Jack White: Chasing Legend

Jack White has got something and he's got it bad. Just what it is that he's got has been hotly debated over the last five years.There are as many detractors as there are champions of Jack White.

This however is certain: when the greatest rock guitarists of all time look at you and nod, call you by name and sit down with you to play you know you have a Hell Hound on your trail. Or perhaps it is White who has been chasing the Hound.

Jack White, born John Anthony Gillis. Also known as Jack White III and sometimes affectionately referred to as the "Seventh Son" is indeed the seventh and last son of seven boys and three girls, born July 9 1975 in Detroit, Michigan to Teresa and Gorman Gillis. Whatever name with which White may be called, none of them has yet to wield the key to the locks on this enigmatic yet creatively magnanimous artist.

White is not only most times a mystery in both his direction and motive, he is a chameleon the likes of Dylan both physically and musically. We have watched over the last thirteen years his perpetual metamorphosis.

From that Indie Boy Blue (or red in White's case) creatively crafting an Indie cult dream full of peppermints and ice cream under a red, white and black motif; spawning thousands of "Candy Cane Children", to a critically acclaimed musical artist whose name seems to fall easily and frequently from the lips of some of the world's greatest musicians.

Jack White would more than likely cringe and spit at such a vacuous, oversimplified definition of his early history and his "from the get go" vision and rightly so. There was always that thing lurking seductively underneath it all. Sneaking around like a big cat waiting for it's moment to pounce; right from his and Meg White's 1999 debut studio album self titled The White Stripes.

If you spent your time with your eyes closed (or open), put the visual that is The White Stripes in perspective, you would have caught the whiff of the leashed beast from the beginning, pacing right outside the room.

White is a creative powerhouse. A musical work horse. Musician, Song Writer, Producer, Father, sometime Actor. His collaborations and projects are dizzying. To name but a few of these collaborations: Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page, Loretta Lynn, Beck, John Peel, Mark Ronson, Dexter Romweber, Adele, Alicia Keys.

He is the creator of The White Stripes,The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. Jack White also launched his own label and studio/record store Third Man Records in Nashville. He has yet even more creative morsels awaiting his attention. One wonders, what might happen if we could bottle just one ounce of infusion from his Muse?

Why Jack White? Just who the hell does he think he is anyway? More interestingly, those who dislike his eccentricities, his drummer, his weapons of choice, his style, sound, hair, stark white face or his infamous lust for red headed women; what do they think?

It could hardly matter to Jack White who doesn't seem to breathe much in between chord changes, riotous riffs or his millionth creative project, to take notice of any detraction to his vision.

He's busy chasing Jack White. Chasing the Muse, the sound, the possible future legend. I try to picture that once little altar boy, big eyed and dreamy; sometimes it really works.
Sometimes I wonder if he didn't just make his own little deal at the Crossroads.

Like musicians before him, Jack White has been influenced by the Blues greats: Son House, Blind Willie McTell, Willie Brown, Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson. The Blues birthed Rock and Roll, all modern musicians will be influenced by our Blues roots history.

Jack White happens to be one of those who are directly influenced and directly incorporates that influence into his sound. His other influences include Dylan, The Sonics, Loretta Lynn, The Gories, Captain Beefheart, the Stones, just to drop a mild few. White doesn't publicly worship Zeppelin's Page, but we know how he feels and you can hear Page in White, virtually rattling around ghostlike.

Not bad for an ordinary Roman Catholic boy, raised and no doubt spoiled rotten in Detroit. But ordinary he obviously was not, and there are always humble beginnings written in the blueprints of the stars.

Detroit has spawned it's rubies and emeralds not the least of which: Alice Cooper, MC5, Aretha Franklin, The Stooges, Marvin Gaye, Bob Segar, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Paybacks, and let's not forget John Lee Hooker who migrated northward to settle in Detroit. And now Jack White.

Anyone who admires White doesn't need any more schooling on his preferred instruments or which instruments and equipment he uses for different sounds, or for certain tracks. But I have provided a resource for those just discovering White at the close.

Yes, Jack White indeed has been set apart from most all of his contemporaries.

Jack White's songwriting has grown progressively interesting over the years. Yes, the groaning over this issue has been heard in stereo. Some may find his earlier lyric writing listless, too "sweetheart"; think Apple Blossom or I Want To Be The Boy. Some just find all of it too simple. But the thing about simple; it tells it like it is.

Some of the greatest lyrics ever written came from a very un-simple Bob Dylan. These seemingly simple lyrics have also come from our Roots: the Blues of the Mississippi Delta. Country music, also said to be simply written has filled a deep vault with a catalog that can attest to the force of simplicity.

That said, I personally find White's lyrics refreshing, at times frankly amusing and at once seductive. Hardly unimaginative. His lyrics are full of storytelling both personal and common among us. There is something indeed to notice in there.

I enjoy foremost his underestimated funky moods, true blues roots, and the pinch of surrealism White can sprinkle in; think Instinct Blues, 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues, Ball and Biscuit or Icky Thump.

But it's not really Jack White's songwriting skill that has been slowly but surely working it's way into the future pages of rock history. It is his Technicolor Dreamcoat.

That sound. Those achingly nimble fingers demanding six strings to bend, scream, and climb all over themselves toward the golden hen at the top of that beanstalk. And after three or four seconds of listening, Jack White is distinguishable.

You know his distortion, his feedback, his feel. That in part, is what all great guitarists have in common: distinctive sound. There are thousands of great guitar players, but the fact remains only a handful have the force of their own sound. That Dreamstuff.

Enough has been written regarding White's opinions of the music scene and musicians of Detroit. Enough shiftiness has been scooted around in the press and it has gone so far as to accuse White of hatred and shame for Detroit. I will not further add to that tired nonsense.

However, I found the poem Jack White penned for Detroit rather nostalgic. One may read the poem here: Courageous Dream's Concern. Perhaps it should be taken at face value, allowing those in the heat of that controversy to let the matter finally rest in peace.

It apparently is not only heartfelt, but sent with an olive branch attached. When the dust settles, it seems possible that White's pride in his Detroit roots will be evident. His relocation to Nashville seems a personal choice, not one driven by a hatred or lack of connection.

In May of 2008, Jack White was named one of the greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone. Slipped into slot seventeen, he sits between Johnny Ramone and John Frusciante. Not bad White, hot damn.

For some, it rubs wrong. Who isn't on that list that should be? Who is, that shouldn't? I've disagreed with Rolling Stone over the years like everyone else, but I think they did a near perfect job this time with their lineup. It doesn't much matter who precedes you or follows you on that list, when you make it there you're not going anywhere. After a time, someone may usurp you, but that can prove to be quite long time.

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash made the nomination for Jack White and had this to say:

"Jack White is an old-school guitar player with great feel, and feel is ninety percent of the battle. Rock and roll basically comes from one place: the blues. And you have to have a little bit of soul to get a good handle on it. There are fewer and fewer guys that have that going for them."

U2 has publicly stated that their new album No Line on the Horizon has been inspired by Jack White. The Edge told Rolling Stone that spending time with White Stripes Jack White, and Zeppelin's Page, for their recent documentary It Might Get Loud, "influenced his style" and that he was "blown away by White's talent."

Enough has been documented to date which can be easily researched further by the reader, on what Jimmy Page himself has to say about Jack White. If you only ever had just that one endorsement... well, It's easy to imagine Jimmy at the gate: "Jackie boy, welcome to the Kingdom."

Jack White's love and care for his guitar craft, his knowledge of it's history and his knowledge of music history as a whole is widely known. It is known by those who both care for and dislike White.

Of course those ever faithful ones, those who have graduated from Candy Cane Children to Jack White Aficionados knew it all along.

Each of us feels our own affinities. We quickly dismiss whom we don't believe has got what it takes to make the "list", the "grade", who doesn't have enough talent to be called one of the "greats". Whoever is the subject of our affections or obsessions we still should know it is a musician's peers who give that crucial feedback.

Your peers are the ones who either include or disregard you. And the great ones who came before you, they are the ones who will either nod, or walk silently by. It looks like Jack White's peers see more than the average music listener (whether his peers personally dig him or would rather him disappear).

Likewise, the Guitar and Rock Gods we so covet in our musical history, those we look to for the standard? Well, they see something in White, or rather, hear it. They have begun a steady head bob in a definite direction. We can talk White up, or talk him down. Be a part of who helps usher him in, or those who rail against him.

Jack White's career has only just truly begun. It's going to be an even better ride than it has been to date. No doubt we will be listening and learning Jack White all over again for many years to come.

Regardless of what music fans or critics feel or don't, the pool needs to be replenished. There are legacies to carry on. There are expanding shoe sizes that will subsequently have to be filled in future generations. So much music yet to create.
And it seems that our "Gods" have already spoken.