The White Stripes

Biography

The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of the 2000s indie and garage rock revivals.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the White Stripes sought success within the Detroit music scene, releasing six singles and two albums. They first found commercial success with their acclaimed third album, White Blood Cells (2001), which propelled the band to the forefront of the garage rock movement. Their fourth album, Elephant (2003), drew further success, winning the band their first Grammy Awards. It produced the single "Seven Nation Army", which became a sports anthem and the band's signature song. They experimented extensively on their fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan (2005). They returned to their blues roots with their sixth and final album, Icky Thump (2007), which was praised like the band's earlier albums. By the end of the 2000s, the White Stripes accumulated three entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, eleven entries on the US Alternative Airplay chart, and thirteen entries on the UK singles chart. After a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording, the band dissolved in 2011.
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 noted for their mysterious public image, 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—and their fascination with the number three. They made selective media appearances, including Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights (2009).
The White Stripes received numerous accolades, including a Brit Award from six nominations and six Grammys from eleven nominations. White Blood Cells appears on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "200 Definitive Albums", while both that album and Elephant appear on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"; the latter publication also named the band the sixth greatest duo of all time in 2015. The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, after being nominated in 2023 (the band's first year of eligibility). Billboard named them the 33rd best rock band of all time in 2025.