Temple of the Dog Background
Andy Wood died on March 19, 1990 of a drug overdose. He was roommates with Chris Cornell and in a band called Mother Love Bone with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. After Wood's death, Cornell wrote "Reach Down" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven." He played them for Gossard and Ament; the three agreed to get together to record some songs as a tribute to Wood.
Matt Cameron, who was in Soundgarden with Cornell, came on as the drummer. Mike McCready joined because he was working with Gossard and Ament at the time.
Eddie Vedder was later auditioned and asked to join the band. He only performs on a few of the songs. He shares the lead vocals on "Hunger Strike" and sings back up on 3 others. He is not listed on the album as one of the band members but is listed under the "additional" section which is on most albums.
Temple of the Dog released its album on April 16, 1991. Soon after, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam started recording and Temple of the Dog broke-up. There are no plans for the band to get back together; it was a one time thing done in honor of their friend, Andy Wood.
The name Temple of the Dog comes from the lyrics of the Mother Love Bone song "Man Of Golden Words."