Mike McCready

Mike McCready brought unabashed Jimi Hendrix worship into grunge and made it work. While his Pearl Jam bandmates favored punk economy, McCready played extended, blues-inflected solos on vintage Fender Stratocasters through Marshall JCM800 heads, a combination that was deliberately retro in the context of early-1990s Seattle. His 1959 Fender Stratocaster, acquired before Pearl Jam formed, has been his primary instrument throughout the band's career. His use of the Dunlop Cry Baby wah and MXR Phase 90 directly references Hendrix's signal chain. McCready's playing on Alive, Yellow Ledbetter, and Black made him one of the most recognizable guitarists of the grunge era despite playing in a genre that nominally rejected guitar heroism.