This “brother and sister” duo from southwest Detroit no longer needs an introduction. The White Stripes are known and loved throughout the world. More than one esteemed critic has termed the minimalist garage rock duo “the greatest rock band alive today,” but you already know about the Stripes’ success. Let’s go back a few years to a time even before Jack and Meg were playing for a handful of half drunk Detroiters at the city’s favorite dives.

Jack White (born John Anthony Gillis) and his nine siblings grew up in Detroit’s Mexicantown neighborhood. In elementary school, Jack was listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Stooges and the MC5 before most of his classmates were drawing stick people. Around the age of six or seven, Jack learned to play the drums, and by the time he reached Cass Tech High School, he had taken up the guitar.

While he was always very serious about music making, White never planned on giving up his day job. Everyone knows that in Detroit, music is a passion, not a career. In the liner notes of Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit, a compilation organized by White, he writes: “No suit from L.A. or New York is going to fly to Detroit to check out a band and hand out business cards.” So, Jack took up the trade of upholstery. Learning the ropes from family friend (and musician) Brian Muldoon, Jack started an upholstery business called Third Man with business cards that read “YOUR FURNITURE IS NOT DEAD” (Maxim Blender, 5/03). Muldoon, however, passed on more than a passion for upholstery – he became a musical mentor to White, broadening his musical influences and inspiring him to diversify his record collection.

Shortly thereafter, White landed his first professional gig as the drummer for Detroit cowpunk band Goober and the Peas (Later Jack played with Dan “Goober” Miller in 2 Star Tabernacle.) Around this time, Jack met Meg. Though they continue to bill themselves as brother and sister, Megan White and Jack Gillis were married in 1996. Jack has never been an advocate of convention, and in marriage, he took his wife’s surname. When Jack’s family moved out of their southwest Detroit home, he and Meg moved in. Returning from her job in Royal Oak one night, Meg (allegedly) sat down at the drums while Jack was jamming, and the duo was born. Meg had never really been a drummer before, but she seemed to have a knack for providing just enough percussion to the powerful musical sentiments of Jack White. Just two months after she had started drumming, the band played their first gig – opening for The Hentchmen at Detroit’s Gold Dollar in August of 1997. The White Stripes were not immediately well received. Their minimalist approach prompted many to dismiss them as not a real band, and Jack’s voice was often perceived as too whiny and unpolished. Bobby Harlow and John Krautner of The Go, however, did recognize the potential of Jack White and invited him to be a part of their band. At this point in time, The Go were the hottest band in Detroit. Jack’s stint with the band didn’t last long though – he left citing artistic differences and the limiting contract the band was signing with the Sub Pop label.

With all of his energy focused on the White Stripes, Jack and Meg continued to gain notoriety in the Detroit scene. While they were no longer together as a couple (they divorced in March of 2000), it was clear they were both devoted to the band. They sparked the interest of Italy Records owner Dave Buick, who offered to record a single. Jack reportedly dismissed the offer at first, not realizing that Buick was offering to cover the costs (Detroit Free Press, 4/13/03). Throughout the next couple years, the band continued to hone their showmanship skills by opening for Detroit bands The Hentchmen and the Detroit Cobras at venues such as Hamtramck’s Paycheck’s Lounge and the now defunct Gold Dollar in the Cass Corridor. Opening for indie rockers Pavement and Sleater-Kinney brought national exposure to the White Stripes and they began to build a dedicated fan base.

In 2006 after the successful release of 2005′s Get Behind Me Satan; which was recorded in his Detroit home, Jack Left left Detroit and moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he currently resides with his wife and children and also perfomers in another he created while living in Detroit with native Brendan Benson, The Raconteurs

More Info:
White Stripes Official Web Site
White Stripes MySpace Page

Key Recordings:
2007 – Icky Thump
2005 – Get Behind Me Satan
2003 – Elephant
2001 – White Blood Cells
2000 – De Stijl
1999 – The White Stripes

Recent White Stripes Posts:

• Jack White Gives Back To Detroit
• Third Man Records In NYC
• “It Might Get Loud” Trailer
• Third Man Records Launches “The Vault”
• See Jack Act
• Phoenix New Times Interview With Jim Diamond
• Rag Wrap – May 31, 2009
• New White Stripes Album In 2010?
• Detroit Rock Couple To Marry
• The Dead Weather