The song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it spent two weeks at number one.
A version of "Brother" with vocals appears on the 2009 Ten reissue, while an alternate vocal version circulated among fans for years on the Epic Rough Mixes 4/26/91 promo cassette that was released as a bootleg and later on the 2004 Epic in-house disc labelled Rarities Unreleased Cuts that leaked onto the internet.
While the band was working on Ten, the song became a point of contention between Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament.
In a story described in the liner notes of the Lost Dogs album, Gossard decided he was no longer interested in playing the guitar riff which almost caused Ament to quit the band.
[1] Guitarist Mike McCready on the song: I remember Jeff really loving it and Stone either not liking it or being indifferent about it.
When it came time for the band to select tracks to include on Lost Dogs, Gossard remained uninterested in the song and Vedder decided he was no longer pleased with his lyrics.
Vedder suggested to McCready that he overdub some guitar parts in place of the lyrics and this is the version that appears on Lost Dogs.
In March 2009, "Brother" was made available as a downloadable bonus track for the Rock Band series for those who purchase the Ten re-release through Best Buy.
[5] "Brother" was first performed live at the band's February 7, 1991 concert in Los Angeles, California at Florentine Gardens.
"Brother" finally made a return appearance at the band's August 8, 2009 concert in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Virgin Festival.