Temple of the Dog Reunite To Sing ‘Hunger Strike’ at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit

Temple of the Dog, made up of Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Mike McReady, Stone Gossard, Matt Cameron, and Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell, reunited onstage for the first time since 2012, and the fourth time since 1991, at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre this weekend. Both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were scheduled to play, and rumors have swirled for some time with regards to Temple of the Dog potentially coming together at Young’s annual benefit. As Vedder introduced Cornell to a loud round of applause, and McCready played the opening notes to the group’s seminal hit “Hunger Strike,” one of those incredible moments in rock n’ roll once again occurred.

The group started after Mother Love Bone and Malfunkshun singer Andrew Wood died of heroin overdose. Chris Cornell began writing songs in tribute to his fallen friend, and eventually asked both Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament of Mother Love Bone (pre-Pearl Jam) to join him in recording the music. The lineup was eventually rounded out by McCready and then Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. Vedder came into the mix when coming to an audition in Seattle to try out for the band Mookie Blaylock, which would eventually turn into Pearl Jam, and provided the track with its signature vocal duet between him and Cornell.