Pearl Jam’s Ten Was Released 27 Years Ago Today, Watch a Vintage Performance from 1991

Seattle rock band Pearl Jam came to the forefront in the ’90s when grunge was moving far beyond the Pacific Northwest of America and was reaching an international fever pitch. 1991 became a monumental year in the the history of rock music as fellow Washington band Nirvana released their smash hit Nevermind and other grunge bands like Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains were experiencing both commercial and critical success. These bands gained a huge following, especially among teenagers who moshed along to their songs with a similar appearance of long hair, denim and flannel shirts.

While Pearl Jam never managed to measure up to the godlike status of Nevermind, they put out some massively successful and influential releases, as well, like their 1991 debut, Ten. Released on this day 27 years ago, Ten didn’t catch fire immediately, but just a year later, it reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart and remains their most popular album to date, as it achieved 13x Platinum status. The album was instrumental in popularizing alternative rock in the American mainstream, particularly through radio play and with their music videos all over MTV.