Watch Eddie Vedder Join Chad Smith, Mike McCready, Brandi Carlile and Will Ferrell to Cover Depeche Mode’s ‘Personal Jesus’
A gaggle of famous faces took the stage together in Seattle on Feb. 12 to help raise money for a great cause — and in exchange for their charity, the audience was treated to a show-closing bonus that saw Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder making a surprise appearance to chip in for a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."
As the Seattle Times reports, the event — dubbed "One Classy Night" — was held in support of Cancer for College, an organization dedicated to helping subsidize college education for cancer survivors. According to the Times, the evening added more than $300,000 to the non-profit's coffers, due in part to appearances from an eclectic assortment of celebrities that included Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, and film star/Chad Smith lookalike Will Ferrell — all of whom were joined at the end by Vedder.
Naming the one-off supergroup after the Judy Blume book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Ferrell teased Vedder's arrival by telling the crowd, "We’ve got someone else who wants to try out for this band, so I want to bring him out and see if he wants to play. Local home-grown kid. If you just start the song, I’m sure he’ll join in."
As you can see in the fan-shot footage embedded above, everyone did just that — and Ferrell even stuck around to contribute some of the expert cowbell that made one of his signature Saturday Night Live skits such a lasting favorite. Enjoy the video — and for more information about Cancer for College, visit the organization's official site.