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The White Stripes

Ch. 1 of 8
— CH. 1 · INTRODUCTION —

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The White Stripes

8 sections

  • The White Stripes, a rock duo from Detroit, Michigan, gave their first concert at a bar called the Gold Dollar on Bastille Day in 1997. Meg White had started learning the drums just two months earlier, and she struggled to keep the tempo steady that night. Jack White later described what drew him to playing with her. "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."

    That shaky first show belonged to a band that would soon look like no one else on a stage. They would be two people, one of them with no formal drum lessons, dressed in only three colors. How did a pair like that persuade the world they were brother and sister? Why did a drummer so often criticized become one of the most admired of her time? And why did a band at the height of its fame stop playing, with one member walking away from music altogether?

  • Before he was Jack White, he was Jack Gillis, a teenager who met Meg White at a coffee shop in either Ferndale or Hamtramck. The two began dating and spent their evenings in the coffee shops, music venues, and record stores of the Detroit area. Gillis was already a capable drummer, and he played with several local acts, including Goober & the Peas, the Go, the Hentchmen, and Two-Star Tabernacle. He also worked as an upholstery apprentice under a mentor named Brian Muldoon.

    In 1996, the couple married, and Jack broke with convention by taking his wife's surname. Once they became a band, they weighed a few names. Bazooka and Soda Powder was one idea before they chose the White Stripes. They began by sharing bills with Detroit garage acts such as the Hentchmen, the Dirtbombs, the Gories, and Rocket 455.

    In 1998, a man named Dave Buick approached them at a bar. Buick ran Italy Records, a small independent garage-punk label in Detroit, and he offered to put out a single. Jack first said no because he assumed the recording would cost too much. He changed his mind when he realized Buick intended to pay for it. The result, "Let's Shake Hands," came out on vinyl in February 1998 with a pressing of just 1,000 copies. A second vinyl single, "Lafayette Blues," followed in October of that year.

    In 1999, the duo signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry, a California label. They released the single "The Big Three Killed My Baby" in March, and their self-titled debut album arrived on the 15th of June 1999. Jack produced it, and Jim Diamond engineered it at his Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit. The record was dedicated to Son House, the Mississippi Delta bluesman. One track, "Cannon," borrows a stretch of House singing the gospel blues song "John the Revelator" without accompaniment.

    Jack remained fond of that first record. He told Guitar Player in 2003: "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." Critics at AllMusic agreed that any do-it-yourself punk-country-blues-metal duo should hope to sound this good.

  • In the band's early years, Jack told interviewers that he and Meg were siblings, the youngest two of ten children. According to the tale, they became a band in the summer of 1997. Meg climbed to the attic of their parents' house and started playing his drum kit. People believed it, even though rumors said they were or had been husband and wife. In 2001, proof of their 1996 marriage surfaced, along with evidence that they had divorced in March 2000. They kept insisting they were brother and sister anyway.

    That divorce almost ended the band. Soon afterward, the White Stripes were booked at a local music lounge, and Jack assumed they were finished. He asked Dave Buick and his own nephew, Ben Blackwell, to play the slot with him instead. On the day of the show, Meg talked Jack into keeping the White Stripes going, and the duo reunited.

    In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone, Jack explained why he had kept up the fiction. A couple on stage invites a certain assumption, he argued, while siblings make people curious. As he put it, "You care more about the music, not the relationship." Critics were split. In 2002, Chuck Klosterman of Spin pointed at their Dr. Seuss clothes. He asked how media-savvy kids posing as siblings could represent "blood-and-bones Detroit, a city whose greatest resource is asphalt." A year earlier, Benjamin Nugent of Time had been more forgiving. He found it hard to blame Jack for steering attention to the band, even at the expense of the truth.

    The name itself came from candy. Jack said Meg loved peppermints, and they first planned to call themselves the Peppermints. Because their surname was White, they switched to the White Stripes. The peppermint swirl also supplied the palette, since nearly everything they did professionally used red, white, and black. They turned down a deal with the Chicago label Bobsled because it wanted to print its green logo on the CD.

    Jack gave several reasons for the colors. He said the colors distracted from the fact that two young white musicians were playing "black music." He also read a meaning into each shade. White was innocence, as in a bride's gown, and red was anger, passion, and sex. "And black is the absence of all that," he said. Meg's view was plainer. She compared the look to a school uniform, which lets everyone focus on what they are doing. The duo also drew on the stripped-down shapes of the Dutch De Stijl movement.

    Not everyone in the business was convinced. Andy Gershon, president of V2 when the band signed, worried out loud. He loved the songs but saw a red-and-white gimmick and a missing bass player. The recordings were so raw that he wondered about radio. V2 signed them anyway.

  • Jack once summed up the band's design with a number. He said he "always centered the band around the number three. Everything was vocals, guitar and drums or vocals, piano and drums." There was no bass player, a gap that critics noted constantly. Meg admitted that being only two people was difficult, though she felt comfortable in it.

    Jack wrote every original song, and he had a blunt reason for it. Meg was shy and polite and would not speak unless spoken to, which he said did not describe a songwriter's personality. Meg never took a formal drum lesson, and her spare, minimal style became a defining part of the sound. In a 2001 review, Ann Powers of The New York Times argued that Jack's "ingenious" playing was held back by Meg's deliberately undeveloped approach.

    Jack bristled at that kind of criticism. He said he never wished Neil Peart were in the band, and he called Meg the best part of it. He added that she was his way into playing the blues. Meg talked about the criticism with candor. It sometimes bothered her, she said, but she decided the style was exactly what the band needed. She knew Jack's playing well enough to sense where a song was heading from his mood. Her pre-show warm-up, by her own account, was whiskey and Red Bull.

    Meg also sang. She took the lead vocal on "In the Cold, Cold Night" from Elephant and on "Passive Manipulation" from Get Behind Me Satan. She joined Jack on "Hotel Yorba" and "This Protector" from White Blood Cells, and on "Rag & Bone" from Icky Thump.

    The recording pace was brisk. White Blood Cells was finished in under four days, while Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan each took about two weeks. Onstage, the band never wrote set lists, convinced that too much planning would smother the spontaneity. Jack leaned on heavy distortion and feedback, and he sang through two microphones.

    Jack's gear leaned toward the 1960s. A DigiTech Whammy IV pedal let him reach notes a normal guitar cannot. His live guitars included a 1964 JB Hutto Montgomery Airline and a Harmony Rocket. Those fed a 1970s Fender Twin Reverb and two Sears Silvertone amplifiers. Meg played a Ludwig Classic Maple kit with Paiste cymbals, and until Get Behind Me Satan her bass drum head carried a peppermint swirl.

    The music underneath came from the blues of Son House, Blind Willie McTell, and Robert Johnson. Detroit protopunk by the MC5 and the Stooges mattered too. Jack also loved the Gun Club, and he asked why their songs were not taught in schools. He said he could not trust anyone who disliked Led Zeppelin. Meg named Bob Dylan among her favorite musicians, and Jack has performed with him.

  • A phone call to Jack and Meg's home, placed from New Zealand, nearly passed as a joke. A tour manager named John Baker had heard their music at a party in Australia and wanted to book an Oceanic tour. Their American booking agent, Dave Kaplan, said he handled only US dates. When Baker rang, the pair assumed he was kidding. Weeks later he tracked Jack down at a tour stop in Denver, Colorado, and called the bar all the way from Auckland. He settled the matter by offering to pay for the flights himself, along with a friend named Amber Easby.

    Easby went on to manage the band's merchandise on tours throughout their career. The trip took them to New Zealand and Australia, with a stopover in Japan first, and it was their first time abroad. After the tour, Baker became their permanent tour manager. In December 2000, Sub Pop released the single "Party of Special Things to Do." It held three songs by the experimental blues rock musician Captain Beefheart.

    The band's third album, White Blood Cells, arrived on the 3rd of July 2001 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. Its big moment came the following year, when V2 Records re-released it. Reviewers in the UK and then the US praised its "back to basics" sound. The duo then made its first network television appearance, on The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn. Joe Hagan of The New York Times wrote that they had "made rock rock again." He praised a "simple, primitive sound full of unfettered zeal." The Daily Mirror called them the greatest band since the Sex Pistols, and Rolling Stone ran the headline "Rock is Back!" on its September 2002 cover.

    The numbers followed. White Blood Cells peaked at number 61 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 500,000 copies, earning a Gold record. It reached number 55 in the UK. The single "Fell in Love with a Girl" helped, and so did its video, which the director Michel Gondry built from Lego animation. That video took three awards at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.

    Elephant came next. Jack recorded it in 2002 with the British engineer Liam Watson at Toe Rag Studios in London. He used pre-1960s gear and an 8-track machine held together with duct tape. Jack told The New Yorker in 2017, "We had no business being in the mainstream." Promotion was delayed when Meg broke her wrist in New York. The album came out in 2003, on V2 in the US and XL Recordings in England, as their major label debut. It was their first UK number one and reached number six in the US.

    Its lead single, "Seven Nation Army," became their biggest hit and topped the Billboard rock charts. At the 2004 Grammys, Elephant won Best Alternative Music Album, and the single won Best Rock Song. Rolling Stone gave the album five stars out of five. That same year, the band released Under Blackpool Lights, a music film shot entirely on super 8 film and directed by Dick Carruthers.

  • In 2005, Jack swapped his electric guitar for an acoustic on nearly every track of Get Behind Me Satan. His riff-driven lead playing gave way to rhythm, and piano and marimba took over parts of the arrangements. The marimba appears on "The Nurse" and "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)." Rolling Stone ranked the album third best of the year. It won the 2006 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The title may echo a line from the Gospel of Matthew, a story in James Joyce's Dubliners, or a song by the Who's John Entwistle.

    Trouble arrived from an old collaborator. On the 12th of October 2004, Jim Diamond, who engineered the debut at Ghetto Recorders, filed a breach of contract lawsuit. He claimed royalties as co-producer, mixer, and editor on the first album and as mixer and engineer on De Stijl. The band countersued in May 2005. On the 15th of June 2006, a jury sided with the White Stripes, finding that Diamond had not been instrumental in shaping their sound.

    Meanwhile, the label world shifted. In January 2007, V2 announced it would release no more White Stripes material. A month later the band signed a one-album deal with Warner Bros. That album, Icky Thump, came out on the 19th of June 2007 and returned to punk, garage rock, and blues. It was recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville in almost three weeks, their longest session. It entered the UK chart at number one and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 223,000 copies sold.

    The tour for Icky Thump was unusual. Jack announced that they would play all ten Canadian provinces and the three territories. One stop was Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, on the 14th of July 2007, their tenth anniversary. The fiddler Ashley MacIsaac opened that night. He and Jack had recently learned that they were distant relatives.

    The band mixed small stops with surprise shows. They played a 40-minute set for 30 kids at a youth centre in Burnaby. They also performed on a Winnipeg Transit bus and in a Saskatoon bowling alley. In St. John's, Newfoundland, they played a single note in a bid to break the Guinness record for shortest concert. The record stood briefly in 2009, then lapsed the next year.

  • In Southaven, Mississippi, Meg turned to Ben Blackwell, Jack's nephew and the band's archivist, before the last show of the American leg. "This is the last White Stripes show," she said. When he asked if she meant the tour, she answered, "No. I think this is the last show, period." On the 11th of September 2007, the band cancelled 18 tour dates because of Meg's acute anxiety. The remaining UK dates for 2007 were cancelled a few days later.

    Jack later explained that he had come straight from a tour with the Raconteurs, so he was already running at full speed. Meg had been at a dead stop for a year and was thrown back into the madness. The band then went on a hiatus that lasted from late 2007 to early 2011. In that gap, Jack formed the Dead Weather, though he said the White Stripes stayed his top priority. In 2008, a Quebecois radio host named Dominique Payette sued the band for $70,000. She objected to a ten-second sample of her show in "Jumble Jumble." The case settled out of court.

    Their final live appearance came on the 20th of February 2009. It was the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They played an alternate "We're Going to Be Friends." That September, the concert film Under Great White Northern Lights premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Their friend Emmett Malloy directed it. Jack had conceived the Canadian tour after learning something about his father's side. Scottish relatives had lived in Nova Scotia for generations before moving to work in Detroit's car factories.

    On the 2nd of February 2011, the duo announced they had officially stopped recording and performing. They denied artistic differences or health problems. The reasons were many, they said, "mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band." After the breakup, Meg retired and went back to Detroit. In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, Jack said her reserve had been a source of tension. Still, he praised her playing: "She was the antithesis of a modern drummer. So childlike and incredible and inspiring." He thought a reunion was unlikely.

  • On the 16th of November 2006, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden premiered Chroma. The choreographer Wayne McGregor created the ballet to White Stripes music. It grew from Aluminium, an orchestral project conceived by Richard Russell, head of XL Recordings, and produced with the composer Joby Talbot. Three orchestrated songs were first played to the band as a surprise at Cincinnati Music Hall. They were "The Hardest Button to Button," "Aluminium," and "Blue Orchid." McGregor heard them and decided to build a ballet around them. Chroma won the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.

    Fellow musicians kept citing the duo. Olivia Rodrigo called Elephant the record she had listened to most. Beyoncé named the band and Jack as influences on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter. Dave Grohl, who has also covered their songs, praised Meg's drumming in vivid terms. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine said she had style, taste, and a vibe that was untouchable. Their songs also turned up on screen, including "Ball and Biscuit" in the opening scene of The Social Network.

    Their catalog kept growing without them. Third Man Records has issued unreleased recordings and memorabilia through its Vault subscription service. In 2016, a song called "City Lights" appeared after Michel Gondry surprised Jack with a music video, and it earned a Grammy nomination. A twenty-six-song Greatest Hits album followed in December 2020, and in 2023 Third Man Books published The White Stripes Complete Lyrics 1997-2007. The band has sold over 8 million units in the US and holds six Grammys and a Brit Award.

    Politics intruded twice. In 2016, Donald Trump's campaign used "Seven Nation Army" in a video against the duo's wishes. Jack and Meg said they were disgusted by the association. They also released a T-shirt reading "Icky Trump." In September 2024, they filed a copyright lawsuit over another use of the song, dropping it in November 2024.

    The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominated them in 2023, their first year of eligibility, and passed them over. They were nominated again in January 2025. In November 2025, Iggy Pop inducted them. Meg did not attend, so Jack accepted the award and read a speech the two had written together. He relayed her thanks to the people who had supported her over the years. Then he read a poem he had written for her.

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Common questions

Who were the members of The White Stripes?

The White Stripes were a rock duo from Detroit, Michigan, made up of Jack White and Meg White. Jack played guitar, keyboards and piano and sang, while Meg played drums and percussion and sang.

When did The White Stripes play their first concert?

The White Stripes played their first concert on Bastille Day in 1997 at the Gold Dollar bar in Detroit. Meg White had been learning the drums for only two months and struggled to keep the tempo.

Why did The White Stripes say Jack and Meg were brother and sister?

Jack White told Rolling Stone in 2005 that the claim kept attention on the music instead of the relationship. Jack and Meg had actually married in 1996 and divorced in March 2000.

Why did The White Stripes only use red, white and black?

The White Stripes took their colors from peppermint candy. Jack White said the palette also distracted from two young white musicians playing music rooted in the blues, and Meg compared it to a school uniform.

What was the most successful single by The White Stripes?

"Seven Nation Army" from the 2003 album Elephant was the band's most successful single and topped the Billboard rock charts. It won the 2004 Grammy for Best Rock Song.

When did The White Stripes break up?

The White Stripes announced on the 2nd of February 2011 that they had officially stopped recording and performing. They denied artistic differences or health problems and said the decision was made to preserve what was special about the band.

When were The White Stripes inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2025, after being nominated in 2023 and again in January 2025. Iggy Pop inducted them, and Jack White accepted the award because Meg White did not attend.

All sources

306 references cited across the entry

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  45. 46The Top 100 Albums of 2000–04February 7, 2005
  46. 47Nobody Knows How To Talk To Children – Full DocumentaryBaker Gavin — glbracer
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  55. 56White Stripes will play four nights on Conan
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  64. 66News500 Greatest Songs (Seven Nation Army)David Reneshaw
  65. 67The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade
  66. 68MagazineBillboard Top Rock Charts2004
  67. 69Ranked: The White Stripes' Greatest HitsFebruary 26, 2021
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  70. 72NewsThe White Stripes: Under Blackpool LightsNoel Murray — December 27, 2004
  71. 73MagazineWhite on WhiteDavid Fricke — 2005
  72. 74The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan
  73. 75Get Behind Me Satan – ReviewPhares, Heather
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  77. 79Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 50 Records of 2005 . Retrieved on August 30, 2008.
  78. 80Jack White's Oddball Masterpiece: The White Stripes' last real hurrahIan Benson — June 30, 2015
  79. 81A Wild And Windy Night When The White Stripes Rocked The HeavensPaul Speed — October 8, 2021
  80. 82NewsThe Complete List of Grammy NominationsDecember 8, 2005
  81. 83Jack White changes his nameLucas sanchez — November 6, 2005
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  84. 87White Stripes Win Lawsuit Over RoyaltiesBillboard Staff — Billboard — June 15, 2005
  85. 88The White Stripes: Walking With a Ghost EP
  86. 89White Stripes Meets Classical On 'Aluminium'October 4, 2006
  87. 90White Stripes Go Orchestral On AluminumOctober 5, 2006
  88. 91Christman, Ed (January 12, 2007), "V2 Restructured, White Stripes, Moby Become Free Agents" . Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
  89. 92White Stripes Sign to Warner Bros.Amy Phillips — February 12, 2007
  90. 93NYLON – June/July 2007
  91. 94Icky Thump – ReviewHeather Phares
  92. 95MagazineChanging Their StripesWhitney Pastorek — May 25, 2007
  93. 96News page, The White Stripes website news . Retrieved April 10, 2007.
  94. 98Exclusive – NME.COM hears new White Stripes songsMarch 2, 2007
  95. 99"The White Stripes – Icky Thump global chart positions and trajectories" . aCharts.us. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  96. 100Bon Jovi Scores First No. 1 Album Since 1988Katie Hasty — June 27, 2007
  97. 101NewsHalifax fans chase White Stripes around townCBC — July 14, 2007
  98. 102The White Stripes: Manifest DestinyJason Schneider
  99. 103On This Day: The White Stripes Play the Shortest Concert EverAlex Hopper — July 16, 2024
  100. 104BookGuinness: World Records 2009Craig Glenday — Guinness World Records — 2009
  101. 105Guinness won't add Jack White's one-note concert as world's shortestMay 17, 2012
  102. 106NewsAnd on that note, The White Stripes tour is overCBC News — July 17, 2007
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  107. 111MagazineBuy It, Steal It, Skip It: The White Stripes' Under Great White Northern LightsMarch 15, 2010
  108. 112Jack White Works With Bob DylanFebruary 26, 2008
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  111. 115NewsWhite Stripes Offer Custom Lomo CamerasKeith Axline — February 19, 2008
  112. 116Conan O'Brien Tells Story of How the White Stripes Closed "Late Night": ListenOctober 12, 2017
  113. 117Jack White on The White Stripes' futureMay 6, 2009
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  115. 119Delawareonline.comFebruary 11, 2009
  116. 120Whitestripes.com
  117. 121TIFF's documentary films observe an askew planet (ours)Josh Dehaas — July 22, 2009
  118. 122White Stripes Canadian tour doc to premiere at TIFFJuly 21, 2009
  119. 123News Extra
  120. 124Q&A: Jack White, the sleepless songwriterFebruary 26, 2010
  121. 125NewsRed, white and new—Seeing sights, wooing strangersBen Rayner — February 21, 2010
  122. 126NewsJackpot Art Gallery to preview new White Stripes roc docTrapper Schoepp — March 15, 2010
  123. 127MagazineUnder Great White Northern LightsChristian Hoard — April 1, 2010
  124. 128Self Titledmag.com
  125. 129MagazineJack White — Jack White's 'Strange' StripesMarch 12, 2010
  126. 130NewsWhite Stripes battle US Air ForceFebruary 9, 2010
  127. 131Forthcoming Loretta Lynn Tribute to Feature The White Stripes, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Paramore & More | Nashville CreamAdam Gold — September 9, 2010
  128. 132Loretta Lynn, country music's iconic 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' dead at 90Peter Cooper
  129. 133Loretta Lynn Dies: Country Icon And Coal Miner's Daughter Was 90Greg Evans — October 4, 2022
  130. 134Jack White Vanity Fair Interview
  131. 135The White Stripes Announce They're Breaking UpNekesa Mumbi Moody — February 2, 2011
  132. 136White Stripes announce 'split' after 13 years togetherGreg Cochrane — February 2, 2011
  133. 137Jack White says he 'almost never' talks to Meg White, says she's 'always been a hermit'Eric Lacy — May 23, 2014
  134. 138Where's Meg White? Jack Speaks Out on Elusive White Stripes PartnerRolling Stone — May 23, 2014
  135. 139Jack White Spares 1999 Bowling Alley Gig for Third Man Vinyl Vault SeriesKyle McGovern — January 3, 2013
  136. 140MagazineSee Michel Gondry's Captivating Video for White Stripes' 'City Lights'Daniel Kreps — September 12, 2016
  137. 141Nominees And Winners GRAMMY.comFebruary 1, 2012
  138. 142MagazineReview: Jack White's 'Acoustic Recordings' Is a Genreless Foot StomperJoe Levy — September 8, 2016
  139. 143The White Stripes give Trump an Icky Thump CNN PoliticsGregory Krieg — October 6, 2016
  140. 144The White Stripes are now selling 'Icky Trump' t-shirtsOctober 6, 2016
  141. 145Anti Trump Unisex T ShirtOctober 6, 2016
  142. 146The White Stripes "Greatest Hits"Third Man Records
  143. 147The White Stripes Announce Greatest Hits, Share Live VideoEvan Minsker et al. — October 6, 2020
  144. 148The White Stripes Share Archival "Ball and Biscuit," Prep 'Greatest Hits' CompilationOctober 8, 2020
  145. 149The White Stripes Announce First-Ever Greatest Hits AlbumOctober 6, 2020
  146. 150The White Stripes Celebrate Global Greatest Hits Release With Premiere Of From The Basement Live Session – Sony Music Canada
  147. 151Out This Week / on 26 February 2021Paul Sinclair — Superdeluxeedition.com — February 2, 2021
  148. 152Watch The White Stripes' animated new video for 'Let's Shake Hands'Will Lavin — December 5, 2020
  149. 153MagazineWhite Stripes Soundtrack an Animated Love Story in Video for 'De Stijl' Classic 'Apple Blossom'Jon Blistein — November 13, 2020
  150. 154The White Stripes Greatest Hits - The White St... AllMusic
  151. 155MagazineLong Live the Greatest-Hits AlbumAmanda Petrusich — December 4, 2020
  152. 156The White Stripes' lyrics collected for new bookAnagricel Duran — May 4, 2023
  153. 157The White Stripes Entire Lyrics Are Compiled in a New BookMay 2, 2023
  154. 158Jack White says new White Stripes lyrics book brought him to happy tearsOctober 19, 2023
  155. 159The White Stripes' Lyrics Collected in New BookAllison Hussey — May 2, 2023
  156. 160White Stripes release hardcover lyric book with rare rough drafts, essays and moreMelody Baetens
  157. 161MagazineSnubs & Surprises in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 2023 InductionsAndrew Unterberger — May 3, 2023
  158. 162This machine sues fascists.Jack White — September 9, 2024
  159. 163Donald Trump Hit With White Stripes Lawsuit, As Promised — UpdateArmando Tinoco et al. — September 9, 2024
  160. 164The White Stripes Sue Donald TrumpEric Torres — September 9, 2024
  161. 165MagazineYou Can Add ABBA and the White Stripes to the Long List of Musical Acts Who Want Nothing to Do With Donald TrumpBess Levin — August 30, 2024
  162. 166The White Stripes sue Trump for using 'Seven Nation Army' in a campaign videoRob Wile — September 10, 2024
  163. 167Trump Has Made a Powerful New Legal Enemy, and It's...the White Stripes?Emma Specter — September 10, 2024
  164. 168The White Stripes sue Trump campaign over use of 'Seven Nation Army'Elizabeth Wagmeister — September 9, 2024
  165. 169White Stripes Sue Trump For Using 'Seven Nation Army' In Campaign Video—Joining Complaints From These ArtistsMolly Bohannon
  166. 170The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Trump campaign for unauthorised Seven Nation Army useLaura Snapes — November 12, 2024
  167. 171The White Stripes, Spinners nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
  168. 172MagazineWill Meg White Show Up at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?Andy Greene — April 28, 2025
  169. 173A look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2025 inductees and how they were honoredAndrew Dalton — AP News
  170. 174MagazineOutkast, The White Stripes, Soundgarden, Chubby Checker & More to Join 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class: Full ListPaul Grein — April 28, 2025
  171. 175You Make 12 People Happy Each Year, and 30,000 Get MadDevon Ivie — December 18, 2025
  172. 176White Stripes Celebrated by Olivia Rodrigo, Iggy Pop at Rock Hall 2025 InductionDaniel Kreps — November 9, 2025
  173. 177Meg White Didn't Attend the White Stripes' Hall of Fame Induction, But She Edited Jack's SpeechAshley Iasimone — November 9, 2025
  174. 178Ratliff, Ben (2003). "Rock Review: Contradictory and Proud of It" The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
  175. 179Black Math tablature and notes . Broken Bricks. Retrieved May 8, 2006.
  176. 180Buy The White Stripes’ marimbaAlex Young — May 18, 2010
  177. 181The White Stripes Marimba RAREMay 20, 2010
  178. 182How to play the drums like Meg WhiteDecember 10, 2021
  179. 1833 Iconic Drum Kits and the Stories Behind ThemKevin Osborn — July 9, 2018
  180. 184Drumming for the New DuosDeRogatis, Jim — November 2002
  181. 185Meg White: 3 Reasons Why She's A Drumming Genius - Drumeo BeatJuly 7, 2023
  182. 186Porter, Tom (January 29, 2009). "White Stripes' Meg White auctioning Ludwig kit"
  183. 188Minnesota Public Radio Obscure 1960s rockers The Monks make comeback (accessed June 8, 2008), October 12, 2006. Robertson, Tom.
  184. 189Why The White Stripes want to join the Gun ClubOwen Adams — July 18, 2007
  185. 190Led Zep: Celeb addictsVictoria Ward — November 8, 2007
  186. 191Freed '60s rocker Arthur Lee aims for a comebackTom Sinclair — February 14, 2002
  187. 192The White Stripes Concert at ManchesterGreg Thorpe — April 8, 2003
  188. 193Meg White
  189. 194NewsJack White joins Bob Dylan onstageSeptember 24, 2007
  190. 195NewsOlivia Rodrigo, Feist, & Twenty One Pilots Cover The White Stripes At Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame InductionNovember 8, 2025
  191. 196MagazineThe White StripesChristine Muhlke — September 2001
  192. 197MagazineThe White StripesBrian Gathy — December 2000
  193. 198Why Meg White mattersNoel Murray — February 16, 2011
  194. 199The White StripesKeith Phipps — April 9, 2003
  195. 200NewsCountry mattersMay 27, 2007
  196. 201Hickman, Christopher (2005). The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan FlakMag.com . Retrieved September 27, 2006.
  197. 202MagazineWhite on WhiteDavid Fricke — August 25, 2005
  198. 203MagazineWatch the White Stripes Do Loretta Lynn ProudStephen L. Betts — January 29, 2015
  199. 204World exclusive – White Stripes to make their return with NMENME — April 24, 2007
  200. 20520 Years Ago: White Stripes Spark a Rock Revolution on 'Elephant'Michael Gallucci — April 1, 2023
  201. 206Why White Stripes Made 'White Blood Cells' 'As Raw As Possible'Corey Irwin — July 3, 2021
  202. 207A White-Striped Trip: 'Get Behind Me Satan'Terry Gross — June 9, 2005
  203. 208Frampton, Scott (July 2007), "Jack & Meg White" . Esquire. 148 (1):p118-119
  204. 209MagazineHow Your Favourite Band Decided What To Call ThemselvesAlex Needham — October 26, 2002
  205. 210MagazineThe White StripesPhilippe Manœuvre — November 2001
  206. 211Newsnight
  207. 212I Think About This a Lot: Jack and Meg White Pretending to Be Brother and SisterSinead Stubbins — March 16, 2020
  208. 214The White Stripes: Raw Rock RevivalistsAugust 10, 2001
  209. 215White Stripes Marriage LicenseMarch 12, 2016
  210. 216MagazineWhite Lies and The White StripesJune 2001
  211. 217NewsWhite Stripes Drummer Meg White Marries in Jack White's BackyardGil Kaufman — MTV — May 26, 2009
  212. 218White Stripes Divorce Certificate
  213. 220MagazineThe White StripesKate Hodges — 2003
  214. 221The Same Boy You've Always Known?John Mulvey — May 1, 2012
  215. 222Journal"There's No Home for You Here": Jack White and the Unsolvable Problem of Blues AuthenticityKimberly Mack — March 15, 2015
  216. 223Stars and StripesBrian Baker — March 8, 2001
  217. 224Nugent, Benjamin (June 16, 2001). "Music: White Lies and The White Stripes" , TIME. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  218. 225JournalThe White StripesChuck Klosterman — June 2002
  219. 226The White Stripes make movies, too
  220. 227NewsFILM REVIEW; An Episodic Ride Full of Serial Sipping and SmokingA. O. Scott — May 14, 2004
  221. 228The White Stripes on Coffee and CigarettesMay 11, 2004
  222. 229The Flaming Lips: The Fearless FreaksDavid Adams — June 2, 2005
  223. 230The Simpsons: "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
  224. 231Watch The White Stripes' 'Simpsons' appearanceNME — September 18, 2006
  225. 23210 'Simpsons' band cameos that'll make you wish you lived in SpringfieldKatie Schmidt — December 17, 2020
  226. 233MagazineJimmy Page and Jack White talk about 'It Might Get Loud,' their new documentary with the EdgeDan Snierson — September 4, 2009
  227. 234The best punk drummers of the 2000s, from Travis Barker to Meg WhiteTim Stegall — January 21, 2022
  228. 235The White Stripes - Why They'll Be MissedTalia Soghomonian — February 2, 2011
  229. 236The White Stripes
  230. 237NewsBBC NEWS Entertainment New bands race for rock stardomJanuary 4, 2009
  231. 238S. Borthwick and R. Moy, Popular Music Genres: an Introduction (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), , p. 117.
  232. 239M. Spitz, "The 'New Rock Revolution' fizzles", May 2010, Spin, vol. 26, no. 4, ISSN 0886-3032, p. 95.
  233. 240Book101 albums that changed popular musicChris Smith — Oxford Univ. Press — 2009
  234. 24150 Bands to See Before You DieRocklistmusic.co.uk
  235. 242How the White Stripes and the Hives built on the legacy of garage rockTim Stegall
  236. 243Top 10 garage rock revival bands: where are they now?Jason Lipshutz — March 23, 2011
  237. 244The White Stripes
  238. 245VideoIs Olivia Rodrigo the ULTIMATE White Stripes Fan? Fanning OutMTV — April 19, 2021
  239. 246Olivia Rodrigo Answers Vogue's 73 QuestionsEmma Specter — July 7, 2023
  240. 247MagazineOlivia Rodrigo & Jack White Gush About Each Other After Meeting: 'My Hero of All Heroes'Hannah Dailey — May 11, 2022
  241. 248Searching for Meg WhiteJune 1, 2023
  242. 249MagazineBeyoncé Thanks Jack White for Inspiring 'Cowboy Carter'Rania Aniftos — April 2, 2024
  243. 250MagazineNandi Bushell Screams, Bashes Her Way Through White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' in Tribute to Meg WhiteGil Kaufman — March 20, 2023
  244. 251Dave Grohl raves about Meg White's drumming styleDavid Renshaw — January 28, 2013
  245. 252Tom Morello calls Meg White one of rock'n'roll's "greatest drummers"Rhian Daly — March 19, 2023
  246. 253"We didn't make decisions – we were flying by the seat of our pants!" – the inimitable WET LEG talk influences, not being taken seriouslyMarch 21, 2022
  247. 254Sampling The White Stripes: 18 Tracks Which Borrow From Jack 'n' MegEmily Barker — May 23, 2014
  248. 255MagazineArctic Monkeys Cover White Stripes at Detroit ConcertGary Graff — August 2, 2018
  249. 256MagazineKelly Clarkson Gets an Extra Kick From USC Marching Band for Epic White Stripes CoverJanuary 23, 2020
  250. 257Listen: Wanda Jackson Sings the White Stripes' "In the Cold, Cold Night" for Jack White Covers AlbumJenn Pelly — November 12, 2013
  251. 258Eight Unmissable Covers Of White Stripes SongsLarry Bartleet — July 20, 2015
  252. 259Drew Barrymore reveals the most romantic thing a guy has ever done for herLindsay Lowe — Today — May 14, 2021
  253. 260NewsWhite Stripes ballet gets debutNovember 17, 2006
  254. 261NewsChroma: where ballet meets the White StripesApril 29, 2014
  255. 262The White Stripes: The Ballet!February 8, 2010
  256. 263A Chroma PrimerMarch 27, 2014
  257. 264Winners of the 2007 Laurence Olivier AwardsJune 8, 2016
  258. 265The White Stripes hit that was actually a sequel songApril 7, 2022
  259. 266MagazineGo Behind The Scenes of Marcelo Zarvos' Score for Julia Roberts' New Film 'Wonder': ExclusiveMelinda Newman — November 18, 2017
  260. 267Mr. Harrington's Phone Sends Texts From HellSeptember 16, 2022
  261. 268Science des rêves, La (2006) - Soundtracks
  262. 269How That Opening Shot in 'The Social Network' (2010) Is Better Than You RememberDavid Duprey — May 17, 2017
  263. 270The Other Guys soundtrack guide: The complete list of songsTeresia Mwangi — April 17, 2023
  264. 271Soundtrack: The Other Guys - listen to all 22 songs with scene descriptionStaff — October 1, 2019
  265. 272The White Stripes' "Icky Thump" Soundtracks First Justice League TrailerJuly 23, 2016
  266. 273Robert Irwin Gets His Matador on For 'Dancing With The Stars' Rock Hall Night: WatchLars Brandle — November 5, 2025
  267. 274How Director Craig Brewer Found Out Jack White Is A Footloose FanEric Eisenberg — October 13, 2011
  268. 275Craig Brewer Says 'Footloose' Remake Has Songs by The White Stripes & David Banner, Talks 'Tarzan'Oliver Lyttelton — June 10, 2011
  269. 276NewsFilm Spotlight: ParaNormanChris Herrington
  270. 277Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Soundtracks - IMDb
  271. 278The 10 best songs on the Peaky Blinders soundtrackPaul Brannigan — May 5, 2016
  272. 279Peaky Blinders music – all the songs on the soundtrack for seasons 1-6
  273. 280The Hateful Eight composer Ennio Morricone 'shocked' by violence in Quentin Tarantino's latest flickJack Shepherd — December 10, 2015
  274. 281MagazineBLACKPINK's Jennie Stuns as Star of Calvin Klein's Spring Campaign: WatchMarch 15, 2023
  275. 282Weather ReportMarc Center — Billboard — June 13, 2009
  276. 2832004
  277. 284Rock On The Net: 48th Annual Grammy Awards – 2006
  278. 285Rock On The Net: 50th Annual Grammy Awards – 2008
  279. 286Grammy Awards 2011: Winners and nominees for 53rd Grammy AwardsMarch 12, 2014
  280. 2872004 Meteor Music Awards winnersMeteor
  281. 2882002 MTV Video Music Awards nominations and winnersRock on the Net
  282. 2892003 MTV Video Music Awards nominations and winnersRock on the Net
  283. 290MTV Video Music Awards – 2007MTV
  284. 291NewsWorld's pop stars descend on Edinburgh for awardsAlexis Akwagyiram — November 7, 2003
  285. 292Magazine2003 MuchMusic Video Awards WinnersBillboard Staff — June 30, 2003
  286. 293NewsRadiohead hailed at NME awardsFebruary 13, 2004
  287. 294The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation unveils electrifying class of 2025 inductees
  288. 295The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 400-301Emily Barker — October 23, 2013
  289. 296The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200-101Emily Barker — October 25, 2013
  290. 297The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100-1Emily Barker — October 25, 2013
  291. 298Definitive 200April 10, 2007
  292. 299Magazine500 Greatest Albums of All TimeMay 31, 2009
  293. 300MagazineThe 500 Greatest Albums of All TimeDecember 31, 2023
  294. 301The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So FarRolling Stone — October 8, 2025
  295. 302'Rolling Stone' Updates '500 Greatest Songs' ListMay 28, 2010
  296. 303The White Stripes, 'Seven Nation Army'September 15, 2021
  297. 304NewsThe Guide #200: Get Out, Breaking Bad and the pop culture that defined the 21st century so farGwilym Mumford — July 18, 2025
  298. 305Magazine20 Greatest Duos of All TimeDecember 17, 2015
  299. 306Magazine100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's PicksDavid Fricke — December 3, 2010
  300. 3075 of the Greatest (And Most Influential) Rock Music Duos EverEm Casalena — December 20, 2024
  301. 308Top 20 American Rock Bands of the 2000sBryan Rolli — July 4, 2025
  302. 309The 50 Best Rock Bands (Full List): Staff PicksKatie Atkinson — November 19, 2025
  303. 310News35 Top Bands And Musical Artists Of The 2000sQuentin Thane Singer — April 12, 2025
  304. 311BookWhen They Were 22: 100 Famous People at the Turning Point in Their LivesBrad Dunn — Andrews McMeel Publishing — 2009
  305. 312BookFell in Love with a Band: The Story of The White StripesChris Handyside — St. Martin's Griffin — September 3, 2004
  306. 313BookWhite Stripes and the Sound of Mutant BluesEverett True — Omnibus Press — 2004

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