Eddie Vedder sang with Chris Cornell on “Hunger Strike,” the signature duet by Temple of the Dog. Cornell wrote the song and performed its higher vocal lines, while Vedder joined him on the lower parts, creating the contrast that defines the recording.
The collaboration happened in Seattle during the early 1990s. Cornell had assembled Temple of the Dog to honor his late friend Andrew Wood, the singer of Mother Love Bone. Vedder was in town rehearsing with the musicians who would become Pearl Jam when he sat in on a Temple of the Dog rehearsal.
Cornell was struggling to sing both vocal parts during practice, and Vedder instinctively began singing the lower section. Cornell recognized that Vedder’s voice fit the arrangement perfectly, and the improvised contribution became a central part of the finished track.
“Hunger Strike” was Vedder’s first recorded featured vocal and became Temple of the Dog’s breakthrough single. The song’s importance also reflects the close musical connection between Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Seattle’s early-1990s grunge scene.