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Remember all those holiday singles from Pearl Jam? They’re finally coming to streaming services

Pearl Jam started releasing special holiday singles to members of their Ten Club almost as soon as they were signed to a major label. I still have an original copy of their 1991 release, “Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time)” somewhere in the collection.

Pearl Jam continue to release records like these until 2017. The best-known of all of them was their version of the teenage death song “Last Kiss,” originally released by Wayne Cochrane in 1961, turned into a hit by J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers in 1964 and revived by the Canadian group Wednesday in 1973.

“Last Kiss” first appeared as a Ten Club single in 1998 paired with “Soldier of Love.” The following year, it appeared on a charity album No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees. From there, it became an unlikely Top 40 hit, reaching all the way to #2 on the Billboard Charts

This year, Pearl Jam didn’t perform live once, the first time this has happened in the band’s existence. As something of an apology (I guess), the band has launched 12 Days of Pearl Jam during which all of these holiday singles will finally come to streaming music services.

Here’s the first release: a Stevie Wonder cover.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39573 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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