"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 Wale ...

band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

and music co-written by guitarist

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

, bassist

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

, and guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

. "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-publici ...

'' (1996). The song managed to reach the number nine spot on both the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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. It wa ...

''.

Origin and recording

"Hail, Hail" features lyrics written by vocalist

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The song was released as a single in 1996 with a previously unreleased

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

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 Eddi ...

'' (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. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

, who has a cameo in the track. The song peaked at number nine on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

and ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

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 July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

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 (born ) 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 ye ...

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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 magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

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 the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

at The Showbox. The band played this song when it appeared on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' 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 may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'', 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 Gorg ...

'' box set.

Track listing

#"Hail, Hail" (

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

Personnel

– vocals, guitar *

– bass guitar *

– guitar, vocals *

– guitar *

Jack Irons Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers until he departed in 1988 and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven. Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Pep ...

– drums

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