Andrew Wood is an important part of Pearl Jam despite the fact that he's been dead for 25 years. The late singer fronted Mother Love Bone, one of PJ's predecessors that featured Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard. Ament, Gossard and the rest of Pearl Jam nation pulled their resources together and raised some money recently to help out Andrew's mother, Toni, who was living in a run-down trailer.

The fundraising efforts were a success, and Toni will be able to use the $75,000 to renovate her home and put in a new garden.

"Jeff and I found out a few weeks ago from Kevin Wood that Andy's mom, Toni, was in need of some help," Gossard wrote on PJ's website back in September. "Andy was Motherlovebone's most beloved bandleader and singer. His Mom, Toni, is such a magical woman. Her spirit is so close to Andy's, to whom she gave so much love, humor and spark. If you'd ever seen Andy and Toni together, you'd see the connection."

Toni told the Kitsap Sun that withdrawing money from her bank account was always a hassle because she was often on the brink of exhausting her funds. A bankteller recently told her not to worry about the balance anymore following the fundraising.

Andrew died of a drug overdose shortly before Mother Love Bone's debut album was released. Pearl Jam continue to honor the singer by performing songs by the band, most notably "Crown of Thorns."

"It's difficult to articulate it," Chris Cornell, who lived with Andrew, said in the PJ20 documentary. "Up to that point, life was really good for us as a group of musicians in a scene making music. The world was our oyster and we supported each other and he was kind of like this beam of light sort of above it all."

Join the Discussion