By request. Eddie Vedder recently appeared with Howard Stern, where he described how he came to show up on Dave's Late Show for the first time.* Two issues were intertwined during this late-January-February 1996 period: Dave wanting to hear more Eddie Vedder music from Paul, and the first rumblings moving the Top Ten home office from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Wahoo, Nebraska.
Eddie's interview with Howard is interspersed throughout this compilation. His recollections from nearly 25 years ago vary from what actually happened; for example, Eddie remembers Dave moving close to the camera and addressing him personally. In fact, Dave was addressing an imaginary home viewer "Billy." In his defense, Eddie acknowledges that he was stoned at the time, so the confusion is understandable.
The chronology:
1. January 30, 1996. Dave asks Paul for more Eddie Vedder music.
2. January 31, 1996. Dave once again asks Paul for more Eddie Vedder, now requesting "Black"; Paul says the band hasn't learned it yet. They will by the next day.
3. February 1, 1996. Dave's camera close-up. Later, into the commercial break with guest Alec Baldwin, Paul and the band perform "Black" for the first time.
4. February 6, 1996. Dave declares his "personal credo": "A lot of people in this country today say 'Wah'; I say, 'Wah-hoo!'"
5. February 7, 1996. Dave repeats his credo, then segues from "Wah" to singing "Whyyyyy" from "Black" and asks Paul to have Eddie sit in with the band.
6. February 8, 1996. Before presenting the night's Top Ten, Dave mentions that he's considering moving the home office from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Wahoo, Nebraska, displaying a letter from the Wahoo mayor. His "personal credo" has now morphed into a change of the home office.
7. February 27, 1996. Dave obsesses over "Black," so Paul presents Eddie to properly perform it.
* The Howard Stern's interview with Eddie Vedder:
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