← Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
The awesome story of Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike"
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97.1Fm the drive presents the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda it was a.
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Record of everyone just saying yes. That's how Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard explained it to writer David Frick in Rolling Stone magazine. Gossard was describing the supergroup Temple of the Dog, a one and done union of Seattle's rock community banded together to create a requiem for one of their own departed. Their self titled 1991 album was the brainchild of the late Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. He began writing his way through his grief over the passing of his friend, roommate and Seattle legend Andrew Wood. The making of this album is an awesome story rooted in the need to say goodbye. It also marks some important beginnings for every member of the short lived group, including a then unknown Eddie Vedder, who made his first vocal appearance on a recording when he was invited to duet with Cornell on the song Hunger Strike, a song that went to number four on the Billboard Rock chart with a video that was all over mtv shot on the same Seattle beach that served as a meeting place to mourn the late Andrew Wood. There's a lot of history to unpack here. If you like this episode, give it a like at the end and don't forget to hit that subscribe button. By all accounts, Andrew Wood was the glam rock frontman that everybody in Seattle expected to be the one to hit it big. Inspired by the likes of Freddie Mercury and Mark Bolan of T Rex, he started the band Malfunction when he was just a teenager, which disbanded in the late 80s. He then formed Mother Love Bone, a band which included Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament way before Pearl Jam. Mother Love Bone were signed to Polygram. And then tragedy struck when Wood was found overdosed in March of 1990 just before their debut album was released that summer. He was only 24 years old when he died. Cornell, who had lived with Wood for a time, was devastated. Soundgarden had just released their major label debut Louder Than Love, and he received the news about his passing the day they returned to Seattle on a brief break from touring. He immediately wrote two songs in tribute, Reach down and say hello to Heaven, which he thought might be released as singles only, but instead formed the beginning of the Temple of the Dog album. And by the way, the name Temple of the Dog was taken taken from a lyric in a Mother Love Bones song. Everything about this was a tribute. Cornell continued to write while touring in Europe and when he returned to Seattle, he approached Gossert and Ament with the idea of recording the songs he'd written for Andrew Wood. He also pulled in Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron for the project. Gossert's childhood friend, guitarist Mike Macready, was invited to the sessions. Macready, Gossert and Ament were already playing together after the demise of Mother Love and were in the early days of forming their next soon to be very famous band. They were given a demo tape by drummer Jack Irons, then of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, of a singer friend of his from San Diego to listen to. That singer was of course, Eddie Vedder, who was working part time at a gas station when he was invited to Seattle to meet Gossert, Lacridi and Ament. Vedder soon joined the band, then called Mookie Blaylock after the NBA star, and later changed their name to Pearl Jam. So it was while Vedder was finding his way with his newfound bandmates in his newfound city of Seattle that the recording for the Temple of the Dog project was taking place over a two week period at London Bridge Studio. Vedder tagged along to the sessions and was there when Cornell was struggling with the vocal for Hunger Strike, a song that he had actually written before Wood's death. It was the last song recorded for the 10 song templ of the Dog album, and it was only included at all because Cornell had an aversion to odd numbers. He didn't want a collection of only nine songs. Somewhere along the line that day, Cornell realized that Vedder could take the low part of the vocal, leaving him to hit the upper range notes and that it would be perfect as a duet. So it was through this twist of fate that Eddie Vedder was recorded for the very first time ever on a major lab. The first time Vedder ever heard his own voice on a real record. In his words. To this day he says that it's one of his favorites and one of the most meaningful songs he's ever been a part of. Hunger Strike is a song about being grateful for what you have and having disdain for people who always want more lyrics, Cornell wrote after Soundgarden became the first band out of the Seattle scene to cause a record label bidding war over who would sign them fat cats with big wallets clam over these musicians who were at that time too poor to afford more than thrift store flannel shirts. The single verse repeats, which makes the duet between Cornell and Vedder all the more compelling. And the lyrics go like, I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence But I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled but it's on the table the fire is cooking and they're farming babies While the slaves are working the blood is on the table and their mouths are choking But I'm growing hungry Hunger Strike was released as the first single from the now platinum selling Temple of the Dog album, which hit stores in April of 1991. It remains the most well known single from the collection of songs that began as a way to cope with loss and became a high note in Seattle's rich rock history. Soundgarden and Pearl Jam became two of the most successful bands to spring from the grunge scene in the Pacific Northwest, part of a musical movement that truly changed the shape of rock and roll. It's shocking how many of those bands from Seattle have lost members due to addiction or suicide. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Lane Staley of Alice in Chains, Mark Lanigan of the Screaming Trees, and of course Cornell himself, who struggled with depression for years and was found unresponsive in his hotel room in May of 2017. He was 52. In the liner notes of the Temple of the Dog album, Jeff Ament writes 10 songs. Spontaneous creation, emotion, very pleasing, real music. No analyzing, no pressure, no hype. Just music to make music. Friends and a reason. Chemistry, beauty, Life rules. And that's a wonderful thing to take away from this collection of songs written with love and good intentions, born out of friendships old and new, with a generosity of spirit that's apparent again and again with all repeated listens. Even though part of this story is crushingly sad, life rules in deep I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes. Check us out on TikTok and you can find me on the air at weekdays from 9 to 2 Central at 97.1 FM the Drive in Chicago and at wdrv.com on the way. Much more classic rock and roll.