Alive is the debut single by Pearl Jam. It was released on July 7, 1991, 51 days before the release of the band’s debut album, Ten, on which Alive appears. Written by guitarist Stone Gossard, the song originated as an instrumental titled “Dollar Short” and was included on a demo tape circulated in hopes of finding a singer for the group. Vocalist Eddie Vedder obtained a copy of the tape and wrote lyrics that describe a somewhat fictionalized account of the time when he was told that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological parent.
Alive charted at number 16 in the United Kingdom and number nine in Australia. In August 2018, it became the first Pearl Jam song to receive a certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), eventually receiving a gold certification in July 2022 for sales and streams of over 400,000. It also reached the top 20 in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The single was available only through import in the United States, so it was not able to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song did peak at number 16 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and number 18 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Remixed versions of the song were included on Pearl Jam‘s 2004 greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003), and the 2009 Ten reissue.
Tracklist:
- Alive
- Once
- Wash
The music video for Alive was directed by Josh Taft, a childhood friend of Gossard, who would later direct the music videos for Even Flow and Oceans. The black-and-white video consists of a filmed live performance of the band filmed on August 3, 1991, during a Pearl Jam concert at RKCNDY in Seattle, Washington; thus, different from most music videos, the version of the song heard in the clip is actually being played in the concert rather than being a lip-sync from the record version.
Drummer Matt Chamberlain can be seen drumming in the Alive video. Pearl Jam‘s future drummer Dave Abbruzzese was in the audience when the video was shot. It was his first encounter with the band as he had just arrived from Texas after being recommended for the band by Chamberlain and only knew the songs from the Alive single. The video was released in September 1991. The video was nominated for Best Alternative Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament: bass guitar
Stone Gossard: rhythm guitar
Dave Krusen: drums
Mike McCready: lead guitar, acoustic-electric guitar (on Alive)
Eddie Vedder: vocals
