It was 17 years ago today that Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder joined forces with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in Denver, CO for a rendition of “The Waiting” from the rocker’s 1981 album Hard Promises, along with the classic “American Girl”, and Bob Dylan‘s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”. Petty grabs his axe for the trio of songs, jumping in to split vocals with Vedder. Along the way, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell delivers a blistering solo in “American Girl” while Eddie wails away on a tambourine for what looked like a good time all around.
Over the years, Vedder and Petty found themselves on stage together quite a few times, but this was certainly one of those memorable performances from the two rock legends. On Pearl Jam’s 2022 North American tour last year, Vedder opened the show with a solo interlude where he would often perform “I Won’t Back Down” as a tribute to the legendary singer-songwriter who passed away back in 2017.
Check out a video of Eddie Vedder’s full sit-in with Tom Petty from 2006, courtesy of Leo Vedder (no relation).
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Eddie Vedder – Pepsi Center – Denver, CO – 7/3/06