Vedder was born on December 23, 1964, in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, to Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson Jr. When Vedder was a baby, his parents divorced. His mother remarried soon after to a man named Peter Mueller. Vedder was raised believing Mueller was his biological father, and for a time he went by the name Edward Mueller. Vedder’s ancestors are Norwegian (Severson) as well as Dutch, German, and Danish (Vedder).
Vedder’s family fostered seven younger children in a group home while living in Evanston. [9] The family, including Vedder’s three younger half-brothers, relocated to San Diego County, California, in the mid-1970s. It was at this point that Vedder, who had received a guitar from his mother for his 12th birthday, began to turn to music (along with surfing) for solace.
He found particular solace in The Who’s 1973 album Quadrophenia. “When I was around 15 or 16… I was all alone—except for music,” he said. When Vedder was in his late teens, his mother and Mueller divorced. His mother and brothers returned to the Chicago area, but Vedder stayed in California with his stepfather to avoid having to change schools.
Why did Eddie Vedder change his name?
Vedder dropped out of high school due to the stress of work and school. He moved to Chicago with the rest of his family and changed his name to Vedder, his mother’s maiden name.
