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Jack White
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Jack White is an American musician, guitarist and singer of the rock duo The White Stripes. He was born on 9 July 1975 in Detroit as John Anthony Gillis, the youngest of ten children. He grew up in Mexicantown in the southwest of the city. Three of his older brothers were in a band, and he learned the instruments they left behind, starting with drums at the age of six. In the daytime he worked as an upholsterer and later started a business of his own, Third Man Upholstery. He played drums with the Detroit band Goober & the Peas and in other underground bands.
Music and breakthrough
In the 1990s he met Meg White. They married in 1996, and he took her surname. In 1997 they founded the White Stripes. In 2001 he started the record label and studio Third Man Records, and that same year White Blood Cells became their breakthrough album. After the band split in 2011, he released Blunderbuss solo in 2012 and Lazaretto in 2014. That last album broke the record for the largest number of vinyl LPs sold in the first week since 1991. Later came No Name in 2024 and other albums.
Influence
White is known for his technique, his individuality and his use of analogue technology. He won twelve Grammys and in 2010 and 2023 was on Rolling Stone's list of the best guitarists of all time. In 2025 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the White Stripes. He played a major role in the garage rock and indie rock of the 2000s.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 2012Blunderbuss
- 2014Lazaretto
- 2018Boarding House Reach
- 2022Entering Heaven Alive
- 2022Fear of the Dawn
- 2024No Name
- 2026Frozen Charlotte