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The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indie rock and the decade's garage rock revival.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the White Stripes sought success within the Detroit music scene, releasing six singles and two albums. They first found commercial success with their acclaimed third album, White Blood Cells (2001), which propelled the band to the forefront of the garage rock movement. Their fourth album, Elephant (2003), drew further success, winning the band their first Grammy Awards. It produced the single "Seven Nation Army", which became a sports anthem and the band's signature song. They experimented extensively on their fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005). They returned to their blues roots with their sixth and final album, Icky Thump (2007), which was praised like the band's earlier albums. By the end of the 2000s, the White Stripes accumulated three entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, eleven entries on the US Alternative Airplay chart, and thirteen entries on the UK singles chart. After a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording, the band dissolved in 2011.
The White Stripes used a low-fidelity approach to writing and recording. Their music featured a melding of garage rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The duo were noted for their mysterious public image, their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple color scheme of red, white, and black—which was used on every album and single cover they released—and their fascination with the number three. They made selective media appearances, including Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights (2009).
The White Stripes released six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and one extended play. They received numerous accolades, including six Grammy Awards from eleven nominations. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included White Blood Cells on their "200 Definitive Albums" list. Rolling Stone ranked White Blood Cells and Elephant on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and named the band the sixth greatest duo of all time in 2015. The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, after being nominated in 2023 (the band's first year of eligibility).
In high school, Jack Gillis (as he was then known) met Meg White at the Memphis Smoke—the restaurant where she worked and where he would read his poetry at open mic nights. The two started dating and began frequenting the coffee shops, local music venues, and record stores of the area. Gillis was an established drummer during this period, performing with his upholstery apprenticeship mentor, Brian Muldoon, the Detroit cowpunk band Goober & the Peas, the garage punk band the Go, the Hentchmen, and Two-Star Tabernacle.
Gillis and White were married in 1996. Contrary to convention, he took his wife's surname. On Bastille Day 1997, Meg started learning to play the drums. In Jack's words, "When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up." The couple then became a band and, while they considered calling themselves Bazooka and Soda Powder, they settled on the White Stripes.
The White Stripes had their first live performance on August 14, 1997, at the Gold Dollar bar in Detroit. They began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene, playing with local bands such as the Hentchmen, the Dirtbombs, the Gories, and Rocket 455. In 1998, Dave Buick—owner of an independent, Detroit-based, garage-punk label called Italy Records—approached the band at a bar and asked if they would like to record a single. Jack initially declined, believing it would be too expensive, but he eventually reconsidered when he realized that Buick was offering to pay for it. Their debut single, "Let's Shake Hands", was released on vinyl in February 1998 with an initial pressing of 1,000 copies. This was followed in October 1998 by the single "Lafayette Blues" which, again, was only released on vinyl with 1,000 copies.
In 1999, the White Stripes signed with the California-based label Sympathy for the Record Industry. In March 1999, they released the single "The Big Three Killed My Baby", followed by their debut album, The White Stripes, on June 15, 1999. The self-titled debut was produced by Jack and engineered by American music producer Jim Diamond at his Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit. The album was dedicated to the seminal Mississippi Delta blues musician Son House, an artist who influenced Jack. The track "Cannon" from The White Stripes contains part of an a cappella version, as performed by House, of the traditional American gospel blues song "John the Revelator". The White Stripes also covered House's song "Death Letter" on their follow-up album, De Stijl. Looking back on their debut during a 2003 interview with Guitar Player, Jack said, "I still feel we've never topped our first album. It's the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we've made." AllMusic said of the album: "Jack White's voice is a singular, evocative combination of punk, metal, blues, and backwoods while his guitar work is grand and banging with just enough lyrical touches of slide and subtle solo work... Meg White balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare... All D.I.Y. punk-country-blues-metal singer-songwriting duos should sound this good."
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The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indie rock and the decade's garage rock revival.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the White Stripes sought success within the Detroit music scene, releasing six singles and two albums. They first found commercial success with their acclaimed third album, White Blood Cells (2001), which propelled the band to the forefront of the garage rock movement. Their fourth album, Elephant (2003), drew further success, winning the band their first Grammy Awards. It produced the single "Seven Nation Army", which became a sports anthem and the band's signature song. They experimented extensively on their fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005). They returned to their blues roots with their sixth and final album, Icky Thump (2007), which was praised like the band's earlier albums. By the end of the 2000s, the White Stripes accumulated three entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, eleven entries on the US Alternative Airplay chart, and thirteen entries on the UK singles chart. After a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording, the band dissolved in 2011.
The White Stripes used a low-fidelity approach to writing and recording. Their music featured a melding of garage rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The duo were noted for their mysterious public image, their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple color scheme of red, white, and black—which was used on every album and single cover they released—and their fascination with the number three. They made selective media appearances, including Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights (2009).
The White Stripes released six studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, and one extended play. They received numerous accolades, including six Grammy Awards from eleven nominations. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included White Blood Cells on their "200 Definitive Albums" list. Rolling Stone ranked White Blood Cells and Elephant on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and named the band the sixth greatest duo of all time in 2015. The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, after being nominated in 2023 (the band's first year of eligibility).
In high school, Jack Gillis (as he was then known) met Meg White at the Memphis Smoke—the restaurant where she worked and where he would read his poetry at open mic nights. The two started dating and began frequenting the coffee shops, local music venues, and record stores of the area. Gillis was an established drummer during this period, performing with his upholstery apprenticeship mentor, Brian Muldoon, the Detroit cowpunk band Goober & the Peas, the garage punk band the Go, the Hentchmen, and Two-Star Tabernacle.
Gillis and White were married in 1996. Contrary to convention, he took his wife's surname. On Bastille Day 1997, Meg started learning to play the drums. In Jack's words, "When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up." The couple then became a band and, while they considered calling themselves Bazooka and Soda Powder, they settled on the White Stripes.
The White Stripes had their first live performance on August 14, 1997, at the Gold Dollar bar in Detroit. They began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene, playing with local bands such as the Hentchmen, the Dirtbombs, the Gories, and Rocket 455. In 1998, Dave Buick—owner of an independent, Detroit-based, garage-punk label called Italy Records—approached the band at a bar and asked if they would like to record a single. Jack initially declined, believing it would be too expensive, but he eventually reconsidered when he realized that Buick was offering to pay for it. Their debut single, "Let's Shake Hands", was released on vinyl in February 1998 with an initial pressing of 1,000 copies. This was followed in October 1998 by the single "Lafayette Blues" which, again, was only released on vinyl with 1,000 copies.
In 1999, the White Stripes signed with the California-based label Sympathy for the Record Industry. In March 1999, they released the single "The Big Three Killed My Baby", followed by their debut album, The White Stripes, on June 15, 1999. The self-titled debut was produced by Jack and engineered by American music producer Jim Diamond at his Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit. The album was dedicated to the seminal Mississippi Delta blues musician Son House, an artist who influenced Jack. The track "Cannon" from The White Stripes contains part of an a cappella version, as performed by House, of the traditional American gospel blues song "John the Revelator". The White Stripes also covered House's song "Death Letter" on their follow-up album, De Stijl. Looking back on their debut during a 2003 interview with Guitar Player, Jack said, "I still feel we've never topped our first album. It's the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we've made." AllMusic said of the album: "Jack White's voice is a singular, evocative combination of punk, metal, blues, and backwoods while his guitar work is grand and banging with just enough lyrical touches of slide and subtle solo work... Meg White balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare... All D.I.Y. punk-country-blues-metal singer-songwriting duos should sound this good."