# Jack White > Jack White: Raw Delta blues rewired through Detroit garage-rock fuzz. The 10 greatest solos, the gear behind the sound and a quiz. Canonical URL: Raw Delta blues rewired through Detroit garage-rock fuzz 1990s–present · The White Stripes · The Raconteurs · The Dead Weather · American ## Jack White Raw Delta blues rewired through Detroit garage-rock fuzz Jack White was born John Anthony Gillis in Detroit in 1975, the youngest of ten children. He started out as a drummer, played in local garage and punk bands such as Goober & the Peas, and worked as an upholsterer, running a small shop of his own. Early blues recordings by Son House and Blind Willie McTell reshaped his musical outlook, convincing him that intensity and feeling mattered more than polish or technical display. In 1997 he formed The White Stripes with drummer Meg White, adopting a strict red, white and black visual identity and a stripped-down guitar-and-drums lineup. After The White Stripes (1999) and De Stijl (2000), the album White Blood Cells (2001) broke them internationally. Elephant (2003), recorded on vintage analog equipment, delivered “Seven Nation Army,” whose octave-shifted guitar riff became one of the most widely chanted melodies in the world. Get Behind Me Satan and Icky Thump followed before the duo disbanded in 2011. White kept several projects running at once. The Raconteurs, formed in 2005 with Brendan Benson, offered a more traditional four-piece rock sound, while The Dead Weather, launched in 2009 with Alison Mosshart, let him return to the drum stool. He co-founded Third Man Records, opened its Nashville headquarters in 2009, and became a prominent champion of vinyl and analog recording. He also appeared in the film Cold Mountain and the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud. His solo debut Blunderbuss (2012) reached No. 1 in the US, and Lazaretto (2014) showcased his ability to combine blues, country and hard rock. Later records such as Boarding House Reach (2018), Fear of the Dawn (2022) and No Name (2024) moved between experimental production and back-to-basics riffing. He has won twelve Grammy Awards, and in 2025 The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ## The 10 greatest Jack White solos 1. [Ball and Biscuit](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-ball-and-biscuit/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2003 2. [Icky Thump](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-icky-thump/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2007 3. [Blue Orchid](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-blue-orchid/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2005 4. [Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-dead-leaves-and-the-dirty-ground/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2001 5. [Catch Hell Blues](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-catch-hell-blues/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2007 6. [Blue Veins](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-raconteurs-blue-veins/) — The Raconteurs · solo by Jack White · 2006 7. [High Ball Stepper](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jack-white-high-ball-stepper/) — Jack White · solo by Jack White · 2014 8. [Lazaretto](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jack-white-lazaretto/) — Jack White · solo by Jack White · 2014 9. [Sixteen Saltines](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jack-white-sixteen-saltines/) — Jack White · solo by Jack White · 2012 10. [Black Math](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-black-math/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2003 ## The sound White plays with a deliberately raw, unvarnished attack, favouring cheap department-store guitars, small amps and fuzz that sounds close to breaking apart. His solos are short, violent bursts of slide, pitch-shifted squeals and bent notes rather than long technical runs. He uses a DigiTech Whammy both to drop his guitar an octave for bass-like riffs and to fire off shrieking leaps. Rooted in Delta blues phrasing and Detroit garage energy, his playing thrives on tension, abrupt dynamics and the sense that the performance could go off the rails at any moment. - **1964 Airline “JB Hutto” (Montgomery Ward)** (guitar) The red fiberglass-bodied guitar most associated with The White Stripes. - **1950s Kay hollowbody** (guitar) A cheap, rattly archtop used for early White Stripes material and slide work. - **1915 Gibson L-1 acoustic** (guitar) A vintage acoustic used for quieter, folk and blues material. - **Custom Gretsch models** (guitar) Built for his post-Stripes work, often in striking custom finishes. - **Silvertone 1485** (amp) A Sears department-store amp that gave the White Stripes their gritty, compressed crunch. - **1970s Fender Twin Reverb** (amp) A loud, clean platform for his fuzz and pitch pedals. - **DigiTech Whammy WH-4** (effect) Set an octave down, it created the bass-like riff of “Seven Nation Army.” - **Electro-Harmonix Big Muff** (effect) His main fuzz, responsible for the thick, woolly lead tones. ## Covers - **Jolene**, originally by Dolly Parton White turned the country classic into a desperate, howling garage-rock ballad. - **Death Letter**, originally by Son House A tribute to his biggest blues hero, delivered with ferocious slide guitar. - **I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself**, originally by Tommy Hunt (Bacharach–David song, famously recorded by Dusty Springfield) The Bacharach pop standard becomes a crushing, heavy blues-rock lament. - **Conquest**, originally by Patti Page A 1950s pop song reinvented with mariachi trumpet and blazing guitar. - **Stop Breaking Down**, originally by Robert Johnson A stomping, slide-heavy take that announced the duo's blues roots. - **St. James Infirmary Blues**, originally by Traditional The old standard is stripped down to piano, drums and eerie atmosphere. ## Timeline - **1975** Born John Anthony Gillis in Detroit - **1997** Forms The White Stripes with Meg White - **2001** White Blood Cells breaks the band internationally; Third Man Records founded - **2003** Elephant and “Seven Nation Army” released; appears in Cold Mountain - **2005** Forms The Raconteurs with Brendan Benson - **2009** Launches The Dead Weather; Third Man opens in Nashville; It Might Get Loud premieres - **2011** The White Stripes officially disband - **2012** Solo debut Blunderbuss reaches No. 1 in the US - **2014** Releases Lazaretto - **2025** The White Stripes inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ## Facts 1. He was born John Anthony Gillis and was the youngest of ten children. 2. He began as a drummer and still plays drums in The Dead Weather. 3. He ran his own upholstery business before music became his career. 4. The famous “Seven Nation Army” riff is played on guitar through an octave-down Whammy pedal, not on a bass. 5. The song title “Seven Nation Army” came from his childhood mispronunciation of the Salvation Army. 6. The White Stripes' visual identity was built on a strict red, white and black color scheme. 7. In It Might Get Loud he built a crude one-string instrument from a plank, nails, a bottle and a pickup. 8. He has won twelve Grammy Awards across his various projects. 9. Third Man Records operates a record store with a recording booth and a vinyl pressing plant in Detroit. 10. Blunderbuss, his first solo album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Jack White](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_White) --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)