10 Musicians Who Hated Being Famous

During Pearl Jam's big break, Eddie Vedder was absolutely miserable. Though the band was making music history with their hard rock debut Ten, Vedder had always planned to be in a band that had an organic rise rather than shooting up to the top from the start. With the band playing festivals and stadiums around the world, Vedder started to fully seize control.

Seeing himself as the de facto spokesman for the group, Vedder did everything he could to downplay his celebrity status, which involved everything from not making music videos to even suing Ticketmaster to make sure the band's concert tickets weren't being kept out of the fans' reach. Though many admired his attention to art, Vedder started to control the music even further.

Across later albums like Vitalogy and No Code, the band's sound started to shift from the blend of classic rock and angst to more off-the-wall tunes that sounded like they could come off of a Captain Beefheart record. While it was still Pearl Jam at its core, Vedder deliberately took different artistic directions in order to test who his true audience really was. Even if he may cringe at being called a rockstar, Vedder's Everyman attitude in the spotlight has given him another stripe of fans who love the authenticity in his music.