Known For
Acting
Born
Apr 05, 1966
Place of Birth
Pensacola, Florida, USA
Credits
160 titles
Mike McCready
Biography
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam, a band he co-founded. He has also been a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season and The Rockfords. McCready was born in Pensacola, Florida, USA, but his family moved to Seattle shortly after his birth. As a child, his parents played Hendrix and Santana, while his friends listened to KISS and Aerosmith; McCready would frequently play bongo drums. At the age of 11, McCready purchased his first guitar and began taking lessons—aiming to imitate Gene Simmons of KISS, by sticking his tongue out. Shadow split up soon afterwards, and McCready lost interest in guitar for some time, before finally joining another band called Love Chile. A high school friend, Stone Gossard, heard the band, appreciated McCready's work, and asked if he wanted to join a band he was forming. The two worked together and recruited bassist Jeff Ament. Together with drummer Dave Krusen (who would later be replaced by Matt Chamberlain, then Dave Abbruzzese, then Jack Irons, and currently Matt Cameron) and Eddie Vedder, the group formed the band Pearl Jam (originally known as Mookie Blaylock). It was during this time that McCready took a central role in the Temple of the Dog project, combining members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Mikes first recording studio experience was recording the Temple of the Dog album, including an epic 4-minute-plus solo for "Reach Down." According to drummer Matt Cameron, McCready's headphone monitors flew off halfway through the recording of the solo, and he played the rest without being able to hear the backing track. McCready still considers this track to be his greatest achievement. By the end of 1991, Pearl Jam became one of the most famous modern bands with the release of Ten. McCready frequently soloed, and added a blues touch to the music (influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan). McCready's guitar style is usually an aggressive bluesy nature, and he never plays the same solo twice. His live renditions of songs have slightly different solos due to his fondness of improvization, and sometimes he treats the crowd to a full-on improv. He is extremely energetic live, and is commonly found dashing around the stage, playing to the crowd, throwing plectrums and soloing with the guitar behind his head.
Known For
Filmography
2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
Pearl Jam: Vitalogy
Guitar, Backing Vocals
Singing Earth
Himself
Pearl Jam: Baltimore 2024
Pearl Jam: Philadelphia 2024 - Night 2
You Gotta Believe
Original Music Composer
The Beach Boys
Original Music Composer
Pearl Jam: Dark Matter – Global Theatrical Experience
Self
Pearl Jam: Chicago 2023 - Night 1
Guitar
Pearl Jam: Camden, NJ 2022
Pearl Jam: Budapest 2022
Pearl Jam: Imola 2022
Pearl Jam: Oakland 2022 - Night 2
Pearl Jam: Oakland 2022 - Night 1
Pearl Jam: Gila River Arena 2022
Pearl Jam: Los Angeles 2022 - Night 1
Pearl Jam Twenty - The Fans Are Alright
Enormous: The Gorge Story
MoPOP Founders Award 2020 Honoring Alice in Chains
Self
The Rocky Horror Musical Live Stream
Self
All in Washington: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief
Self
Pearl Jam: Gigaton Visual Album Experience
Himself
Pearl Jam: Gigaton Theater Experience
The Story of Plastic
Music
Sadie
Original Music Composer
BOOM! A Film About the Sonics
Himself
Pearl Jam: Fenway Park 2018 - Night 1 - The Away Shows [BTNV]
Pearl Jam: Fenway Park 2018 - Night 1 - The Away Shows [TheSteved111]
Pearl Jam: Missoula 2018
Pearl Jam: Safeco Field 2018 - Night 2 - The Home Shows [BTNV]
Pearl Jam: Safeco Field 2018 - Night 1 - The Home Shows [BTNV]
Pearl Jam: Safeco Field 2018 - Night 1 - The Home Shows [Nugs]
Himself
Pearl Jam: London 2018
Pearl Jam: Rock Werchter 2018
Pearl Jam - Rome 2018
Himself - Guitar
Elvis Presley: The Searcher
Original Music Composer
Pearl Jam: Lollapalooza Brazil 2018 [Animal]
Pearl Jam: Let's Play Two
Himself
Pearl Jam: The TV Master Archive 1992 - 2017
Pearl Jam: Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
Temple Of The Dog
Pearl Jam: Wrigley Field 2016 - Night 2 [BTNV]
PearlJam: Wrigley Field 2016 - Night 2 [YT]
Pearl Jam: Fenway Park 2016 - Night 2
Pearl Jam: Fenway Park 2016 - Night 1
Gleason
Self
Pearl Jam: Toronto 2016 - Night 2
Pearl Jam: Toronto 2016 - Night 1 - The Binaural Show
Pearl Jam: New York City 2016 - Night 2
Pearl Jam: New York City 2016 - Night 1