The White Stripes

The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriting, vocals, guitar, piano, and bass) and Meg White (drums, percussion, and vocals). They were a leading group of the 2000s indie rock and garage rock revival.Read More

Beginning in the late 1990s, the White Stripes sought success within the Detroit music scene, releasing six singles and two studio albums, their self-titled debut album (1999) and De Stijl (2000). They rose to prominence with their critically acclaimed albums White Blood Cells (2001) and Elephant (2003), which propelled them to the forefront of the garage rock revival scene. The single "Seven Nation Army", which used a guitar and an octave pedal to create the opening riff, became one of their most recognizable songs. The band released two more albums, Get Behind Me Satan (2005) and Icky Thump (2007), and the tour documentary Under Great White Northern Lights (2009), before dissolving in 2011 after a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording.

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 also noted for 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—as well as the duo's fascination with the number three. Their discography consists of six studio albums, two live albums, one extended play (EP), one concert film, one tour documentary, 26 singles, and 14 music videos.

Over the course of their career, the White Stripes earned numerous accolades, which include winning a Brit Award from six nominations, six Grammy Awards from eleven nominations, and six MTV Video Music Awards from eighteen nominations. Two of their albums have been included on various editions of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 2015, the same publication named them the sixth greatest duo of all time.