle for an audition. Vedder arrived on October 13, 1990 and rehearsed with the band for a week, writing eleven songs in the process
Recording Sessions Photo By: PRPhotos.com
The album sessions were quick and lasted only a month, mainly due to the band having already written most of the material for the record. “Porch,” “Deep,” "Why Go,” and "Garden" were first recorded during the album sessions, everything else had been previously recorded during the demo sessions
Ten was released on August 27, 1991 and was not an immediate success, but by late 1992 it had reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. They chose Ten for the title of their debut album after professional basketball player Mookie Blaylock's jersey number, 10
Black Photo By: PRPhotos.com
“Black” originated as an instrumental demo under the name "E Ballad" that was written by Stone Gossard. Featuring lyrics written by Eddie Vedder, the song is about his ex-girlfriend
