The
White Stripes (Megan Martha White, drums, vocals; and Jack White
whose original name was John Anthony Gillis, guitar, piano, lead
vocals) were formed in Detroit in 1997, specifically Bastille Day (see
1997 in music). While the two bill themselves as brother and sister,[1]
a marriage license has proved they are in fact a divorced couple.
[2]
They decided to call themselves "The White Stripes" because drummer
Meg loves peppermint candies. For several years they were a
struggling local band, despite touring with Pavement and
Sleater-Kinney. During this time, they released singles on various
independent record labels including Sympathy for the Record Industry,
the label that released their first three albums.
Jack has described their eponymous debut album (released in 1999),
as "...really angry...the most raw, the most powerful, and the most
Detroit-sounding record we've made".
Their second release, De Stijl (2000), was named after the De Stijl
Dutch art movement which they cited as a source for the approach to
their music and to their image. De Stijl-style art was also used on
the album cover. For a brief period before De Stijl was released,
Jack studied fine arts at the College for Creative Studies in
Detroit, although he never graduated.
[edit]
Rising Popularity (White Blood Cells and Elephant albums)
Elephant, the band's 2003 follow-up to White Blood Cells.The White
Stripes enjoyed their first significant success during 2001 with the
release of their first major label album White Blood Cells (initially
released on Sympathy for the Record Industry, the album was
re-released on V2 Records in 2002). The stripped-down, garage rock
sound drew critical acclaim in the UK, soon spreading to the United
States and becoming one of the more hyped bands of 2002. In 2002, Q
magazine named The White Stripes as one of the "50 Bands to See
Before You Die". The Lego-themed video, directed by Michel Gondry
for the single "Fell in Love with a Girl" off White Blood Cells,
brought them wider attention.
According to Jack, every album since White Blood Cells is the same
in that the first songs have been singles and the last songs have
been tongue-in-cheek, inside joke songs between Jack and Meg.
Their follow-up, entitled Elephant, was released on April 1, 2003,
again to widespread critical acclaim and even more commercial
success. Elephant became The White Stripes' first UK chart-topper
and US Top 10 album. On February 8, 2004 the song "Seven Nation Army"
won a Grammy for Best Rock Song, and the album Elephant won for Best
Alternative Music Album. It was recorded with Liam Watson at Toe Rag
Studios, London. Every instrument used to record the album was older
than both band members. "The Hardest Button to Button" proved to be
another popular single off of the album, as was the cover of "I Just
Don't Know What to Do With Myself", originally by Burt Bacharach.
The release of Elephant continued a formula for White Stripes albums
begun with White Blood Cells: the first song is a single, the sleeve
contains odd photographs of the band members (dominated by red,
black and white) together with a strange essay contributed by Jack,
and the last song is moderately tongue-in-cheek.
In 2003, Jack and Meg White appeared in Jim Jarmusch's film, Coffee
and Cigarettes in a segment entitled "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil."
Later in August of that year, Rolling Stone Magazine included Jack
White on a special cover of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
issue at number 17 between Johnny Ramone and John Frusciante.
Released in 2004, the Under Blackpool Lights DVD has a special treat
for fans who collect their bootlegs: it contains every major live
cover that the band played during the 2003-2004 tours, approximately
a dozen songs. Jack White alerted fans to secrets within the film on
his site postings, one of which was sure to be the writing on his
arm. Recorded over two nights' shows, this writing says NOXIOUS
which changes to OBNOXIOUS at certain points when film from a
different night is used. The film features a cover of Dolly Parton
song's Jolene.
Jack has also enjoyed some success as a producer, helping launch the
careers of fellow Detroit rock bands The Von Bondies, The Soledad
Brothers, and Brendan Benson. Jack also produced and contributed to
Loretta Lynn's highly acclaimed 2004 album Van Lear Rose. His work
on this album won him and Loretta a Grammy award for the track
"Portland Oregon".
[edit]
Current Events (Get Behind Me Satan album and beyond)
September 2005 cover of Rolling StoneOn June 1, 2005 Jack and model
Karen Elson were married during the band's tour of South America.
The ceremony took place aboard a canoe on the Amazon River in a
native celebration, where the band's manager Ian Montone was the
best man and Meg was the maid of honor. The White Stripes website
claimed that "this was the first marriage for both newlyweds",
despite documentation showing that Jack and Meg were once married.[3]
The couple had their first child, Scarlett Teresa, on Tuesday, May
2, 2006. Her name was chosen from the lead character in Gone With
The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, and in memory of Jack's mother. The
name also pays homage to the White Stripes’ trademark colours.
A fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, was released in North America on
June 7, 2005 and has garnered critical acclaim. So far three singles
have been released from the album, the first being "Blue Orchid",
which was a popular song on satellite radio and occasionally FM
stations. White's new spouse appears in the video for the song. The
second single was "My Doorbell". The third single, "The Denial
Twist", featured a video by Michel Gondry which documented, in
typically bizarre White Stripes fashion, the band's week-long
appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
In 2005 Rolling Stone magazine said: "If you happen to be a rock
band, and you don't happen to be either of the White Stripes, it so
sucks to be you right now."[4]
The band released a cover version of Tegan and Sara's song "Walking
with a Ghost" on iTunes November 14, 2005. The song was later
released on December 7th as the Walking With a Ghost EP featuring
four other live tracks.
On December 1, 2005, the group appeared on The Daily Show with Jon
Stewart, performing both "The Denial Twist" and "My Doorbell". The
White Stripes is one of the few bands to perform on the show (on an
earlier show, the group Tenacious D had performed a song after their
interview).
The White Stripes postponed the Japan leg of their world tour after
Jack damaged his vocal cords. Doctors recommended that Jack not sing
or talk for 2 weeks. Since then he has recovered and played in
Auckland, New Zealand for the start of the Big Day Out tour.
At the 2006 Grammy Awards, The White Stripes won in Best Alternative
Music Album category for Get Behind Me Satan, and they were
nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for
the song "My Doorbell".
The Stripes have been taped to appear in an upcoming episode of "The
Simpsons" , scheduled to air sometime this fall. In the episode,
titled "Jazzy and the Pussycats," Jack and Meg White find themselves
in the middle of a family feud when Homer and Marge buy a drum kit
for Bart, who becomes a jazz drummer, much to the dismay of his
musically inclined sister, Lisa. In one scene — an homage to the
Stripes' clip for "The Hardest Button to Button," Bart bashes his
kit in his bedroom, down the street, through the halls of
Springfield Elementary and into an intersection, where he meets up
with the Detroit duo.
According to a spokesperson for FOX, Jack and Meg recorded their
lines in New York City on November 30, before Jack lost his voice
and was ordered by doctors not to speak. The episode isn't expected
to air until season 18.
A dispute has arisen in March 2006 with British musician Billy
Childish whom Jack previously admired—he appeared on Top of the Pops
with Childish's name written on his arm. Childish criticised White
in the US GQ magazine, "They don't have a good sound ... Jack's half
into the sound and music, but then he wants to be a pop star as well,
so you've got a big problem." White responded on the Stripes'
website, accusing Childish of plagiarism and of being "the bitter
garage rocker." Childish wrote an open letter to the NME saying
White was jealous because he had "a bigger collection of hats, a
better moustache ... and a fully developed sense of humour."."[5]
The Aquarium Gallery in London brought out a spoof boxing poster
advertising Jack "whingy" White v Billy "bitter" Childish. Lawyers
acting for the White Stripes removed the poster from eBay and have
written to the gallery, claiming the poster violates their
intellectual property rights. [6]
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