"Hail, Hail" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by guitarist

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. ...

, bassist

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

, and guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...

. "Hail, Hail" was released in October 1996 as the second single from the band's fourth studio album, ''

No Code ''No Code'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996 through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, '' Vitalogy'' (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicize ...

'' (1996). The song managed to reach the number nine spot on both the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock '' Billboard'' charts. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, ''

rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003) ''Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)'' is a two-disc compilation album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 16, 2004 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. I ...

''.

Origin and recording

"Hail, Hail" features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by guitarist

, bassist

, and guitarist

. Gossard stated, "People say that ''No Code'' wasn't like a rock record. The big comment you'd hear over and over again was 'experimental record.' But then you hear 'Habit' and 'Hail, Hail' and 'Lukin', and those songs are totally rock."

Lyrics

The lyrics of "Hail, Hail" refer to two people in a troubled relationship struggling to hold it together.

Release and reception

The commercially released single for "Hail, Hail" was exclusive to Australia,

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, Japan, and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The song was released as a single in 1996 with a previously unreleased B-side titled "Black, Red, Yellow", of which an alternate version can also be found on the compilation album, ''

Lost Dogs Lost Dogs are an American musical supergroup formed in 1991, comprising vocalists, songwriters, and guitarists from multiple Christian alternative rock bands. Their current lineup includes Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos, the Swirling Eddies) ...

'' (2003). "Black, Red, Yellow" is an homage to basketball player

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

, who has a cameo in the track. The song peaked at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks and ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks charts. It appeared on ''Billboard'' magazine's

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart, reaching the top 70. In Canada, "Hail, Hail" charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it peaked at number two. "Hail, Hail" also reached number 24 on the Canadian Year End Alternative Top 50. "Hail, Hail" would peak at number 31 on the Australian Singles Chart.

David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' said, "Vedder queries with rubbed-raw enunciation in "Hail, Hail", measuring the strength and resilience of good, honest affection against the staccato punch of Gossard's and Mike McCready's guitars and Irons' urgent, emphatic drumming." Ryan Schreiber of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

called "Hail, Hail" the "thrashing, typical Pearl Jam song."

Live performances

"Hail, Hail" was first performed live at the band's September 14, 1996 concert in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

at The Showbox."Pearl Jam Songs: "Hail, Hail""
. pearljam.com. The band played this song when it appeared on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' in September 1996 in support of ''No Code''. Live performances of "Hail, Hail" can be found on the live album ''

Live on Two Legs ''Live on Two Legs'' is the first major live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 24, 1998 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. Overview ''Live on Tw ...

'', various official bootlegs, and the ''

Live at the Gorge 05/06 ''Live at the Gorge 05/06'' is a seven-disc live box set by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on June 26, 2007 through Rhino Entertainment/Warner Music Group. The box set documents the band's 2005 and 2006 shows at The G ...

'' box set.

Track listing

#"Hail, Hail" (

, Eddie Vedder,

) – 3:44 #"Black, Red, Yellow" (Vedder) – 2:59

Charts

References

External links

*
Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{authority control 1996 singles Pearl Jam songs Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs written by Stone Gossard Songs written by Jeff Ament Songs written by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Jack Irons Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Epic Records singles 1996 songs