Pearl Jam Pay Tribute to Late Fan and His Family

2011-12-28

Story by Anne Erickson

Pearl Jam replace late fan’s stolen guitar

From their charity work with the Vitalogy Foundation to Blessings in a Backpack, it’s obvious grunge rock band Pearl Jam have a heart for charity. Now, Pearl Jam crooner Eddie Vedder, guitarist Mike McCready and the rest of the band are revisiting a charitable act from years ago.

As the story goes, back in 1992, Pearl Jam gave Josh Hardy of Durham, N.H., an autographed guitar when the 17-year-old was dying of brain cancer and took a Make-A-Wish journey to Seattle. This time around, Pearl Jam are giving to Josh’s younger brother Ben, now 34, since the original guitar that he saved as a special keepsake of his brother’s life was stolen from his home in Burlington, Vt.

“Things were thrown all over the place,” Hardy told the Boston Herald of the burglary. “I made an inventory of everything taken — a new amplifier, power tools, a sound system, clothing … but the guitar was the one thing I wanted to get back more than anything else.”

The Burlington police eventually tracked down the burglars and salvaged most of the stolen goods, but the guitar’s autographs were washed off so no one would identify it. That’s where Pearl Jam comes in. Just before Christmas, Hardy received a surprise delivery. “FedEx delivered a new guitar,” he said. “In a note Pearl Jam said they’ve been following the story and this is what they decided to do. It’s an amazing gesture of goodwill. It exceeds expectations … They went above and beyond.”

His mother, Donna, was touched by the musical gift. “It’s a blessing for our family to have all this happen. This is our Christmas story,” she said. “Pearl Jam is amazing and to think that they remembered Josh after all these years is incredible.” We applaud Pearl Jam for their continued display of compassion and charity! (Featured image: Pearl Jam via Facebook.)

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.