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Jack White (musician)
Encyclopedia
Jack White often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician
, songwriter
, record producer
and occasional actor
. He was best known as the guitarist, pianist and lead vocalist of The White Stripes
until they split in February 2011, as well as a member of The Raconteurs
and The Dead Weather
.
He is ranked #17 on Rolling Stone
' s list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". White's popular and critical success with The White Stripes enabled him to collaborate as a solo artist with other renowned musicians, such as Beck
, The Rolling Stones
, Jeff Beck
, Alicia Keys
, Bob Dylan
, Electric Six
and Loretta Lynn
, whose 2004 album Van Lear Rose
he produced and performed on. In 2005, White became a founding member of the rock band The Raconteurs
. In 2009, he became a founding member and drummer of his third commercially successful group, The Dead Weather
. He was awarded the title of "Nashville Music City Ambassador" by the Nashville mayor Karl Dean
in 2011.
, Scottish
, and Canadian descent, John Anthony Gillis, the son of Teresa and Gorman Gillis, was born the youngest of ten children (six brothers, three sisters), in Detroit, Michigan
. He grew up in a Catholic family. His father and mother worked for the Archdiocese of Detroit, as the maintenance man and the Cardinal's secretary, respectively. White eventually became an altar boy, which landed him an uncredited role in the 1987 movie The Rosary Murders
, filmed mainly at Holy Redeemer parish in southwest Detroit. As a child he was a fan of classical music. Jack attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School
in Detroit, MI.
He began playing an instrument, a drum, at the age of six. White grew up in a lower middle-class neighborhood in southwest Detroit. White, as a teenager, was already listening to the blues and 1960s rock that would influence him in The White Stripes, Son House
and Blind Willie McTell
being among his favorite blues musicians. He and his childhood friend, Dominic Suchyta, would listen to records in White's attic on weekends and began to record cover songs on an old 4-track
reel to reel
. At the time White was described as "a kid with short hair and braces". He has said in many interviews that Son House
's "Grinnin' In Your Face" is his favorite song of all time.
In 2005 on 60 Minutes
, White told Mike Wallace
that his life could have turned out differently. "I'd got accepted to a seminary in Wisconsin
, and I was gonna become a priest, but at the last second I thought, 'I’ll just go to public school... I had just gotten a new amplifier in my bedroom, and I didn’t think I was allowed to take it with me."
According to an interview with Stephen Colbert Jack went to Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit, MI. It is clear in this interview that he was raised Catholic and may have been an altar boy. The "Catholic Throwdown"(discussion about Catholicism between White and Colbert) was posted on Colbertnation.com 6/23/11.
At 15, White began a three-year upholstery
apprenticeship
with a family friend, Brian Muldoon. White credits Muldoon with exposing him to punk music and pushing him to play music with Muldoon as a band: "He played drums...well I guess I'll play guitar then." The two recorded an album, Makers of High Grade Suites, as The Upholsterers
. White later started a one-man business of his own, Third Man Upholstery. The slogan of his business was "Your Furniture's Not Dead" and the color scheme was yellow and black—including a yellow van, a yellow-and-black uniform, and a yellow clipboard. Although Third Man Upholstery never lacked business, White claims that it was unprofitable, because of his complacency about money and his business practices that were perceived as unprofessional, including making bills out in crayon
and writing poetry inside the furniture. Shortly thereafter, White landed his first professional gig, as the drummer for the Detroit band Goober & the Peas
. He also played in other local bands and did solo shows.
White formed The White Stripes in 1997, along with Meg White
, The band began its career as part of the Michigan garage rock
underground music
scene, playing with local bands such as Bantam Rooster
, The Dirtbombs
, The Paybacks, Rocket 455, and The Henchmen, among others. In 1998, The White Stripes were signed to Italy Records
, a small and independent
Detroit-based garage punk
label, by Dave Buick. The band released its self-titled debut album
in 1999, and a year later the album was followed up by the cult classic De Stijl
. The album eventually peaked at #38 in Billboard Magazines Independent Albums
when the band had established their popularity. While performing and in music videos, Jack and Meg are very recognisable visually, as they dress only in red, white, and black.
In 2001 the band released White Blood Cells
. The album's stripped-down garage rock sound drew critical acclaim in the UK and soon afterward in the US, making The White Stripes one of the more acclaimed bands of 2002. The album was followed up in 2003 by the commercially and critically successful Elephant
. Allmusic wrote that the album "sounds even more pissed-off, paranoid and stunning than its predecessor ... darker and more difficult than White Blood Cells. " The album's first single, "Seven Nation Army
, " was the band's most successful.
The band's fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan
, was recorded in White's own home and marked a change in the band's musical direction, with piano
-driven melodies and experimentation with marimba
and a more rhythm
-based guitar playing by White. The band's sixth album, Icky Thump
, released in 2007, entered the UK Albums Chart
at number one and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
. The album's sound also included more punk
, garage
and blues influences than its predecessor. In late 2007, the band announced the cancellation of 18 tour dates due to Meg White's acute anxiety
problems.
White had revealed plans to release a seventh, as of yet untitled album in the summer of 2009. However, this has yet to happen. The band also made their first live appearance since Meg's anxiety problems in September 2007 on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
on February 20, 2009.
A documentary, The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights
, about the band's 2007 tour, in which they played a gig in every Canadian province and territory, appeared in the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
.
In July 2007, The White Stripes made history by playing the shortest concert ever by only playing one note, in St John's, Newfoundland
. They played a full show later that night at the Mile One Centre
in downtown St. John's.
On February 2, 2011, it was reported on the main page of whitestripes.com that the duo has decided to part ways. White stated that it was not due to health issues or artistic differences but there were a "myriad of reasons".
, Jack Lawrence
and Patrick Keeler
. The origin of the band was the song 'Steady, As She Goes
' which White wrote along with Benson. This inspired them to create a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. The band came together in Detroit
during 2005 and, for the remainder of the year, recorded when time allowed. The band's debut album Broken Boy Soldiers
was recorded at Benson's home in Detroit. The band set out on tour to support the album, including eight dates as the opening act for Bob Dylan
. The band released its second album, Consolers of the Lonely
and its first single "Salute Your Solution
" simultaneously in 2008. The album received a Grammy nomination.
In early 2009, Jack White formed a new group called The Dead Weather
with The Kills
frontwoman Alison Mosshart
. White takes drum and vocal duties, while The Raconteurs
bassist Jack Lawrence
and Queens of the Stone Age
keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita
round the four piece out.
The group debuted a handful of new tracks on March 11, 2009 in Nashville from their debut album Horehound
, which came out July 13, 2009 in Europe and July 14, 2009 in North America, on White's Third Man Records
label.
On October 16, 2009, Mosshart confirmed that the second album was "halfway done". The first single "Die By The Drop" was released on March 30, 2010. The new album, Sea of Cowards
was released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom, and again, on White's Third Man Records
.
's song "Danger! High Voltage
". Both he and the Electric Six denied this, and the vocal work was credited officially to John S O'Leary. However, a recent radio interview with Tim Shaw on Kerrang! 105.2
in the UK had Electric Six lead singer Dick Valentine
talking openly about White singing on this song as well as speculating on the amount of money he was paid ($60,000). Also, a Q
magazine article stated that Jack White did in fact work with Electric Six on the song "Gay Bar".
In 2008, White collaborated with Alicia Keys
on the song "Another Way to Die
", the theme song for the James Bond
film Quantum of Solace.
He performed five songs for the Cold Mountain soundtrack
; "Sittin' On Top Of The World", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Never Far Away", "Christmas Time Soon Will Be Over" and "Great High Mountain".
In 2009, Jack White was featured in It Might Get Loud
, a film in which he, Jimmy Page
, and The Edge
come together to discuss the electric guitar and each artist's different playing methods. White's first solo single, "Fly Farm Blues
", was written and recorded in 10 minutes during the filming of the movie, in August 2009. The single went on sale as a 7-inch vinyl record from Third Man Records
and as a digital single available through iTunes
on August 11.
In November 2010, producer Danger Mouse
announced that White has been recruited for his collaboration with Daniele Luppi
, entitled Rome
along with Norah Jones
. White provided vocals to three songs on the album: "The Rose with the Broken Neck", "Two Against One" and "The World".
s (one which he received from a fan), a three pickup Airline Town & Country (used on tour with the Raconteurs and in the "Steady As She Goes" music video), a Harmony
Rocket, a 1970s-era Crestwood
Astral II, 1950s-era Kay
Hollowbody (given to him by his brother in return for a favor), a Gretsch
White Penguin (as seen in the music video for Icky Thump
), and a custom Gretsch Rancher Falcon acoustic guitar. When playing with the Raconteurs, White usually plays two custom Gretsch-styled copies of the Duo Jet double-cutaway guitar, one of which, dubbed the Triple Jet, is his main guitar that is made of copper and features a Gretsch logo from 1912. For their first tour, Jack also played Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and three Filtertron pickups. He also uses a Gretsch Rancher acoustic guitar and he now uses a custom Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with two cutaways, a built-in retractable microphone, and a theremin
next to the Bigsby. Jack has dubbed this one the "Triple Green Machine". Also, he plays occasionally with his Gretsch Rancher, a Gibson J-160E. Also, he plays a Gretsch Duo Jet in Cadillac Green. Recently, he has featured his latest Gretsch, a custom white Billy Gibbons
/Bo Diddley
signature Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird
in the music video for "Another Way to Die", this guitar is also used on his concerts with The Dead Weather
, but he also uses a black left-handed one since Sea of Cowards
came out. He has also been known to play Fender Telecasters, featuring one in the music video for Loretta Lynn's "Portland, Oregon." Jack White has also played in live shows, mainly with The Dead Weather, a Daddy Mojo Stove Pipe Cigar Box Guitar.
Jack White uses numerous effects to create his live sound, most notably a DigiTech Whammy WH-4
to create the rapid modulations in pitch he uses in his solos.
In concert with an MXR Micro Amp and custom Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
Distortion/Sustainer, White can produce a very distinctive sound. In 2005, for the single "Blue Orchid", White employed a new Electro-Harmonix
creation, the Polyphonic Octave Generator (POG). Similar to (but more versatile than) the Whammy IV, the POG lets the user mix in several octave effects into one along with the dry signal. He also has three Z.Vex
Tremolo Probes, that are hand painted black. All of the pedals that he uses live have been professionally painted red to match his red/black/white color scheme (with the exception of his Whammy and the other pedals that are already red). He plugs this setup into a 1970s Fender Twin Reverb and two 100-Watt Sears Silvertone
6x10 combo amplifiers. He also has a Sonic Machine Factory 15 Watt amp in red that can be seen in Under Great White Northern Lights. He uses this as a travel amp for secret or small shows, and also as the amp for his various keyboards when playing for a larger audience. With the Raconteurs, he has many more unusual pedals. And also, for the Raconteurs' 2008 tour, he had all of his pedals copper plated by Analog Man.
White also produces a "fake" bass tone by playing the Kay Hollowbody and JB Hutto Montgomery Airline guitars through a Whammy IV set to one octave down for a very thick, low, rumbling sound, which he uses most notably on the songs "Seven Nation Army
" and "The Hardest Button to Button
" during live performances.
On occasion, White also plays other instruments, such as a Black Gibson F-4 mandolin
("Little Ghost"), piano
(on most tracks from Get Behind Me Satan
, and various others), an electric piano
on such tracks as "The Air Near My Fingers" and "I'm Finding it Harder to be a Gentleman". White also plays percussion instruments such as the marimba
(as on "The Nurse"), drums
and tambourine
. For the White Stripes' 2007 tour, he played a custom-finish Hammond A-100 organ with a Leslie 3300 speaker, which was subsequently loaned to Bob Dylan
, and currently resides at Third Man Studios. On Broken Boy Soldiers, he is credited as playing the album's synths and organ
; however, bandmate Brendan Benson
also received credit for these instruments and it is unclear who played on which song.
White plays power chords with a different technique than most musicians. Instead of using his ring finger to fret the higher notes, Jack uses his little finger. This is because of a car accident in which his left index finger was injured and also the fact that his brothers would never teach him the proper way to do so, which he explains in an appearance with the Raconteurs on the show In the Attic
.
With the Dead Weather, Jack plays a custom Ludwig Classic Maple kit in Black Oyster Pearl. The sizes consist of the following: 16x26 kick, 5x16 snare (primary) 12x14 marching snare (secondary), 7x16 rack tom 14x16 floor tom, two 16x16 floor toms, Paiste 2002 24"crash, 24"ride and two 16" crashes as hi-hats. For the 2009 Full Flash Blank tour, Jack used a drum head with the Three Brides of Dracula on the front, but in 2010, Jack employs a new drum head, upon the release of Sea of Cowards, which has an image of The Third Man himself: Harry Lime attempting to escape certain capture in the sewers of Vienna. During the American leg of the 2010 tour, Jack switched his drum head again featuring a picture of himself in the guise he wore on the cover of Sea of Cowards. This drum head is called Sam Kay by some fans, referring to the insert inside of the 12" LP.
In 2010, Jack White added an acoustic guitar to his collection named Veronica Lake
. It is a custom white Gretsch Rancher with a gold double pickguard and a picture of Veronica Lake on the back. He is currently playing it with his band The Dead Weather. It is the newest addition to "Jack's Girlfriends" which already include Claudette Colbert
that he plays In the Raconteurs, and Rita Hayworth
that he plays in the White Stripes.
According to Joe Chiccarelli, engineer for Icky Thump
, White is not very technical when it comes to capturing his sound on record: "Usually he wouldn't talk in terms of compression or EQ or any of those things, it was always about what can we do to give something more aggression or hit you in the face more. Jack's brilliance is his understanding of great emotional performances, and of what it takes to make something come alive through the speakers and have an impact."
White gives few interviews and reveals few details of his private life. He states that he does not consider it relevant to his art, saying "It's the same thing as asking Michelangelo
, 'What kind of shoes do you wear?'...In the end, it doesn't really matter ... the only thing that's going to be left is our records and photos."
A topic of intrigue has been the actual relationship between Jack and Meg White
. In early interviews, the pair presented themselves as siblings, two of ten. The Flaming Lips
touch on this in their song "Thank You Jack White (for the Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" released on their 2003 EP Fight Test
. However, the Detroit Free Press
produced copies of both a marriage license and divorce certificate, confirming Jack and Meg's history as a married couple. Neither addresses the truth officially and over time, they have become less verbal about the origins of their relationship. Jack White has said, though, that siblings are "mated for life", thus such relationships distract less from the music. Jack mentions them being brother and sister in the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights
. In the early 1990s, Meg White worked as a bartender
at Memphis Smoke, a bar in downtown Royal Oak
(a Detroit suburb), where she first met Jack, then still known under his original surname 'Gillis'. They were married on September 21, 1996 and were divorced on March 24, 2000. Jack took her last name.
White is often referred to as eccentric. For instance, he has an obsession with the number three. On November 7, 2005, it was widely reported that White had changed his name to "Three Quid" (quid is British slang for pound sterling). However, most reports indicated that this would only last until the end of the tour.
On December 13, 2003, White was involved in an altercation with Jason Stollsteimer
, lead singer of The Von Bondies
, at the Magic Stick, a Detroit club. White was charged with misdemeanor
aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault
and battery
, and was fined $750 (including court costs), and was sentenced to take anger management
classes.
In 2003, White made his acting debut in Mutant Swinger from Mars
, and had a brief but highly publicized romantic relationship with actress Renée Zellweger
, whom he met during the filming of Cold Mountain
. That summer, the couple were in a car accident in which White broke his left index finger and was forced to reschedule much of the summer tour. He posted the footage of his finger surgery on the web for fans. White and Zellweger's breakup became public in December 2004.
White met British model Karen Elson
(twin sister of Kate Elson
) when she appeared in The White Stripes music video for "Blue Orchid
". The video's director, Floria Sigismondi
, noted "you sensed an energy between them". They married on June 1, 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The wedding took place in a canoe on the Amazon River
and was officiated by a shaman. A Roman Catholic priest later convalidated
their marriage. Manager Ian Montone was the best man and Meg White was the maid of honor. Official wedding announcements stated that "it was the first marriage" for both. On May 2, 2006, the couple had a daughter, Scarlett Teresa White. Their second child, Henry Lee White, was born on August 7, 2007. The White family resides in Brentwood
, Tennessee
, a suburb south of Nashville, where Elson manages a vintage clothing store called Venus & Mars. The couple announced their divorce in June 2011, throwing a divorce party to celebrate their sixth anniversary and the "making and breaking of the sacred union of marriage," according to the invitation sent to guests. In a press statement, the couple vowed to remain "dear and trusted friends and co-parents."
In 2006, it was revealed in the Sunday Times Rich List
that White and his British wife Elson had a joint fortune of at least £
20 million (US$37 million). This ranked them at seventh place in the list of entertainers under age 30 who were born or live in the United Kingdom, ahead of the likes of Orlando Bloom
and Kate Winslet
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and occasional actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was best known as the guitarist, pianist and lead vocalist of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
until they split in February 2011, as well as a member of The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
and The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
.
He is ranked #17 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Electric Six
Electric Six
Electric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...
and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, whose 2004 album Van Lear Rose
Van Lear Rose
-Personnel:*Loretta Lynn - vocals, guitar*Dave Feeny - pedal guitar, steel guitar, dobro, percussion, background vocals*Patrick Keeler - drums, percussion, background vocals*Jack Lawrence - bass, percussion, background vocals...
he produced and performed on. In 2005, White became a founding member of the rock band The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
. In 2009, he became a founding member and drummer of his third commercially successful group, The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
. He was awarded the title of "Nashville Music City Ambassador" by the Nashville mayor Karl Dean
Karl Dean
Karl Foster Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. He was sworn in on September 21, 2007. From 1999 to January 9, 2007, Karl Dean served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Purcell. In 1990, 1994, and 1998, he was elected the...
in 2011.
Early life
Of PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, and Canadian descent, John Anthony Gillis, the son of Teresa and Gorman Gillis, was born the youngest of ten children (six brothers, three sisters), in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He grew up in a Catholic family. His father and mother worked for the Archdiocese of Detroit, as the maintenance man and the Cardinal's secretary, respectively. White eventually became an altar boy, which landed him an uncredited role in the 1987 movie The Rosary Murders
The Rosary Murders
The Rosary Murders is a 1987 neo-noir mystery film starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler, based upon the novel by William X. Kienzle....
, filmed mainly at Holy Redeemer parish in southwest Detroit. As a child he was a fan of classical music. Jack attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School
The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...
in Detroit, MI.
He began playing an instrument, a drum, at the age of six. White grew up in a lower middle-class neighborhood in southwest Detroit. White, as a teenager, was already listening to the blues and 1960s rock that would influence him in The White Stripes, Son House
Son House
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
and Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
being among his favorite blues musicians. He and his childhood friend, Dominic Suchyta, would listen to records in White's attic on weekends and began to record cover songs on an old 4-track
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
reel to reel
Reel to Reel
* For the audio technology, see "Reel-to-reel audio tape recording"Reel to Reel is the debut album by Grand Puba. It was Puba's first solo venture, following group projects with the likes of the short lived group Masters of Ceremony and Brand Nubian. Both of the group’s albums were critically...
. At the time White was described as "a kid with short hair and braces". He has said in many interviews that Son House
Son House
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
's "Grinnin' In Your Face" is his favorite song of all time.
In 2005 on 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, White told Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
that his life could have turned out differently. "I'd got accepted to a seminary in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and I was gonna become a priest, but at the last second I thought, 'I’ll just go to public school... I had just gotten a new amplifier in my bedroom, and I didn’t think I was allowed to take it with me."
According to an interview with Stephen Colbert Jack went to Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit, MI. It is clear in this interview that he was raised Catholic and may have been an altar boy. The "Catholic Throwdown"(discussion about Catholicism between White and Colbert) was posted on Colbertnation.com 6/23/11.
At 15, White began a three-year upholstery
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
with a family friend, Brian Muldoon. White credits Muldoon with exposing him to punk music and pushing him to play music with Muldoon as a band: "He played drums...well I guess I'll play guitar then." The two recorded an album, Makers of High Grade Suites, as The Upholsterers
The Upholsterers
The Upholsterers were an American garage punk band in 2000, from Detroit, Michigan. The two-piece band was composed of Jack White, of The White Stripes, and Brian Muldoon of The Muldoons. White provided vocals, guitar, and piano, while Muldoon played on drums and created sounds with a worm gear saw...
. White later started a one-man business of his own, Third Man Upholstery. The slogan of his business was "Your Furniture's Not Dead" and the color scheme was yellow and black—including a yellow van, a yellow-and-black uniform, and a yellow clipboard. Although Third Man Upholstery never lacked business, White claims that it was unprofitable, because of his complacency about money and his business practices that were perceived as unprofessional, including making bills out in crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...
and writing poetry inside the furniture. Shortly thereafter, White landed his first professional gig, as the drummer for the Detroit band Goober & the Peas
Goober & The Peas
Goober & The Peas are a cowpunk band from Detroit, Michigan known for blending odd humor to a darker side of country music. The band was known for their frenetic live shows in the early and mid-1990s. The Austin Chronicle called them "some seriously sick individuals, and quite possibly the most...
. He also played in other local bands and did solo shows.
The White Stripes
Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
, The band began its career as part of the Michigan garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
underground music
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
scene, playing with local bands such as Bantam Rooster
Bantam Rooster
Bantam Rooster was an American garage punk band, formed in 1994 in Lansing, Michigan and disbanded in 2003. Bantam Rooster was a duo composed of vocalist and guitarist Thomas Jackson Potter and drummer Eric Cook with later members Mike Alonso and Nick Lloyd filling in on drums.Known for their...
, The Dirtbombs
The Dirtbombs
The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup...
, The Paybacks, Rocket 455, and The Henchmen, among others. In 1998, The White Stripes were signed to Italy Records
Italy Records
Italy Records is an independent record label founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1997, by self-confessed "record geek" Dave Buick....
, a small and independent
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Detroit-based garage punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
label, by Dave Buick. The band released its self-titled debut album
The White Stripes (album)
The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 15, 1999. The album was produced by Jim Diamond and vocalist/guitarist Jack White, recorded in January 1999 at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit...
in 1999, and a year later the album was followed up by the cult classic De Stijl
De Stijl (album)
De Stijl is the second studio album by the American garage rock band The White Stripes, released on June 20, 2000 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album reached number thirty-eight on Billboards Independent Albums chart in 2002, when The White Stripes' popularity began to grow...
. The album eventually peaked at #38 in Billboard Magazines Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
when the band had established their popularity. While performing and in music videos, Jack and Meg are very recognisable visually, as they dress only in red, white, and black.
In 2001 the band released White Blood Cells
White Blood Cells (album)
White Blood Cells is the third studio album by American alternative rock duo The White Stripes, released on July 3, 2001. Recorded in less than one week at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, and produced by frontman and guitarist Jack White, it was the band's final record released...
. The album's stripped-down garage rock sound drew critical acclaim in the UK and soon afterward in the US, making The White Stripes one of the more acclaimed bands of 2002. The album was followed up in 2003 by the commercially and critically successful Elephant
Elephant (album)
Elephant is the Grammy winning fourth album by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Released on April 1, 2003 on V2 Records, the album marks the band's major label debut...
. Allmusic wrote that the album "sounds even more pissed-off, paranoid and stunning than its predecessor ... darker and more difficult than White Blood Cells. " The album's first single, "Seven Nation Army
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. "Seven Nation Army" reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its...
, " was the band's most successful.
The band's fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
, was recorded in White's own home and marked a change in the band's musical direction, with piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
-driven melodies and experimentation with marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
and a more rhythm
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
-based guitar playing by White. The band's sixth album, Icky Thump
Icky Thump
Icky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros...
, released in 2007, entered the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number one and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. The album's sound also included more punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, garage
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
and blues influences than its predecessor. In late 2007, the band announced the cancellation of 18 tour dates due to Meg White's acute anxiety
Anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Conditions now considered anxiety disorders only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century. Gelder, Mayou & Geddes explains that anxiety disorders are...
problems.
White had revealed plans to release a seventh, as of yet untitled album in the summer of 2009. However, this has yet to happen. The band also made their first live appearance since Meg's anxiety problems in September 2007 on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
on February 20, 2009.
A documentary, The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights
Under Great White Northern Lights
Under Great White Northern Lights is the documentary film and first live album by The White Stripes. The film, directed by Emmett Malloy, documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage. The album collects various recordings from throughout the...
, about the band's 2007 tour, in which they played a gig in every Canadian province and territory, appeared in the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
.
In July 2007, The White Stripes made history by playing the shortest concert ever by only playing one note, in St John's, Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
. They played a full show later that night at the Mile One Centre
Mile One Centre
Mile One Centre is an indoor arena and entertainment venue located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The centre's name comes from it being located at the beginning of the Trans-Canada Highway. At full capacity the arena can seat 7,000 people.The arena opened in May 2001, as...
in downtown St. John's.
On February 2, 2011, it was reported on the main page of whitestripes.com that the duo has decided to part ways. White stated that it was not due to health issues or artistic differences but there were a "myriad of reasons".
The Raconteurs
White formed The Raconteurs in 2005 along with Brendan BensonBrendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
, Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (bassist)
"Little" Jack Lawrence is a musician from Covington, Kentucky, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee.- Career :Lawrence plays bass guitar in The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes and The Dead Weather, as well as the autoharp and banjo in Blanche...
and Patrick Keeler
Patrick Keeler
Patrick Keeler is an American rock music drummer from Cincinnati, who best known for playing in The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs. He plays with both traditional and matched grips.-Recording career:...
. The origin of the band was the song 'Steady, As She Goes
Steady, As She Goes
"Steady, As She Goes" is the debut single by the rock band The Raconteurs from their first album Broken Boy Soldiers. It has also been covered by such artists as Corinne Bailey Rae for BBC Radio 1's Live lounge....
' which White wrote along with Benson. This inspired them to create a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. The band came together in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
during 2005 and, for the remainder of the year, recorded when time allowed. The band's debut album Broken Boy Soldiers
Broken Boy Soldiers
Broken Boy Soldiers is the debut album of The Raconteurs, released on May 15, 2006 in the United Kingdom and May 16, 2006 in the United States. The album was generally favored among critics and spawned the #1 hit single "Steady, As She Goes"...
was recorded at Benson's home in Detroit. The band set out on tour to support the album, including eight dates as the opening act for Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. The band released its second album, Consolers of the Lonely
Consolers of the Lonely
Consolers of the Lonely is the second album of The Raconteurs. It was released on March 25, 2008 on Warner Bros. Records in most parts of the world, and a day earlier on XL Recordings in the UK....
and its first single "Salute Your Solution
Salute Your Solution
"Salute Your Solution" is a song by The Raconteurs. It is the first single from their second album Consolers of the Lonely. It was released on March 25, 2008 the same day as the album release. Jack White and Brendan Benson share lead vocal duties on the track...
" simultaneously in 2008. The album received a Grammy nomination.
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
with The Kills
The Kills
The Kills is a rock band formed by American singer Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince . Their first three albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom, have garnered much critical praise...
frontwoman Alison Mosshart
Alison Mosshart
Alison Nicole Mosshart is an American singer, songwriter and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for the indie rock band The Kills and blues rock band The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock band Discount which disbanded in 2000...
. White takes drum and vocal duties, while The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
bassist Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (bassist)
"Little" Jack Lawrence is a musician from Covington, Kentucky, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee.- Career :Lawrence plays bass guitar in The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes and The Dead Weather, as well as the autoharp and banjo in Blanche...
and Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
round the four piece out.
The group debuted a handful of new tracks on March 11, 2009 in Nashville from their debut album Horehound
Horehound (album)
-Bonus Tracks:-Charts:-Personnel:*Alison Mosshart – vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion*Jack White – drums, vocals, guitar, production*Dean Fertita – lead guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer, bass, backing vocals...
, which came out July 13, 2009 in Europe and July 14, 2009 in North America, on White's Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
label.
On October 16, 2009, Mosshart confirmed that the second album was "halfway done". The first single "Die By The Drop" was released on March 30, 2010. The new album, Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom....
was released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom, and again, on White's Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
.
Solo career
It was rumored that in 2003 White collaborated on Electric SixElectric Six
Electric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...
's song "Danger! High Voltage
Danger! High Voltage
"Danger! High Voltage" is a song by Electric Six, released as a single on 6 January 2003 through XL Recordings. It was the band's debut single, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and was named Single of the Week by the NME. It was also released on the band's debut album Fire .Jack White...
". Both he and the Electric Six denied this, and the vocal work was credited officially to John S O'Leary. However, a recent radio interview with Tim Shaw on Kerrang! 105.2
Kerrang! 105.2
Kerrang! Radio is a specialist rock music radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands, England. The station's format mixes modern & classic rock with speech programmes targeted at young people and an adult rock audience. Broadcasting on FM in the West Midlands and DAB & Freeview and online,...
in the UK had Electric Six lead singer Dick Valentine
Tyler Spencer
Tyler Spencer , also known as Dick Valentine, is a vocalist, best known for his role as lead singer for the six-piece Detroit-based band Electric Six...
talking openly about White singing on this song as well as speculating on the amount of money he was paid ($60,000). Also, a Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine article stated that Jack White did in fact work with Electric Six on the song "Gay Bar".
In 2008, White collaborated with Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
on the song "Another Way to Die
Another Way to Die
"Another Way to Die" is a song by American rock musician and singer Jack White and American R&B/soul singer Alicia Keys. Written and produced by White as the theme song to the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, it was released as a single in the United States on September 30, 2008 and in...
", the theme song for the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Quantum of Solace.
He performed five songs for the Cold Mountain soundtrack
Cold Mountain (soundtrack)
Cold Mountain is the original soundtrack of the 2003 film Cold Mountain starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger.The album won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year in 2003...
; "Sittin' On Top Of The World", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Never Far Away", "Christmas Time Soon Will Be Over" and "Great High Mountain".
In 2009, Jack White was featured in It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud is a documentary by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film received a wide release on August 14, 2009 in the U.S...
, a film in which he, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, and The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
come together to discuss the electric guitar and each artist's different playing methods. White's first solo single, "Fly Farm Blues
Fly Farm Blues
"Fly Farm Blues" is a song by rock musician Jack White, known as the lead vocalist and guitarist in The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and drummer in The Dead Weather. The song was written and used for the rock documentary film, It Might Get Loud which featured White, along with Jimmy Page and The...
", was written and recorded in 10 minutes during the filming of the movie, in August 2009. The single went on sale as a 7-inch vinyl record from Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
and as a digital single available through iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on August 11.
In November 2010, producer Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
announced that White has been recruited for his collaboration with Daniele Luppi
Daniele Luppi
Daniele Luppi is an Italian musician, arranger and producer based in Rome, Italy. Luppi is known for his cinematic music productions.- Discography :* Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – Rome - External links :...
, entitled Rome
Rome (album)
Rome is an album written by the American music producer Danger Mouse and the Italian composer Daniele Luppi. The album took five years to make and was inspired by the music from spaghetti westerns....
along with Norah Jones
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
. White provided vocals to three songs on the album: "The Rose with the Broken Neck", "Two Against One" and "The World".
Musical equipment and sound
The guitars White uses live are two 1965 JB Hutto Montgomery AirlineJB Hutto Montgomery Airline
Airline Guitars were a brand of electric and acoustic guitars made in the United States from 1958-68 by the Valco Manufacturing Company, and sold through the Montgomery Ward mail-order retail company...
s (one which he received from a fan), a three pickup Airline Town & Country (used on tour with the Raconteurs and in the "Steady As She Goes" music video), a Harmony
Harmony Company
thumb|right|250px|A collection of Harmony guitars:SS Stewart gold acoustic, H73 [[Roy Smeck]], H37 Hollywood, Silvertone 1446, H44 StratotoneThe Harmony Company was an American company that, in its heyday, was the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the USA...
Rocket, a 1970s-era Crestwood
Epiphone Crestwood
The Epiphone Crestwood was a solidbody electric guitar launched in 1958 and discontinued in 1970. After Epiphone discontinued the Crestwood, a number of re-issues and replicas has been available from different companies.-History:...
Astral II, 1950s-era Kay
Kay Musical Instrument Company
Kay Musical Instrument Company was a prolific American manufacturer of musical instruments that operated from the 1930s through the 1960s. Although Kay's first electric guitar was offered in 1936 , Kay is known as an electric guitar pioneer because their past company Stromberg-Voisinet...
Hollowbody (given to him by his brother in return for a favor), a Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
White Penguin (as seen in the music video for Icky Thump
Icky Thump (song)
"Icky Thump" is a song recorded by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Written by Jack White, it is the first single released from Icky Thump.-History:...
), and a custom Gretsch Rancher Falcon acoustic guitar. When playing with the Raconteurs, White usually plays two custom Gretsch-styled copies of the Duo Jet double-cutaway guitar, one of which, dubbed the Triple Jet, is his main guitar that is made of copper and features a Gretsch logo from 1912. For their first tour, Jack also played Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and three Filtertron pickups. He also uses a Gretsch Rancher acoustic guitar and he now uses a custom Gretsch Anniversary Jr. with two cutaways, a built-in retractable microphone, and a theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
next to the Bigsby. Jack has dubbed this one the "Triple Green Machine". Also, he plays occasionally with his Gretsch Rancher, a Gibson J-160E. Also, he plays a Gretsch Duo Jet in Cadillac Green. Recently, he has featured his latest Gretsch, a custom white Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
/Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
signature Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird
Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird
The Gretsch G6199 "Billy-Bo" Jupiter Thunderbird is a reproduction of a guitar designed by Bo Diddley in 1959 and produced by a former Gretsch employee. Diddley built his first guitar in 1945, it was trapezoid shaped since Diddley felt that the regular shaped Gibson L5 he was playing were...
in the music video for "Another Way to Die", this guitar is also used on his concerts with The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
, but he also uses a black left-handed one since Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom....
came out. He has also been known to play Fender Telecasters, featuring one in the music video for Loretta Lynn's "Portland, Oregon." Jack White has also played in live shows, mainly with The Dead Weather, a Daddy Mojo Stove Pipe Cigar Box Guitar.
Jack White uses numerous effects to create his live sound, most notably a DigiTech Whammy WH-4
Digitech Whammy
-Overview:The WH-1 Whammy pedal, the original whammy, first engineered and manufactured in 1989 by IVL Technologies and discontinued in 1993, remains the most sought-after.-Controls:...
to create the rapid modulations in pitch he uses in his solos.
In concert with an MXR Micro Amp and custom Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
Big Muff
The Big Muff is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar...
Distortion/Sustainer, White can produce a very distinctive sound. In 2005, for the single "Blue Orchid", White employed a new Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix is a New York-based company that makes high-end electronic audio processors. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. They are most famous for a series of popular guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s....
creation, the Polyphonic Octave Generator (POG). Similar to (but more versatile than) the Whammy IV, the POG lets the user mix in several octave effects into one along with the dry signal. He also has three Z.Vex
Z.Vex Effects
Z.Vex Effects is a boutique effects pedal company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their name derives from the name of founder Zachary Vex. The company's most famous product is the Fuzz Factory. All of their pedals are hand painted at their factory in Minnesota...
Tremolo Probes, that are hand painted black. All of the pedals that he uses live have been professionally painted red to match his red/black/white color scheme (with the exception of his Whammy and the other pedals that are already red). He plugs this setup into a 1970s Fender Twin Reverb and two 100-Watt Sears Silvertone
Silvertone (instruments)
Silvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand by Sears in 1915...
6x10 combo amplifiers. He also has a Sonic Machine Factory 15 Watt amp in red that can be seen in Under Great White Northern Lights. He uses this as a travel amp for secret or small shows, and also as the amp for his various keyboards when playing for a larger audience. With the Raconteurs, he has many more unusual pedals. And also, for the Raconteurs' 2008 tour, he had all of his pedals copper plated by Analog Man.
White also produces a "fake" bass tone by playing the Kay Hollowbody and JB Hutto Montgomery Airline guitars through a Whammy IV set to one octave down for a very thick, low, rumbling sound, which he uses most notably on the songs "Seven Nation Army
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. "Seven Nation Army" reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its...
" and "The Hardest Button to Button
The Hardest Button to Button
"The Hardest Button to Button" is a 7" single by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It is the third single from their album Elephant...
" during live performances.
On occasion, White also plays other instruments, such as a Black Gibson F-4 mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
("Little Ghost"), piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(on most tracks from Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
, and various others), an electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
on such tracks as "The Air Near My Fingers" and "I'm Finding it Harder to be a Gentleman". White also plays percussion instruments such as the marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
(as on "The Nurse"), drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
. For the White Stripes' 2007 tour, he played a custom-finish Hammond A-100 organ with a Leslie 3300 speaker, which was subsequently loaned to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and currently resides at Third Man Studios. On Broken Boy Soldiers, he is credited as playing the album's synths and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
; however, bandmate Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
also received credit for these instruments and it is unclear who played on which song.
White plays power chords with a different technique than most musicians. Instead of using his ring finger to fret the higher notes, Jack uses his little finger. This is because of a car accident in which his left index finger was injured and also the fact that his brothers would never teach him the proper way to do so, which he explains in an appearance with the Raconteurs on the show In the Attic
In the Attic (webcast)
In The Attic was a live weekly webcast from Pete Townshend's Oceanic studios in London hosted by British singer-songwriters Rachel Fuller and Mikey Cuthbert. This lively show features regular guest appearances by Pete Townshend, Simon Townshend and Jerry Hall. The shows feature musical numbers,...
.
With the Dead Weather, Jack plays a custom Ludwig Classic Maple kit in Black Oyster Pearl. The sizes consist of the following: 16x26 kick, 5x16 snare (primary) 12x14 marching snare (secondary), 7x16 rack tom 14x16 floor tom, two 16x16 floor toms, Paiste 2002 24"crash, 24"ride and two 16" crashes as hi-hats. For the 2009 Full Flash Blank tour, Jack used a drum head with the Three Brides of Dracula on the front, but in 2010, Jack employs a new drum head, upon the release of Sea of Cowards, which has an image of The Third Man himself: Harry Lime attempting to escape certain capture in the sewers of Vienna. During the American leg of the 2010 tour, Jack switched his drum head again featuring a picture of himself in the guise he wore on the cover of Sea of Cowards. This drum head is called Sam Kay by some fans, referring to the insert inside of the 12" LP.
In 2010, Jack White added an acoustic guitar to his collection named Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
. It is a custom white Gretsch Rancher with a gold double pickguard and a picture of Veronica Lake on the back. He is currently playing it with his band The Dead Weather. It is the newest addition to "Jack's Girlfriends" which already include Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
that he plays In the Raconteurs, and Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
that he plays in the White Stripes.
According to Joe Chiccarelli, engineer for Icky Thump
Icky Thump
Icky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros...
, White is not very technical when it comes to capturing his sound on record: "Usually he wouldn't talk in terms of compression or EQ or any of those things, it was always about what can we do to give something more aggression or hit you in the face more. Jack's brilliance is his understanding of great emotional performances, and of what it takes to make something come alive through the speakers and have an impact."
Personal life
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, 'What kind of shoes do you wear?'...In the end, it doesn't really matter ... the only thing that's going to be left is our records and photos."
A topic of intrigue has been the actual relationship between Jack and Meg White
Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
. In early interviews, the pair presented themselves as siblings, two of ten. The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
touch on this in their song "Thank You Jack White (for the Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me)" released on their 2003 EP Fight Test
Fight Test
Fight Test is an EP by The Flaming Lips featuring the song of the same name, released on Warner Bros. Records in 2003. The single version of "Fight Test" was released on June 23, 2003, peaking at #28 in the UK Singles Chart...
. However, the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
produced copies of both a marriage license and divorce certificate, confirming Jack and Meg's history as a married couple. Neither addresses the truth officially and over time, they have become less verbal about the origins of their relationship. Jack White has said, though, that siblings are "mated for life", thus such relationships distract less from the music. Jack mentions them being brother and sister in the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights
Under Great White Northern Lights
Under Great White Northern Lights is the documentary film and first live album by The White Stripes. The film, directed by Emmett Malloy, documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage. The album collects various recordings from throughout the...
. In the early 1990s, Meg White worked as a bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
at Memphis Smoke, a bar in downtown Royal Oak
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
(a Detroit suburb), where she first met Jack, then still known under his original surname 'Gillis'. They were married on September 21, 1996 and were divorced on March 24, 2000. Jack took her last name.
White is often referred to as eccentric. For instance, he has an obsession with the number three. On November 7, 2005, it was widely reported that White had changed his name to "Three Quid" (quid is British slang for pound sterling). However, most reports indicated that this would only last until the end of the tour.
On December 13, 2003, White was involved in an altercation with Jason Stollsteimer
Jason Stollsteimer
Jason Stollsteimer is the vocalist and guitarist for the American indie rock band The Von Bondies. Stollsteimer also is the main songwriter and producer of the Von Bondies...
, lead singer of The Von Bondies
The Von Bondies
The Von Bondies were an American alternative rock band. The group disbanded in July 2011. Its most recent members were Jason Stollsteimer on vocals and lead guitar, Christy Hunt on rhythm guitar and Leann Banks on bass guitar...
, at the Magic Stick, a Detroit club. White was charged with misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
, and was fined $750 (including court costs), and was sentenced to take anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
classes.
In 2003, White made his acting debut in Mutant Swinger from Mars
Mutant Swinger from Mars
Mutant Swinger from Mars is a 2009 science fiction comedy film written, produced and directed by Michael Kallio. A cross between Young Frankenstein, The Nutty Professor and Ed Wood's movies, the film pays homage to all things sci-fi, horror and comedy. The film features the acting debut of Jack...
, and had a brief but highly publicized romantic relationship with actress Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
, whom he met during the filming of Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)
Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
. That summer, the couple were in a car accident in which White broke his left index finger and was forced to reschedule much of the summer tour. He posted the footage of his finger surgery on the web for fans. White and Zellweger's breakup became public in December 2004.
White met British model Karen Elson
Karen Elson
Karen Elson is a British model, singer-songwriter and guitarist.As a child, Elson attended North Chadderton School in Chadderton with her twin sister, filmmaker Kate Elson. She began working as a model as a teenager....
(twin sister of Kate Elson
Kate Elson
Kate Elson is a British model and filmmaker. She is the twin sister of fashion model Karen Elson.- Early life :Elson was born in in Oldham, Greater Manchester. As a child, she went to North Chadderton School in Chadderton with her twin sister, model Karen Elson...
) when she appeared in The White Stripes music video for "Blue Orchid
Blue Orchid
"Blue Orchid" is the first track by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes from their album Get Behind Me Satan, and the first single to be released from the album....
". The video's director, Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi is an Italian, naturalised Canadian, photographer and director.Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for writing and directing The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning...
, noted "you sensed an energy between them". They married on June 1, 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The wedding took place in a canoe on the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
and was officiated by a shaman. A Roman Catholic priest later convalidated
Validation of Marriage
Validation of marriage or convalidation of marriage is, in Roman Catholic canon law, making a putative marriage a valid one, after the removal of an impediment, or its dispensation, or the removal of defective consent...
their marriage. Manager Ian Montone was the best man and Meg White was the maid of honor. Official wedding announcements stated that "it was the first marriage" for both. On May 2, 2006, the couple had a daughter, Scarlett Teresa White. Their second child, Henry Lee White, was born on August 7, 2007. The White family resides in Brentwood
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, a suburb south of Nashville, where Elson manages a vintage clothing store called Venus & Mars. The couple announced their divorce in June 2011, throwing a divorce party to celebrate their sixth anniversary and the "making and breaking of the sacred union of marriage," according to the invitation sent to guests. In a press statement, the couple vowed to remain "dear and trusted friends and co-parents."
In 2006, it was revealed in the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
that White and his British wife Elson had a joint fortune of at least £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
20 million (US$37 million). This ranked them at seventh place in the list of entertainers under age 30 who were born or live in the United Kingdom, ahead of the likes of Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
and Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
.
As musician
- Cold MountainCold Mountain (soundtrack)Cold Mountain is the original soundtrack of the 2003 film Cold Mountain starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger.The album won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year in 2003...
(2003) - "Another Way to DieAnother Way to Die"Another Way to Die" is a song by American rock musician and singer Jack White and American R&B/soul singer Alicia Keys. Written and produced by White as the theme song to the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, it was released as a single in the United States on September 30, 2008 and in...
" (2008) – with Alicia KeysAlicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano... - "Fly Farm BluesFly Farm Blues"Fly Farm Blues" is a song by rock musician Jack White, known as the lead vocalist and guitarist in The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and drummer in The Dead Weather. The song was written and used for the rock documentary film, It Might Get Loud which featured White, along with Jimmy Page and The...
" (2009) – Solo - "Two Against One" (2011) – Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
- "You Know That I Know"The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams-Chart performance:...
(2011) – Solo
As producer
- The White StripesThe White Stripes (album)The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 15, 1999. The album was produced by Jim Diamond and vocalist/guitarist Jack White, recorded in January 1999 at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit...
(1999) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - De StijlDe Stijl (album)De Stijl is the second studio album by the American garage rock band The White Stripes, released on June 20, 2000 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album reached number thirty-eight on Billboards Independent Albums chart in 2002, when The White Stripes' popularity began to grow...
(2000) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Soledad Brothers (2000) – Soledad Brothers
- White Blood CellsWhite Blood Cells (album)White Blood Cells is the third studio album by American alternative rock duo The White Stripes, released on July 3, 2001. Recorded in less than one week at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, and produced by frontman and guitarist Jack White, it was the band's final record released...
(2001) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Lack of CommunicationLack of CommunicationLack of Communication is the first album by garage rock revival band The Von Bondies. It was produced by Jack White of The White Stripes, a band that also had the Von Bondies open their shows for them during one of their tours...
(2001) – the Von BondiesThe Von BondiesThe Von Bondies were an American alternative rock band. The group disbanded in July 2011. Its most recent members were Jason Stollsteimer on vocals and lead guitar, Christy Hunt on rhythm guitar and Leann Banks on bass guitar... - Do Rabbits Wonder?Do Rabbits Wonder?Do Rabbits Wonder? is the first full-length album released by Whirlwind Heat, recorded and produced by Jack White of The White Stripes as the debut album of his imprint label on V2 Records, Third Man Records.- Track listing :# "Orange" - 2:28# "Black" - 3:07...
(2003) – Whirlwind Heat - ElephantElephant (album)Elephant is the Grammy winning fourth album by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Released on April 1, 2003 on V2 Records, the album marks the band's major label debut...
(2003) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Van Lear RoseVan Lear Rose-Personnel:*Loretta Lynn - vocals, guitar*Dave Feeny - pedal guitar, steel guitar, dobro, percussion, background vocals*Patrick Keeler - drums, percussion, background vocals*Jack Lawrence - bass, percussion, background vocals...
(2004) – Loretta LynnLoretta LynnLoretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he... - Get Behind Me SatanGet Behind Me SatanGet Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
(2005) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Red and Black EP (2005) – the Muldoons
- Sewed SolesSewed Soles-Music video:A low budget music video was produced for "There Is An End." The video featured the British singer-songwriter Holly Golightly.-See also:* The Raconteurs* Albums produced by Jack White* East Grand Blues...
(2005) – The GreenhornesThe GreenhornesThe Greenhornes are an American garage rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Craig Fox, bass guitarist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler. They released their debut album Gun For You in 1999, followed by a self-titled album in 2001. A third studio album, Dual... - Broken Boy SoldiersBroken Boy SoldiersBroken Boy Soldiers is the debut album of The Raconteurs, released on May 15, 2006 in the United Kingdom and May 16, 2006 in the United States. The album was generally favored among critics and spawned the #1 hit single "Steady, As She Goes"...
(2006) – the RaconteursThe RaconteursThe Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The... - Icky ThumpIcky ThumpIcky Thump is the sixth and final studio album by US alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany, June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world. It was the band's first album on Warner Bros...
(2007) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Consolers of the LonelyConsolers of the LonelyConsolers of the Lonely is the second album of The Raconteurs. It was released on March 25, 2008 on Warner Bros. Records in most parts of the world, and a day earlier on XL Recordings in the UK....
(2008) – the RaconteursThe RaconteursThe Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The... - HorehoundHorehound (album)-Bonus Tracks:-Charts:-Personnel:*Alison Mosshart – vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion*Jack White – drums, vocals, guitar, production*Dean Fertita – lead guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer, bass, backing vocals...
(2009) – The Dead WeatherThe Dead WeatherThe Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville... - The Wind Did Move/Last Kind Words (2009) – Dexter Romweber Duo
- I Like My Mice (Dead)/Spider Bite (2009) – Mildred And The Mice
- My House Of Peace (2009) – Rachelle Garniez
- Bohemian Grove/Atheist Funeral (2009) – Dan Sartain
- C'Mon And Ride/After Party (2009) – Transit
- Fly Farm Blues (2009) – Solo
- Gastown/River Song (2009) – Smoke FairiesSmoke FairiesSmoke Fairies is a British blues and folk musical duo formed by Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies.- History :Blamire and Davies met at school in Sussex during the late 1990s...
- Fame #9/BP Fallon Interview/I Believe In Elvis Presley (2009) – BP Fallon
- You Know I'm No Good/Shakin' All Over (2010) – Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
- What Can I Do/Lies (2010) – The Black BellesThe Black BellesThe Black Belles is an all-girl "garage goth" rock band discovered by Jack White and signed to his label Third Man Records. They appeared with Stephen Colbert on the June 23, 2011 episode of The Colbert Report performing as backup for a song he created....
- Sea of CowardsSea of CowardsSea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom....
(2010) – The Dead WeatherThe Dead WeatherThe Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville... - The Ghost Who WalksThe Ghost Who WalksThe Ghost Who Walks is the debut album from British singer-songwriter Karen Elson. Elson told DJ Steve Lamacq: "The title was a nickname that I had at school. It was one of the nicer nicknames I had for being tall, pale and a little bit haunted."...
(2010) – Karen ElsonKaren ElsonKaren Elson is a British model, singer-songwriter and guitarist.As a child, Elson attended North Chadderton School in Chadderton with her twin sister, filmmaker Kate Elson. She began working as a model as a teenager.... - Under Great White Northern LightsUnder Great White Northern LightsUnder Great White Northern Lights is the documentary film and first live album by The White Stripes. The film, directed by Emmett Malloy, documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage. The album collects various recordings from throughout the...
(2010) – The White StripesThe White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced... - Third Man Live: Dex Romweber Duo (2010) – Dex Romweber Duo
- Third Man Live: The Raconteurs (2010) – The RaconteursThe RaconteursThe Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
- Third Man Live: Nobunny (2010) – Nobunny
- And They Call Me Mad/Conan O'Brien Interview (2010) – Conan O'BrienConan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
- The Party Ain't Over (2011) - Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
- "Charlene II(I'm Over You)" (2011) - The Black Belles and Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
- “Leck Mich Im ArschLeck mich im ArschLeck mich im Arsch is a canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 231 , with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written in Vienna in 1782...
” (2011) Insane Clown PosseInsane Clown PosseInsane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...
, adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, with JEFF the BrotherhoodJEFF the BrotherhoodJEFF the Brotherhood is a two-piece rock band consisting of brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, hailing form Nashville, Tennessee. Their style has been described by music writers as containing elements of psychedelic rock, garage rock, punk and pop...
Filmography
- The Rosary MurdersThe Rosary MurdersThe Rosary Murders is a 1987 neo-noir mystery film starring Donald Sutherland as Father Koesler, based upon the novel by William X. Kienzle....
(1987) – uncredited altar boy - Mutant Swinger from MarsMutant Swinger from MarsMutant Swinger from Mars is a 2009 science fiction comedy film written, produced and directed by Michael Kallio. A cross between Young Frankenstein, The Nutty Professor and Ed Wood's movies, the film pays homage to all things sci-fi, horror and comedy. The film features the acting debut of Jack...
(2003) – Mikey - Cold MountainCold Mountain (film)Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
(2003) – Georgia - Coffee and CigarettesCoffee and CigarettesCoffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature film by independent director Jim Jarmusch. The 2003 film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three films....
(2003) – Himself - Under Blackpool LightsUnder Blackpool LightsUnder Blackpool Lights is the first official DVD released by The White Stripes. It has since been out of print and hailed as a must for White Stripes fans....
(2004) - Himself - The Fearless Freaks (2005) – Himself
- Walk Hard (2007) – Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- Shine a LightShine a Light (film)Shine a Light is a 2008 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese documenting The Rolling Stones' 2006 Beacon Theatre performance on their A Bigger Bang Tour. The Scorsese film also includes archive footage from the band's career and marked the first utilisation by Scorsese of digital...
(2008) – Himself - It Might Get LoudIt Might Get LoudIt Might Get Loud is a documentary by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film received a wide release on August 14, 2009 in the U.S...
(2009) – Himself - Under Great White Northern LightsUnder Great White Northern LightsUnder Great White Northern Lights is the documentary film and first live album by The White Stripes. The film, directed by Emmett Malloy, documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage. The album collects various recordings from throughout the...
(2010) - Himself - Conan O'Brien Can't StopConan O'Brien Can't StopConan O'Brien Can't Stop is a 2011 documentary film featuring Conan O'Brien and focusing on his comedy tour, The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which took place in 2010 following his departure from The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien due to a scheduling...
(2011) - Himself
Further reading
- The Observer, "What's eating Jack?", an interview with the band by Andrew Perry
- Sullivan, Denise (2004). The White Stripes: Sweethearts of the Blues. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-805-2 Google Print Retrieved on June 1, 2006
- Jack White interview on upholstery, from The Believer magazine
- The Onion A. V. Club interview
- Venus Zine, "Jack White Cover Story"
- 15 Reasons Rock N Roll Will Never Die on TheWaster.com
External links
- Whitestripes.com, official site of The White Stripes
- TheRaconteurs.com, official site of The Raconteurs
- Thedeadweather.com, official site of The Dead Weather