Trivia / The White Stripes

• Amicable Exes: A rather famous case where the band got famous after Jack and Meg were divorced. They were amicable enough that they attended each other's later weddings. Even though they don't talk often since the band broke up due to Meg's reclusive nature, Jack still has mainly nice things to say about her. Hell, once when Meg's drumming skills were criticized by a journalist, Jack's second wife Karen Elson responded with "keep my ex husband’s ex wife name out of your f*cking mouth" [sic].
• Content Leak: After receiving a copy of the album, the Chicago radio station Q101 aired the entirety of Icky Thump before the album was commercially available. Jack White was not pleased about this.
• Creator Breakdown: Meg suffered a major anxiety attack in 2007 that resulted in the duo canceling all of its remaining tour dates. Her inability to recover well enough to perform was a factor in the duo breaking up.
• Reclusive Artist: Meg is self-confessed extremely shy and quiet. Jack has stated that after the duo broke up, Meg moved back to Detroit and even refuses to answer the phone, so he really doesn't try to contact her. Even before they were famous, he had to go over to her home in order to get anything done and to even talk to her.
• The Red Stapler: The use of cheaply made, red Montgomery Ward Airline electric guitars and Silvertone amplifiers by Jack White (an attempt by Jack to make use of unconventional, limited, gritty, hard-to-manage-and-play gear as opposed to more popular and comfortable models) led to an interest in vintage lo-fi music equipment (and a reinterest in Garage Rock in general).
• Promoted Fanboy: Jack White producing Loretta Lynn's album Van Lear Rose. He also wrote one song and performed on most of the rest.
• What Could Have Been
  • While working on the "brickfilm" video for "Fell In Love With A Girl," Jack White tried to partner with LEGO to create a "LEGO White Stripes" set, but the company was not interested in marketing anything to adults. Of course, once it got popular, LEGO contacted him again to reopen negotiations, but Jack turned them down.
  • They were busy recording a seventh album before their split.
  • Jack originally wanted to save the riff for "Seven Nation Army" for a potential James Bond theme if he ever got the chance to write one. He eventually did, but the riff arguably went to better use before he could use it for that.

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