Pearl Jam is best known for their legendary debut record, Ten, as well as a long-lived career as one of the key bands in the early 1990s grunge alt-rock movement. Surprisingly, for a band as serious as Pearl Jam, they’re also known for being quite good at the occasional comedic bit. That much was proven true when Pearl Jam debuted on Saturday Night Live (SNL) back in 1992.
Videos by American Songwriter
However, the entirety of their appearance on the show wasn’t entirely comedic. Especially when it came to frontman Eddie Vedder’s silent protest that aired later on in the episode.
Pearl Jam’s Performance on ‘SNL’ Involved Two Great Songs and a Whole Lot of Oggling
Pearl Jam were the musical guests for one episode of Saturday Night Live back in 1992. There, they performed two songs, specifically their hits “Alive” and “Porch” from their debut album Ten.
Naturally, like most musical guests on the program, they also took part in a bit or two on the show. Actress Sharon Stone was the host of the episode. During her opening monologue, she recreated her famous (and notably NSFW) scene from the film Basic Instinct. As she sat on stage in her short white dress, smoking a cigarette, the camera would periodically cut away to Pearl Jam on the sidelines, with comedically dumbstruck faces at the sight of the famous actress.
Pearl Jam proved they could be at least a little bit funny despite the angst they were known for. However, the rest of the night wasn’t all giggles. During their musical performance of “Porch”, Eddie Vedder famously donned a T-shirt with a wire hanger printed on it. The stunt was a pro-choice statement in favor of women’s rights.
At the end of the song, Vedder turned around to reveal the back of the shirt, which read “No Bush in ‘92” in large letters. That statement was a reference to the then-upcoming election between George H.W. Bush and his opponent, Bill Clinton.
SNL has historically preferred to keep things lighthearted, and plenty of musical acts have been banned from the show for their protests and controversial acts. However, the showrunners must have let Vedder’s political statement go, as the band returned to Saturday Night Live as musical guests in both 1994 and 2006.
Photo by Steve Eichner/WireImage
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.