Pearl Jam was originally called Mookie Blaylock — named after an NBA basketball player

Before they were Pearl Jam, they were Mookie Blaylock — named after the NBA player who wore number 10 on the court. They recorded early demos under that name at London Bridge Studios in Seattle in January 1991 before switching. Eddie Vedder’s story about the new name is part folklore, part family history: his great-grandmother Pearl and a Native American word for jam.