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One of a new breed of back-to-basics Rock acts to emerge from Detroit,
Michigan USA, The White Stripes comprises enigmatic bass-free duo Jack
White, real name John Anthony Gillis on guitar+vocals and Meg White, born
Megan Martha White on drums. The Whites, variously assumed to be husband
and ex-wife or brother and sister, but both denied, formed their new band
in 1997.
That same year, the couple recorded an indie-single titled "Let's
Shake Hands" and started gigging in the old motor city. Not long
after, they signed with Sympathy For The Record Industry, the track "The
Big Three Killed My Baby" was their debut single on that label, the
song was finally included on the duo's self-titled debut full-length disc
which was released in mid-1999 and they supported the release by opening
for Pavement.
"De Stijl" followed in the summer of 2000, it was named after
the minimalist Dutch art movement, which they cited as a source for the
approach to their music and image; the album was well received by the
indie press, of particular note was the duo's incredible reception in
the U.K. where their music was lauded by a wide range of media outlets;
the disc eventually cracked the top 40 of the Billboard Magazine's Independent
Albums chart two years later.
Following the first overseas tour, the duo returned to the studio to cut
their third LP. "White Blood Cells", which arrived in July 2001,
took them to another level; in the U.K. The Whites scored three top 30
hits with the singles "Hotel Yorba", "Fell In Love With
A Girl" and "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"; before
the year was out, they inked a new deal with V2 Records who re-issued
the album in America, the 16-track set cracked The Billboard Top 200 Albums
chart reaching the #61 slot thanks to the alt-Rock radio success of "Fell
In Love With A Girl" and "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
which peaked at #12 and #19 respectively on The Billboard Modern Rock
chart.
Jack and Meg began recording their fourth album in Toe Rag Studios in
Hackney, East London, the studio was specially decked out with equipment
dated from before 1964 to give the recordings a naive, vintage sound.
Meanwhile, "Elephant" was recorded in only ten days, in the
tradition of early 60's recordings, it was released in the spring of 2003
and quickly shot to the top in Britain, rose to #5 in Canada and reached
#6 on the U.S. Top 200 Albums chart spawning three Modern Rock top 30
hit singles including the #1 "Seven Nation Army", the #8 "The
Hardest Button To Button" and "I Just Don't Know What To Do
With Myself"; at the 46th annual Grammy awards, in early 2004, "Elephant"
was named Best Alternative Music Album.
With a somewhat sinister title, "Get Behind Me Satan" was The
White's fifth album; it was released in June 2005 and would eventually
hit the #3 slot on both the U.S. and U.K. Sales charts; the first single,
"Blue Orchid", peaked at #7 on The Modern Rock chart and also
weighed in at #6 on the U.K. Top 40 chart. "The Denial Twist"
hit the top 5 of The Modern Rock Tracks chart and "My Doorbell"
followed reaching #13; both also made the top 10 in the British Singles
chart. "Get Behind Me Satan" won Jack and Meg another Grammy
Award for Best Alternative Music Album in February 2006; only three months
later Jack White was also responsible for releasing "Broken Boy Soldiers"
another hit album recorded with his side project The
Raconteurs.
In June 2007, The White Stripes released their sixth album, "Icky
Thump"; the title-track, the first single off the new disc, shot
into the top 10 of The Hot Modern Rock chart.
The White Stripes biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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