Yellow Ledbetter

A Ten outtake and B-side that became a fan favorite and radio hit.

"Yellow Ledbetter" is a song by the American band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Mike McCready, "Yellow Ledbetter" was an outtake from the band's debut album, Ten (1991). "Yellow Ledbetter" was selected by the band to be on the B-side of the 1992 single "Jeremy", where it was first released. The song eventually found its way onto radio, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was also included on Pearl Jam's 2003 B-sides and rarities album Lost Dogs, and on their 2004 greatest hits album Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).

Quick Facts

Artist: Pearl Jam
A-side: "Jeremy"
Released: August 1992
Genre: Grunge, blues rock
Length: 5:01
Label: Epic
Composer: Jeff Ament, Mike McCready
Lyricist: Eddie Vedder

Lore & Background

"Yellow Ledbetter" was a Ten outtake and one of the first songs Pearl Jam wrote as a group. The version that was eventually released was the second take of the song. McCready says of the song, "That was written around the time of the first record [Ten]. I think that was the second thing Ed and I wrote together. It came out of a jam in the studio and Ed didn't really have any lyrics. He came up with some ideas right there on the spot, and that's what we recorded. For some reason, it didn't make it on Ten. I was kind of bummed at the time. I really wanted it to be on our first record. But at the time, I was really young and just happy to be around this situation, so I did whatever." The song title "Yellow Ledbetter" is derived from the actual name of an old friend of Vedder's from Chicago, named Tim Ledbetter. Vedder said in an online chat that the song was written around the time of the Gulf War and added that "it's an anti-patriotic song, actually." On August 7, 2008, at a solo performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, Vedder took a question from the audience requesting that he explain the meaning of "Yellow Ledbetter". At first, Vedder joked, "Wait...you mean there's lyrics?" He went on to talk about how the song took as its subject a friend of his from Seattle whose brother served in the first Gulf War. His friend received a "yellow letter" in the mail informing him that his brother had died in the war. Vedder and his friend then went for a walk. On this walk, the friend, whom Vedder described as "alternative looking", happened by a house with an American flag flying and people on the porch. He stopped and gestured to the flag, as if to salute it, but the people on the porch glared at him disapprovingly due to his appearance.

Reader's Guide

Without being released as a single, "Yellow Ledbetter" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The song has become a favorite among fans of the band. Although the song was not released on any of Pearl Jam's studio albums, it remains one of their most popular songs. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that McCready's "airy Stevie Ray Vaughan imitations provide the essential meat of the song." He added, "Eddie Vedder's vocal is alternately intense and achingly wistful, with the latter particularly suiting the song's mood." He proclaimed "Yellow Ledbetter" as "the sound of a band overflowing with prime material." Will Hermes of Spin said, "The Hendrix-indebted power ballad "Yellow Ledbetter" is some of the best Pearl Jam music ever recorded." "Yellow Ledbetter" has since been regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2021, American Songwriter ranked the song number seven on their list of the 10 greatest Pearl Jam songs, and Kerrang ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Pearl Jam songs. A brief snippet of the song appears in the series finale of the television series Friends after Rachel boards the plane. This marked the first time that Pearl Jam licensed a song for usage in a television show. According to a spokesperson for the group, it was "simply a matter of the show's producers asking permission." The song also played over the end credits of the 2011 film 50/50. The song was used in season 1, episode 8 of Stumptown. It was also used in the closing credits of the final episode of the Showtime epic ensemble Super Pumped: The Story of Uber following CEO Travis Kalanick’s demise about what he may do next and the aftermath of the Uber behemoth. It is also featured at the end of episode 6 of season 3 of House M.D., "Epic Fail". It also is featured in the last scene of episode 22 ("The Long Blue Line") of season 6 of Cold Case.