John Anthony White is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo The White Stripes, but has also had success in other bands and as a solo artist. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely credited as one of the key artists in the garage rock revival of the 2000s. He has won twelve Grammy Awards, and all three of his solo albums have reached number one on the Billboard charts. Rolling Stone ranked him number 70 on its 2010 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". David Fricke's 2011 list ranked him at number 17.
After moonlighting in several underground Detroit bands as a drummer, White founded The White Stripes with fellow Detroit native and then-wife Meg White in 1997. Their 2001 breakthrough album, White Blood Cells, brought them international fame with the hit single and accompanying music video "Fell in Love with a Girl". This recognition provided White opportunities to collaborate with famous artists, including Loretta Lynn and Bob Dylan. In 2005, White founded The Raconteurs with Brendan Benson, and in 2009 founded The Dead Weather with Alison Mosshart of The Kills. In 2008, he recorded "Another Way to Die" along with Alicia Keys, making them the only duet to perform a Bond song. On April 24, 2012, White released his debut solo album, Blunderbuss. His second studio album, Lazaretto, was released on June 10, 2014. His third studio album, Boarding House Reach, was released on March 23, 2018. All three records received wide commercial and critical success.
White is a board member of the Library of Congress' National Recording Preservation Foundation. His record label and studio Third Man Records releases vinyl recordings of his own work as well as that of other artists and local school children. Lazaretto holds the record for most first-week vinyl sales since 1991. White has an extensive collection of guitars and other instruments and has a preference for vintage items that often have connections to famous blues artists. He is a vocal advocate for analog technology and recording techniques.
White values his privacy and has been known to create misdirection about his personal life. He and Meg White married in 1996, but divorced in 2000 before the height of the band's fame. They then began calling themselves siblings. He was later married to model and singer Karen Elson from 2005 to 2013; they have a son and daughter. He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wikipedia
“It is the pursuit of happiness that brings us happiness, and not the happiness achieved.”
A message he left on his website to his fans, dated September 18th, 2003
2003
It weeds out people who wouldn't care anyway.
On how they are able to "sell what is really an art concept" to a mass audience
Perry, Andrew (2004). "The White Stripes uncut" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1349947,00.html Observer Music Monthly (accessed June 19, 2007).
2007
Perry, Andrew (13 November 2004). "What's eating Jack?" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1347715,00.html, The Observer. (accessed October 22, 2014)
2010
Ha ha ha!
On why dignity and celebrity don't go hand in hand
Perry, Andrew (2004). "The White Stripes uncut" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1349947,00.html Observer Music Monthly (accessed June 19, 2007).
2007
John Mayer
Eells, Josh (June 21, 2012). "John Mayers Regrets." Rolling Stone. 1159:48-53
About
On why they recorded Elephant in two weeks
Perry, Andrew (2004). "The White Stripes uncut" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1349947,00.html Observer Music Monthly (accessed June 19, 2007).
2010
From the article White on White from Rolling Stone Magazine
On 'gimmicks
Go ahead, man. Go ahead and think that.
From the article White on White from Rolling Stone Magazine
In response to a question about his relationship with Meg being false
On 'gimmicks
On having a calling to stand on stage and perform to people—as a priest or as a musician
Marc Maron (June 8, 2012). " Jack White http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_289_-_jack_white". WTF With Marc Maron. Season 2. Episode 289. 21:48 minutes in.
2010
Perry, Andrew (2004). "The White Stripes uncut" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1349947,00.html ObserverGuarduan.co.uk (accessed June 6, 2006)
On why 2004 was, up to that point, the best year of his life
2004
Ry Cooder, music producer
Wilkinson, Alec (March 13, 2017), "JACK WHITE’S INFINITE IMAGINATION" http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/jack-whites-infinite-imagination. The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
About
“I have three dads: my biological father, God and Bob Dylan.”
From the article A Mysterious Case of the White Stripes from Rolling Stone Magazine.
2010
On being the drummer (not the frontman) of the band w:Dead Weather
"This is not a Spinal Tap" http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_10157. GQ magazine. (accessed 2009-07-15)
2010
“I see him becoming one of the greatest record producers there is.”
Loretta Lynn, after working with White on her album Van Lear Rose
Male, Andrew (July 2007). "The Mojo Interview", MOJO. (164):48
About
“You can't do better than that.”
On being hugged by Pope John Paul II during the pontiff's visit to Detroit in 1987
Dolon, John (July 2007), "The White Stripes: New Jack City" http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=2705 Blender Volume unknown: pp. 109
2010
On why he tends to look to the past
Perry, Andrew (2004). "The White Stripes uncut" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,13887,1349947,00.html Observer Music Monthly (accessed June 19, 2007).
2010
Rolling Stone video interview of The Dead Weather (beginning at 1:50) "The Dead Weather Muse on the Future of Music, Supergroup War" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llw9S1hMZ4s, Rolling Stone, April 17, 2010. Retrieved on January 5, 2015.
2010
“No. I know that's blasphemous when you are from Detroit.”
On not being a fan of Motown
Scaggs, Austin (May 1, 2003), "Jack White". Rolling Stone.
2003
AT The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California after some balloons bearing a radio station's logo floated on stage.
Chonin, Neva (2005). "White Stripes huge but not bloated" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/15/DDGTAE7B261.DTL&type=music SFGate.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
2010
