Can Jack White do no wrong?

Slamming onto the music scene in 1999 with the White Stripes’ self-titled debut album, Jack White hasn’t slowed down since – and we’re all the better for it. Causing a stir in the music media over his ambiguous relationship with his band mate, there was a point when their notoriety seemed to outshine their talent. Luckily, this did not last for long.

Gradually developing a name for themselves, The White Stripes moved on from their raw debut, to a somewhat more produced sound; though this proved to not necessarily be a bad thing. Most of their better known tracks are from their later offerings, with Fell In Love With A Girl and Blue Orchid featuring on their third and fifth albums respectively. The Fell In Love With A Girl endearingly lego – based video earned them widespread recognition from the MTV crowd and subsequently their record sales rocketed. As with many American rock and indie bands nowadays, their success in the UK was far greater than the initial reception they received in the States, but the American audiences soon caught up. Apparently discontent with only releasing six albums, being named one of Rolling Stones Top 20 Guitarists of All Time and selling over $7 million worth of records, White turned his hand (quite literally) to other musical endeavours.

The Raconteurs developed one balmy summer in the hiatus between the Stripes’ fifth and sixth albums, as White and solo musician Brendan Benson recruited two friends to join them in their side project. Although possessing a perhaps slightly watered down and more pop-based sound in comparison to his previous releases, White consequently toured Europe and the US periodically over the next two years in order to supply the demand for live performances from the band. It seems a pity such demand would have appeared unlikely had White’s name not been attached, though we will never know if this would have been the case.

Bored with one side project alone, White unconsciously moved onto his next ‘supergroup’ – The Dead Weather. Formed after an impromptu jamming session of White, Allison Mosshart from The Kills, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age and Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs, the line up is undoubtedly the best accidental music collaboration of recent years. In seemingly unusual fashion, White appears on drums whilst Mosshart appears on vocals, yet many are unaware that Jack was a skilled drummer before he mastered the guitar. The Dead Weather drags White and his fans back to his early musical roots, with a far more raw and edgier sound than we have heard from White since his early Stripes material. Peaking at number 6 in the US chart, a feat that only one of the Stripes albums has beaten, it appears that Jack White’s disciples aren’t fickle when it comes to the variety of sounds he churns out.

White doesn’t just make waves behind the microphone, however. His own record label, Third Man Records, not only acts as home to his three musical projects, but is also preparing to unleash three newly – signed bands upon unsuspecting audiences by the end of the year. Taking a hands-on approach to the Third Man shop in his hometown of Nashville, White often visits and will openly chat to fans who have descended to try and grab a piece of a musical phenomenon. There is absolutely no doubt that White’s influence in the industry is a force to be reckoned with.