19911992Pearl Jam entered Seattle's London Bridge Studios in March 1991 to record its debut album Ten. Krusen left the band in May 1991 after checking himself into rehabilitation; he was replaced by Matt Chamberlain, who had previously played with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. After playing only a handful of shows, one of which was filmed for the Alive video, Chamberlain left to join the Saturday Night Live band. Chamberlain suggested Dave Abbruzzese as his replacement. Abbruzzese joined the group and played the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the Ten album.
Released on August 27, 1991, Ten (named after Mookie Blaylock's jersey number) contained eleven tracks dealing with dark subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. Ten's musical style, influenced by classic rock, combined an expansive harmonic vocabulary with an anthemic sound. The album was slow to sell, but by the second half of 1992 it became a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching #2 on the Billboard charts. Ten produced the hit singles Even Flow, Alive, and Jeremy. Originally interpreted as an anthem by many, Vedder later revealed that Alive tells the semi-biographical tale of a son discovering that his father is actually his step-father, while his mothers grief turns her to sexually embrace her son, who strongly resembles the biological father. The song Jeremy (sample (help?info)) and its accompanying video were inspired by a true story in which a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates. Ten stayed on the Billboard charts for more than two years, and has gone on to become one of the biggest-selling rock records ever, going twelve times platinum.
With the success of Ten, Pearl Jam became a key member of the Seattle grunge explosion, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. The band was criticized in the music press; British music magazine NME said that Pearl Jam was trying to steal money from young alternative kids' pockets. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain angrily attacked Pearl Jam, claiming the band were commercial sellouts, and argued Ten was not a true alternative album because it had so many prominent guitar leads. Cobain later reconciled with Vedder, and they reportedly became friends before Cobain's death in 1994. Pearl Jam toured relentlessly in support of Ten.
In 1992, Pearl Jam made television appearances on Saturday Night Live and MTV Unplugged and took a slot on that summer's Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, and Ministry, among others. The band contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles: State of Love and Trust and Breath. Ament, Gossard and Vedder appeared in Singles under the name Citizen Dick; their parts were filmed when Pearl Jam was known as Mookie Blaylock.
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