The White Stripes (album)

The White Stripes
Studio album by
the White Stripes
ReleasedJune 15, 1999 (1999-06-15)
RecordedJanuary–February 1999
Studio
Genre
Length43:38
LabelSympathy for the Record Industry
ProducerJack White
The White Stripes chronology
The White Stripes
(1999) 		De Stijl
(2000)
Singles from The White Stripes
  1. "The Big Three Killed My Baby"
    Released: March 1999

The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American rock duo the White Stripes, released in June 1999 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. It was produced by lead vocalist and guitarist Jack White and Jim Diamond. Musically, The White Stripes features elements of blues, punk, country and arena rock. It includes three cover songs and is dedicated to blues musician Son House.

Distribution of The White Stripes was limited as Sympathy was an independent label, and it failed to chart in the United States. "The Big Three Killed My Baby" was released as the only single and promotional effort. The album was rereleased in the UK and the US by XL and V2 respectively, and in 2013 was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Of the album, Jack said in 2003, "I still feel we've never topped our first album. It's the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we've made."[1]


Background and recording

The White Stripes formed in 1997 and began performing as part of the underground Michigan rock scene, releasing two singles over the next year. In 1999, they signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry and recorded The White Stripes over a week with Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit, Michigan.[2][3] Additional overdubs and mixing were done in February 1999.[4] The band covered "St. James Infirmary Blues" after being introduced to the song from a Betty Boop cartoon.[5]

Because Jack and Meg had separated by the time the album was recorded, Jack's wedding ring was edited out of the album artwork.[6][7]

Music

"The first song on our first album starts off with Meg. The last sound on the album is by Johnny Walker, who plays slide guitar with us on the last song."

–Jack's detail on the debut album.[8]

Johnny Walker of the Soledad Brothers played slide guitar on two songs: "Suzy Lee" and "I Fought Piranhas". Walker is credited with having taught Jack how to play slide, a technique featured heavily on the White Stripes' first two albums. Walker explains, "[Jack] had a four track in his living room and invited me to come by and do some recording. In return, I showed him how to play slide."[9]

The White Stripes is a blues rock, punk rock, country rock, and arena rock album.[10] It is dedicated to the blues musician Son House, who is an inspiration to Jack.

Songs

Tracks 1–9

"Jimmy the Exploder", one of the few White Stripes songs that begin with Meg's drums, was the first original song the White Stripes ever performed, on July 14, 1997, at the Gold Dollar venue in Detroit, Michigan. As Meg had only started learning how to play the drums two months earlier, and was prone to struggling with the tempo on the song in its early live performances,[11] Jack would often coach her during shows by using counts.[12][13]

"Stop Breaking Down" is a cover of blues musician Robert Johnson's 1938 single.

"The Big Three Killed My Baby" is about the Big Three auto manufacturers (namely Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler Corporation) who have headquarters in or near Detroit, Michigan. The song is perceived to be a protest song against the auto industry.[14] The song is also a play on the number three, Jack's favorite number.[15]

"Suzy Lee" is one of two songs on the album to feature Johnny Walker as the additional guitarist. Her character would later appear in "We're Going to Be Friends" and the band's fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, was dedicated to her in the liner notes.[a][17] She also appears in the children's book version of "We're Going to Be Friends".[16]

"Sugar Never Tasted So Good" is the B-side of "Lafayette Blues", the band's second single. The song gained some local success, as it was the first instance of fans singing along to a White Stripes song.[18]

"Wasting My Time" is said to have been inspired by Bob Dylan, due to its similarities to "One More Cup of Coffee", a Dylan cover which is the 13th track on the album.[19] It was also compared to the work of Van Morrison.[20]

"Cannon" interpolates "John the Revelator", a blues and gospel song performed by Son House. Sometimes "John the Revelator" was performed on its own, such as in an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2003. Sometimes, Jack would add "Electric Funeral" by Black Sabbath to the song, as the riffs are similar.[21]

"Astro", inspired by Jack's pet Jasper, is a generic reference to "anything you do that no one knows about". It mentions inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.[22]

"Broken Bricks" was co-written by one of Jack's older brothers, Stephen. The song is possibly in reference to the abandoned buildings of Detroit, Michigan.[23]

Tracks 10–17

"When I Hear My Name" is one of the top 10 most-performed songs the White Stripes ever did. "Do" was written about a year before the album was released, having first been performed at a local fair in July 1998.

"Screwdriver" was written spontaneously about a random screwdriver that happened to be sitting in the attic of the Whites' home during a rehearsal.[24] The band performed it during their first nationally televised appearance (The Late Late Show in 2001).[25]

"One More Cup of Coffee" is a cover of the fourth song on Bob Dylan's album Desire. Critics consider it one of the best Dylan covers.[26]

"Little People", the first in the "little" series of songs by the White Stripes, had an alternate title of "Big Girl".[27] "Slicker Drips" was rarely performed live and never performed after the year 2000, though it was the first song they ever used as an encore.[18]

"St. James Infirmary Blues" is a cover of a blues and jazz standard. This rendition is credited to Ukrainian-American music publisher Joe Primrose. It was the first song the White Stripes ever performed live (on July 14, 1997). They found the song from watching an animated short of Betty Boop called Snow-White.[28]

"I Fought Piranhas", which features Johnny Walker on guitar, was likely written before Meg started playing the drums and was recorded in the Whites' living room. The song's original refrain was "I Fought the Boar".[29]

Bonus tracks

"Let's Shake Hands" is the band's debut single. It was often used as their first song during concerts.[8]

"Lafayette Blues" is a limited edition single inspired by all the streets with French names in Detroit (the lyrics list them one by one, pronounced in French).[23][30] This was likely in reference to the White Stripes' first ever performance being on Bastille Day.[31] The song was originally recorded with Jack's side project The Upholsterers.[32] Some editions of their third album, White Blood Cells, featured "Lafayette Blues" on a bonus DVD.

Outtakes

Outtakes for the album include "Red Bowling Ball Ruth", "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?", "Let's Build a Home", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", and a cover of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book".[33][34] "Red Bowling Ball Ruth" would be released as the b-side for the album's single, "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?" and "Let's Build a Home" would be included on De Stijl (2000), and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" would be included on White Blood Cells (2001).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[35]
Pitchfork8.3/10[36]
Rolling Stone Album Guide[37]

The White Stripes received generally positive reviews but only gained local attention on release. Norene Cashen of The Metro Times said the LP "serves better to remind us that [Detroit's] local identity has more options than a membership card to the latest cliché...or a one-way ticket to the coast."[38] Much of the media feedback came two or three years after its initial release, following the duo's fame spreading beyond Detroit. It has sold 300,000 copies in the United States.[39]

BBC DJ John Peel first spotted the album in a record shop and said, "I just liked the look of it and I looked at the titles – you develop an instinct, d'you know what I mean? And it looked like the sort of record I would like, so I took it out and I did like it, and started playing it."[40] His endorsement was key in heightening the band's popularity in the UK.[40]

Chris Handyman of AllMusic said of the album, "Jack White's voice is a singular, evocative combination of punk, metal, blues, and backwoods while his guitar work is grand and banging with just enough lyrical touches of slide and subtle solo work... Meg White balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare... All D.I.Y. punk-country-blues-metal singer-songwriting duos should sound this good."[10]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jack White, except where noted; all music is composed by Jack and Meg White, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jimmy the Exploder" 2:29
2."Stop Breaking Down"Robert Johnson2:20
3."The Big Three Killed My Baby" 2:29
4."Suzy Lee" 3:21
5."Sugar Never Tasted So Good" 2:54
6."Wasting My Time" 2:13
7."Cannon" 2:30
8."Astro" 2:42
9."Broken Bricks"White, Stephen Gillis1:51
10."When I Hear My Name" 1:54
11."Do" 3:05
12."Screwdriver" 3:14
13."One More Cup of Coffee"Bob Dylan3:13
14."Little People" 2:22
15."Slicker Drips" 1:30
16."St. James Infirmary Blues"Traditional, credited to Joe Primrose2:24
17."I Fought Piranhas" 3:07
Total length:43:38
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
18."Let's Shake Hands"2:01
19."Lafayette Blues"2:15
Total length:47:54

Notes

The original 1999 vinyl release of the album features an alternate track listing, which excludes "The Big Three Killed My Baby", "Sugar Never Tasted So Good", and "One More Cup of Coffee".[41]

"Cannon" contains an interpolation of Son House's "John the Revelator".[42]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[43]

The White Stripes

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[44] 159
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[45] 142

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States June 15, 1999 Sympathy for the Record Industry LP album SFTRI 577
Compact Disc SFTRI 577
United Kingdom November 26, 2001 XL Recordings Compact Disc XLCD 149
LP album XLLP 149
United States June 11, 2002 V2 Records Compact Disc 63881-27131-2
Japan March 19, 2003 V2 Records Japan Compact Disc V2CP 148
United States November 30, 2010 Third Man Records LP album TMR-042

References

  1. ^ Fox, Darrin (June 2003). "White Heat". Guitar Player. p. 66.
  2. ^ "The White Stripes: What Made Them Such A Revolutionary Rock Duo?". YouTube. Amplified - Classic Rock & Music History. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  3. ^ The White Stripes (booklet). Sympathy For The Record Industry. 1999.
  4. ^ The White Stripes XX (Liner notes, LP booklet). The White Stripes. 2019. TMR-649.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Series 40, episode 2, Later...with Jools Holland. Series 40. Episode 2. April 24, 2012
  6. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 127. ISBN 9780312336189.
  7. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. p. 125. ISBN 0711998361.
  8. ^ a b Robbins, Ira (June 16, 2001). Jack White Rocks Himself Out of His Socks – via Music in a Word: 50 Years on a Rock and Roll Soapbox Volume 1.
  9. ^ Soledad Brothers: Band History Archived July 6, 2009, at the Portuguese Web Archive Soundclick, (accessed June 20, 2008).
  10. ^ a b Handyside, Chris, The White Stripes, AllMusic, retrieved November 3, 2025
  11. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. p. 78. ISBN 0711998361.
  12. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 127. ISBN 9780312336189.
  13. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. p. 83. ISBN 0711998361.
  14. ^ Petridis, Alexis (December 5, 2024). "Tall tales, campfire singalongs and Oldham slang: the White Stripes' 20 best songs – ranked!". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 119. ISBN 9780312336189.
  16. ^ a b Burnett, Matia (November 30, 2017). "Four Questions for Jack White". Publisher's Weekly.
  17. ^ Bassett, Jordan (November 20, 2015). "Now That The 'You're So Vain' Mystery Is Solved, What About These Lyrical Puzzlers?". NME.
  18. ^ a b "Vault Package #42: The White Stripes - The White Stripes XX". Third Man Records. August 7, 2019.
  19. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 68. ISBN 9780312336189.
  20. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. p. 122. ISBN 0711998361.
  21. ^ Zullo, Darin. "Review and setlist: Jack White returns to musical roots with No Name tour in Boston". boston.com.
  22. ^ Kohn, Daniel (December 3, 2020). "The White Stripes' Archivist Ben Blackwell Reveals the Stories Behind Their Greatest Hits". SPIN.
  23. ^ a b McCollum, Brian (October 15, 2023). "7 notable Detroit references in White Stripes song lyrics". Detroit Free Press.
  24. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 66. ISBN 9780312336189. Meg sat down behind the drums and was sort of watching. And like, for example, for [the song] 'Screwdriver,' she just pointed across the room at a screwdriver sitting on the floor and said, 'Write a song about that.'
  25. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 197. ISBN 9780312336189.
  26. ^ Jon Dolan & David Browne & Keith Harris & Andy Greene & Rob Sheffield & Angie Martoccio & Kory Grow & Jonathan Bernstein (May 28, 2021). "The 80 Greatest Dylan Covers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  27. ^ Hudson, Alex (November 26, 2025). "The White Stripes Reflect on Playing Toronto for Their Fourth-Ever Show". exclaim.ca.
  28. ^ "Series 40, episode 2". Later...with Jools Holland. Season 40. Episode 2. April 24, 2012.
  29. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. pp. 121–122. ISBN 0711998361.
  30. ^ Handyside, Chris. Fell in Love with a Band. p. 93. ISBN 9780312336189.
  31. ^ True, Everett. The White Stripes and the Sound of Mutant Blues. p. 91. ISBN 0711998361.
  32. ^ Stern, Andrew (May 2003). "King and Queen of Rock!". Blender.
  33. ^ Slingerland, Calum (August 6, 2019). "The White Stripes Treat Debut Album to 20th Anniversary Vinyl Set". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  34. ^ "BONUS: Past The Caution Tape". Spotify. No Smiling, Third Man Records. November 20, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  35. ^ Handyside, Chris. The White Stripes at AllMusic. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  36. ^ Bowers, William (June 17, 2002). "The White Stripes: 'The White Stripes' and 'De Stijl'". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  37. ^ "White Stripes: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  38. ^ Cashen, Norene (May 26, 1999). "Detroit duo White Stripes mixes basic elements into simple beauty". The Metro Times.
  39. ^ Center, Marc (June 13, 2009). "Weather Report" (PDF). Billboard. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2022 – via American Radio History.
  40. ^ a b White Stripes, BBC.co.uk. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  41. ^ The White Stripes (Liner notes, LP sleeve). The White Stripes. 1999. SFTRI 577.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  42. ^ Enos, Morgan (July 22, 2022). "Songbook: A Guide To Jack White's Musical Outlets, From The White Stripes To The Dead Weather & Beyond". The Recording Academy.
  43. ^ The White Stripes (Liner notes, CD booklet). The White Stripes. 1999. SFTRI 577.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  44. ^ "Lescharts.com – The White Stripes – The White Stripes". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  45. ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: Kristine W – Tammy Wynette". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  46. ^ "British album certifications – The White Stripes – The White Stripes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 23, 2019. Select albums in the Formats field. Type The White Stripes The White Stripes in the "Search:" field.
  1. ^ Suzy Lee is by all accounts a completely fictional character and not inspired by a real person whom Jack knew.[16]
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