Meg White

Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American drummer and occasional singer known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes. Her music career began when, on a whim, she played on Jack White's drums in 1997. Jack was deeply inspired by her minimalist and un-schooled drumming style. The two decided to form a band and began performing two months later. The duo named themselves The White Stripes because of their last name and Meg's fondness for peppermint candy. The band quickly became a Detroit underground favorite before reaching national, then international fame. White has been nominated for various awards as a part of the White Stripes, and has received four Grammy Awards.

"Megan White" redirects here. For the Australian cricketer, see Megan White (cricketer).

Meg White
White performing in 2002
Born (1974-12-10) December 10, 1974
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, U.S.
EducationGrosse Pointe North High School
Occupation
  • Musician
  • singer
  • actress
Spouse(s)
  • (
    m. 1996⁠–⁠2000)
  • Jackson Smith
    (
    m. 2009⁠–⁠2013)
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
  • guitar
  • organ
Years active1997–2011
Labels
Associated acts

Her drumming style has been called "primal" for its simplicity, and has drawn both praise and criticism. Her musical influences are wide and varied, with Bob Dylan being her favorite artist.

White calls herself "very shy",[1] and has kept a low public profile. Meg and Jack White publicly portrayed themselves as siblings. However, public records emerged in 2001 that showed Meg and Jack were not related; in fact they had married in 1996 prior to the band's formation. They divorced in 2000, before The White Stripes ascended to international fame. In 2009, she married guitarist Jackson Smith, son of musicians Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith. They divorced in 2013.

While on tour in support for The White Stripes' sixth studio album, Icky Thump, White suffered a bout of acute anxiety, and the remaining dates of the tour were cancelled. After a few public appearances, and a hiatus from recording, The White Stripes announced in February 2011 that they would be disbanding. White has not been active in the music industry since.

Early life

White was born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on December 10, 1974, to Walter Hackett White, Jr. and Catherine White.[1] She grew up in the affluent[2] Detroit suburb with her parents and older sister, Heather.[1] She attended Grosse Pointe North High School and, according to one classmate, was "always the quiet, obviously artistic type, and she just kept very much to herself."[1] While still in high school, she decided not to go to college and instead pursue a career as a chef.[1][3] Meg began to work at Memphis Smoke, a restaurant in downtown Royal Oak. It was there that she first met budding musician John "Jack" Gillis, a fellow high school senior from a Detroit neighborhood known as Mexicantown,[1][3] and they frequented the coffee shops, local music venues, and record stores of the area.[4] They began dating and were eventually married on September 21, 1996.[5][6] Gillis took her last name.[7]

Career

The White Stripes
Main article: The White Stripes

According to the bands mythos, on Bastille Day (July 14) of 1997, Meg tried playing Jack's drumkit on a whim.[8] In Jack's words, "When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up."[7] The two then began calling themselves The White Stripes (because Meg favored peppermint candies) and soon played their first gig at the Gold Dollar in Detroit.[9] Their live performances were made of three basic elements, Jack did the guitar and vocal work while she played drums.[7]

Jack and Meg presented themselves as siblings to an unknowing public,[10][8] and kept to a chromatic theme, dressed only in red, white, and black.[11][12] They began their career as part of Michigan's underground, garage rock music scene.[11][3][13] They played along with and opened for more established local bands such as Bantam Rooster, the Dirtbombs, Two Star Tabernacle, Rocket 455, and the Hentchmen, among others.[14][3] In 1998, the band signed with Italy Records, a small and independent Detroit-based garage punk label of Dave Buick.[15] The band released its self-titled debut album in 1999, and a year later the album was followed up by the cult classic,[16] De Stijl. The album eventually peaked at number 38 in Billboard's Independent Albums chart. Even as their success as a band was mounting, their personal relationship was faltering, and they were divorced in 2000.[6]

As the White Stripes' fame spread beyond Detroit, the unconventional band with no bass player and a novice drummer became the subject of mixed commentary among critics and fans.[17] Of a 2002 concert in Cleveland, Ohio, Chuck Klosterman said, "[Meg] never grimaced and didn't appear to sweat; yet somehow her drums sounded like a herd of Clydesdales falling out of the sky, one after another. Clearly this is a band at the apex of its power."[18] UK periodical, The Times said that she "reduced the art of drumming to its primary components, bashing the snare and cymbal together on alternating beats with the bass drum in a way that recalled Moe Tucker of the Velvet Underground."[13] An NPR article gave high praise, saying "On the drums, Meg White smashed out carnal, visceral, raw, sometimes funny and always urgent stories that told of the human experience. Maybe that's the thumping feeling that penetrates our pores and anchors our attention when we listen to The White Stripes. Maybe that's why we ever cared about the band in the first place." [19] On the other hand, the Associated Press called her playing "maddeningly rudimentary."[20] The satirical news site The Onion once featured the headline "Meg White Drum Solo Maintains Steady Beat For 23 Minutes".[21] In reference to her "primal" approach to drumming,[14] she remarked, "That is my strength. A lot of drummers would feel weird about being that simplistic."[7] Jack has stated Meg's drumming to be the "best part of this band,"[7] and called her a "strong female presence in rock and roll."[22] He called her detractors "sexist".[7]

Meg White (right) after a performance in Sydney, 2006.

Though Jack usually sang lead vocals, Meg occasionally sang as well, the first time being backup on the record "Your Southern Can is Mine" from De Stijl. She sang lead on four Stripes' songs: "In the Cold, Cold Night", from the album Elephant, "Passive Manipulation" from Get Behind Me Satan, "Who's a Big Baby", the B-side to "Blue Orchid," and "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" from Icky Thump. She also sang the popular Christmas song "Silent Night" on the single Candy Cane Children. Both Meg and Jack share vocal duties on the tracks "Hotel Yorba" and "This Protector" from White Blood Cells, "Rated X" from the "Hotel Yorba" single, "Well It's True That We Love One Another" on Elephant, and "Rag and Bone" from Icky Thump. Andrew Katchen with Billboard magazine called her vocals "delicate and sweet."[23]

In the summer of 2007, before a show in Southaven, Mississippi, Ben Blackwell (Jack's nephew and the group's archivist) says that Meg approached him and said, "This is the last White Stripes show." He asked if she meant of the tour, but she responded, "No. I think this is the last show, period."[24] On September 11, 2007, the White Stripes announced via their website that they were canceling 18 tour dates due to Meg's acute anxiety.[25] The following day, the duo cancelled the remainder of their 2007 UK tour dates as well.[26]

Jack worked with other artists in the meantime, but Meg remained largely out of the public eye, though in June 2008, she appeared briefly onstage during an encore set of a Detroit show with one of Jack's bands, the Raconteurs.[27] In an interview with Music Radar, he explained that Meg's acute anxiety had been a combination of a very short pre-tour rehearsal time—that was further reduced by the birth of his son—and a hectic, multi-continental touring schedule.[28] He said, "I just came from a Raconteurs tour and went right into that, so I was already full-speed. Meg had come from a dead-halt for a year and went right back into that madness. Meg is a very shy girl, a very quiet and shy person. To go full-speed from a dead-halt is overwhelming, and we had to take a break."[28] Even so, Jack revealed the band's plan to release a seventh album by the summer of 2009.[29][30] On February 20, 2009—and on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien—the band made their first live appearance after the cancellation of the tour, performing the song "We Are Going to Be Friends."[31] A documentary about their Canadian tour—titled The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights—premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 2009.[32] Directed by Emmett Malloy, the film documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage.[33] The duo appeared at the film's premiere and, before the movie started, they made a short speech about their love of Canada and why they chose to debut their movie in Toronto. A second feature titled Under Nova Scotian Lights was prepared for the DVD release.

However, almost two years passed with no new releases, and on February 2, 2011, the band reported on their official website that they were disbanding. The statement emphasized that it was not due to health issues or artistic differences, but "mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band."[34]

Other work

White has also appeared on the cover of Whirlwind Heat's single "Pink", in a Detroit Cobras music video "Cha Cha Twist" as Little Red Riding Hood, and appeared with Jack White in a segment of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes.

The White Stripes guest starred on The Simpsons in an episode titled "Jazzy and the Pussycats", which first aired on September 17, 2006.[35] She has done some modeling for Marc Jacobs' 2006 Spring line.[36] Two of her pictures appeared in the March 2006 issue of ELLE.

White was chosen by Bob Odenkirk to compose a drum theme for Dax Shepard's character in the 2006 film Let's Go to Prison.[37][38] Against Odenkirk's wishes however, the studio removed it from the film.[39] Ray LaMontagne wrote a song, called "Meg White", about the drummer; it appears on LaMontagne's album Gossip in the Grain.

Personal life
The more you talk, the less people listen.

―Meg White, Rolling Stone (2005)[7]

White is—by her own admission—"very shy,"[1] and gives few interviews. She guards her privacy in a manner that she identifies with Bob Dylan, whom she admires.[40]

White was married to Jack White from September 21, 1996 to March 24, 2000.[6] In May 2009, she married guitarist Jackson Smith, son of musicians Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith. The wedding took place in Nashville, Tennessee, in a small ceremony in Jack White's backyard.[41] White and Smith divorced in July 2013.[42][43] As of 2014, White resides in Detroit, Michigan.[44]

Equipment
White with her drum kit in 2005

White began with a red Ludwig Classic Maple kit that had a red and white peppermint swirl on the resonant heads of the toms and bass drum.[45] On the Icky Thump tour, the bass drum head design was switched to a button. While recording From the Basement: The White Stripes, the design was switched to an image of White's hand holding the apple from the Get Behind Me Satan cover. Beginning in 2006, she also used a pair of Paiste 14" Signature Medium Hi-Hats, a 19" Signature Power Crash, and a 22" 2002 Ride. Meg also used Remo and Ludwig drumheads, various percussion instruments and Vater drumsticks.

White's Pearl Export bass drum—complete with original peppermint-painted bass drum that she used with the band's first show—and the Pearly Queen outfit she wore in the photos for the Icky Thump album, were featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Women Who Rock" exhibition.[46] In 2009, White donated her Ludwig kit to the Jim Shaw Rock 'N' Roll Benefit, an auction to raise money for the Detroit musician who was suffering from cancer.[47][48]

Awards and nominations

White has won several notable awards as a member of The White Stripes.

American Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2007 The White Stripes Favorite Alternative Artist Nominated

Brit Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2003 The White Stripes International Breakthrough Act Nominated
International Group Nominated
2004 Elephant (The White Stripes) International Album Nominated
The White Stripes International Group Won
2006 The White Stripes International Group Nominated
2008 The White Stripes International Group Nominated

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2004Elephant (The White Stripes)Best Alternative Music AlbumWon
Album of the YearNominated
"Seven Nation Army" (The White Stripes)Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalNominated
2006Get Behind Me Satan (The White Stripes)Best Alternative Music AlbumWon
"My Doorbell" (The White Stripes)Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalNominated
2008"Icky Thump" (The White Stripes)Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalWon
Icky Thump (The White Stripes)Best Alternative Music AlbumWon

Kerrang! Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2003 Elephant (The White Stripes) Best Album Nominated

MTV Europe Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2002"Fell In Love With A Girl" video (The White Stripes)Best VideoNominated
2003The White StripesBest RockWon
Best GroupNominated
Elephant (The White Stripes)Best AlbumNominated
"Seven Nation Army" video (The White Stripes)Best VideoNominated
2004"The Hardest Button to Button" video (The White Stripes)Best VideoNominated
2006The White StripesBest AlternativeNominated
2007The White StripesArtist's Choice AwardNominated

MTV Video Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2002"Fell In Love With A Girl" video (The White Stripes)Breakthrough VideoWon
Video of the YearNominated
2003"Seven Nation Army" video (The White Stripes)Best Rock VideoNominated
Best Group VideoNominated
2004"The Hardest Button to Button" video (The White Stripes)Breakthrough VideoNominated
2007"Icky Thump" video (The White Stripes)Best Group VideoNominated

NME Awards USA
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008The White StripesIndie/Alternative Band of the YearNominated
Icky Thump (The White Stripes)Indie/Alternative Album of the YearNominated
"Icky Thump" (The White Stripes)Indie/Alternative TrackNominated

Q Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2005 "Blue Orchid" video (The White Stripes) Best Video Nominated
2007 "Icky Thump" video (The White Stripes) Best Video Nominated

Shockwaves NME Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2002The White StripesBest BandNominated
Best New ActNominated
2004"Seven Nation Army" (The White Stripes)Best SingleWon
The White StripesBest International BandNominated
Elephant (The White Stripes)Best AlbumNominated
"The Hardest Button To Button" (The White Stripes)Best VideoNominated
2005 Live Under Blackpool Lights DVD (The White Stripes) Best Music DVD Nominated

References
  1. "Meg White Biography". Biography.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  2. "Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan". QuinStreet, Inc. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  3. Klosterman, Chuck (Oct 2002). "The Garage", Spin. 18 (10):64-68
  4. Handyside 2004, p. 25.
  5. Handyside 2004, p. 32.
  6. Brown, Jake (June 9, 2002). "White Stripes Divorce Certificate". GloriousNoise.com.
  7. Fricke, David (September 8, 2005), "White on White". Rolling Stone. (982): 66–72
  8. POWERS, ANN (February 27, 2001). "POP REVIEW; Intellectualizing the Music Or Simply Experiencing It". Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  9. Scaggs, Austin (May 1, 2003), "Jack White". Rolling Stone. (921):16
  10. Heaney, Mick (April 28, 2002). "The White Stripes". The Sunday Times.
  11. Killingsworth, Jason (July 27, 2007). "The White Stripes Play Us a Little Number." Paste Magazine. Retrieved on August 5, 2014.
  12. STAMBERG, SUSAN (June 12, 2002). "Profile: Band The White Stripes". Morning Edition (NPR).
  13. Sinclair, David (August 7, 2001). "Genuine trendy success without trying". The Times.
  14. McCollum, Brian (September 2003). "Red, White, and Cool", Spin. 19(9):68-74
  15. "Motor City Is Burning". trakMARX.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2006. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  16. "White Stripes – De Stijl". MusicStack.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  17. Cameron, Keith (March 28, 2003), "The sweetheart deal". The Guardian. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  18. Klosterman, Chuck (June 2002), "The White Stripes". Spin. 18(6):38
  19. Shlanger, Talia (September 21, 2018). "Meg White Is The 21st Century's Loudest Introvert". NPR Music.
  20. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (April 4, 2003). "The White Stripes (Third Man Records)", The Canadian Press.
  21. (June 5, 2007). "Meg White Drum Solo Maintains Steady Beat For 23 Minutes", The Onion. (43):23
  22. TALBOTT, CHRIS (May 31, 2014). "Jack White issues apology to Black Keys and others, explains comments that drew criticism". The Canadian Press.
  23. Katchen, Andrew (March 29, 2003), "White Stripes Stay Pure on 'Elephant'". Billboard. 115(13):9
  24. EELLS, JOSH (April 5, 2012). "Jack Outside the Box", The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  25. 9.11.07 WhiteStripes.com (accessed September 12, 2007) Archived September 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  26. "The White Stripes cancel UK tour". BBC. September 13, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  27. KREPS , DANIEL (June 9, 2008). "Meg White Makes Cameo During Raconteurs Concert", RollingStone.com. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  28. "Jack White on The White Stripes' future". MusicRadar.com. May 6, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  29. "Meg White Surprises With Raconteurs In Detroit"Billboard.com. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  30. "Wilmington Blogs:Pulp Culture | The News Journal". delawareonline. February 11, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  31. "The White Stripes". The White Stripes. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  32. "Whitestripes.com". Whitestripes.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  33. "Whitestripes.com". Whitestripes.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  34. "White Stripes have finally split, band members tell fans". The Guardian. February 2, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  35. MTV Montgomery, James (2006)."White Stripes Get Entangled In A Simpson Family Feud"
  36. NME staff (2006). "Meg White becomes a model" NME.com (accessed June 2, 2006)
  37. Elliott, Alan (October 4, 2005). "Part 2: Meg White". Alan Elliott's official blog. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  38. "Worst Reviews" Staff (2006). "Let's Go To Prison" WorstPreviews.com. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  39. Hutchinson, Sean (October 10, 2014). "15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About 'Let’s Go to Prison'", MentalFloss.com. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  40. Perry, Andrew (November 14, 2004). "What's eating Jack?". London: The Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  41. "Meg White and Jackson Smith wed in Nashville". The Seattle Times. seattletimes.com. May 26, 2009. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  42. WEINER, JONAH (June 5, 2014). "Jack White." Rolling Stone. 1210:52-78
  43. Smith vs White (Mich. 6th Cir. 2013). Text Note: User search required.
  44. "Jack White says he 'almost never' talks to Meg White, says she's 'always been a hermit'". MLive.com. May 23, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  45. Porter, Tom (January 29, 2009). "White Stripes' Meg White auctioning Ludwig kit"
  46. "Ladies First", RockHall.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  47. Breihan, Tom (January 30, 2009). "Meg White Auctions Drums for Charity", Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  48. Porter, Tom (January 29, 2009). "White Stripes' Meg White auctioning Ludwig kit", MusicRadar.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.

Works cited

Further reading
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