[12-02-97 Tues] The band's first single from the new album "Yield" is not supposed to be released to radio until Christmas Eve, but somehow U.S. radio stations have gotten hold of it and are playing it prematurely. "Given To Fly" is the song from the upcoming album, which is due on February 3. But the stations broadcasting the new tune are now being ordered by Epic Records to stop.
Among these is the Washington D.C. modern rock station WHFS-FM, which began playing the new single on Thanksgiving. Pat Ferrise, music director for the station says, "A lot of people like Pearl Jam. They're a really popular band, and it's a really good song. Sure there's competition for that. It's cool for us because we like the song and people like the band a lot. It's great if you're able to get it early to put it on the radio and play it." Ferrise wouldn't tell where the station obtained their coveted copy of the song, which is one of the questions both Epic and Pearl Jam themselves are wondering.
Epic faxed "cease and desist" orders on Monday morning to radio stations playing 'Given to Fly,' and airplay of the song soon stopped. Label promotional executive Stu Bergen said that early radio play "is disruptive to the overall marketing plan of the album."
However, the clip still remains on internet web pages and newsgroups (if you really want to, you CAN find a Real Audio clip through Deja Newsgroup, but posting it here might get us in trouble).
Pearl Jam - December 02, 1997
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