Decoding the name Pearl Jam
So what's with the name Pearl Jam. Originally, the band wanted to be called Mookie Blaylock, after the Atlanta Hawk's NBA star. In fact, they recorded their demos under that name. Mookie Blaylock did not seem to be serious enough, nor did Mookie want to have his name associated with a band. So how did Ed, Stone, Jeff, Mike, and Dave come up with Pearl Jam?
Ed's grandmother was married to a Native American, so she had the recipes for making a hallucinogenic jam. Thus, the band named themselves after Grandma Pearl's jam that gave everyone a good buzz.
Pearl Jam did not give up entirely on Mookie Blaylock, though. Instead of naming their band after him, they dedicated their first album to his number on the Hawks: Ten.
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