Anybody who was around when Pearl Jam's 1991 debut album Ten exploded will remember just how ubiquitous the band was in those days. Whether you were listening to the radio or watching MTV, the album's hit singles ("Alive," "Evenflow" and "Jeremy") were in near constant rotation.
But another thing any Pearl Jam fan from back in the day can tell you is that one of Ten's most beloved and enduring tracks, "Black," was never actually released as a single...because Eddie Vedder wouldn't allow it.
The emotional ballad about unrequited love was, unsurprisingly, extremely relevant to countless young Pearl Jam listeners, with lyrics that definitely hit home for anybody who recently had their heart broken: I know someday you'll have a beautiful life / I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky / But why, why, why can't it be / Can't it be mine?
Those lyrics were, of course, very meaningful to Vedder (he wrote them, after all). As he explained in a 1993 interview with Cameron Crowe for Rolling Stone, "There are certain songs that come from emotion."
"t's got nothing to do with melody or timing or even words; it has to do with the emotion behind the song," he continued. "You can't put out 50 percent. You have to sing them from a feeling. Like 'Alive' and 'Jeremy' to this day — and 'Black.' Those songs, they tear me up."
In fact, "Black" meant so much to Vedder that he refused to let the record label release it as a single or make a music video for it.
"Some songs just aren't meant to be played between Hit No. 2 and Hit No. 3," he said. "You start doing those things, you'll crush it. That's not why we wrote songs. We didn't write to make hits. But those fragile songs get crushed by the business. I don't want to be a part of it. I don't think the band wants to be part of it."
Pearl JamPhoto by Gie Knaeps on Getty Images
Vedder's reluctance to promote "Black" certainly didn't do anything to hurt its popularity, as the song ended up peaking at #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #20 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1993. Years later, in 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted "Black" at #9 on a list of "The Best Ballads of All Time."
Still more years later, the track continues to find new listeners. In February of 2026, Forbes reported that "Black" was once again climbing the charts; specifically, Billboard‘s Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart, where it debuted at #24.
Related: '90s Rocker Opens Up About Legendary Band's Future After Longtime Member's Departure
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