Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American musician who was the drummer and occasional vocalist of the rock duo the White Stripes. She was a key artist of the 2000s indie and garage rock movements, noted for her minimalist drumming style and reserved public persona. The White Stripes split up in 2011 after which she ceased performing. Her last media appearance was in 2009, and she has not been active in the music industry since.
Born and raised in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, White met Jack Gillis in the early 1990s and the two married in 1996, with Jack taking her surname. She began playing the drums in 1997 and formed the White Stripes with Jack that year. They divorced in 2000 but continued performing at her insistence, presenting themselves to the music press as siblings. Their 2001 breakthrough album, White Blood Cells, brought them international fame. This, along with the band's next three albums, established White as a key artist of the decade's rock revival. White had a short acting and modelling career, appearing in the 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes and a 2006 episode of The Simpsons. She was married to Jackson Smith from 2009 to 2013.
White's drumming initially polarized critics but has since become highly regarded and continually discussed. She has maintained an elusive media image and has given few interviews, which she puts down to shyness and a reclusive nature. With the White Stripes, she won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. Publications such as NME and Rolling Stone rank her among the greatest drummers in history.
Early life
Megan Martha White was born in the upper middle-class suburb Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on December 10, 1974, to Catherine and Walter Hackett White Jr.[1][2] The family was not religious and she described growing up as "pretty normal".[3][4] White attended Grosse Pointe North High School.[5] She has admitted that at that age she was "super-shy" and lacked direction.[2]
After graduating, she took on bar-tending jobs while attending a culinary school to pursue a career as a chef.[6] She worked at a restaurant in downtown Royal Oak where she met the musician Jack White, then known as Jack Gillis, and a fellow high school senior from Mexicantown in Detroit.[6] They formed a relationship and married in September 1996, with Jack taking her last name.[7]
Career
Formation of the White Stripes (1997–2000)
In 1997, White began learning to play the drums using Jack's drum kit.[6][8] Jack recalled that playing with White was "liberating and refreshing", opening up "something" within him.[9] The two then formed the White Stripes, where they stuck to certain motifs: They presented themselves as siblings to an unknowing public,[10] and kept to a monochromatic theme, dressing only in red, white, and black.[11][12] They played their first gig at the Gold Dollar in Detroit,[13] and achieved popularity in Michigan's undergroundgarage rock scene, opening for and playing with established local bands such as Bantam Rooster and the Dirtbombs, among others.[6] In 1998, they were approached by Dave Buick of the Detroit-based independent record labelItaly Records, who offered to pay for their debut single. "Let's Shake Hands" was then released in February 1998.[14][15]
White at Club Shinjuku Jam, Tokyo, in 2000
In 1999, the band signed with the California-based label Sympathy for the Record Industry, and released their self-titled debut album.[16]AllMusic said that White's drumming "balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare".[17] Following their divorce in 2000,[18] White insisted that they keep the band going.[19] Their second album, De Stijl, was released that same year. Rolling Stone's Jenny Eliscu praised White's drumming, saying it "proves that you don't need bombast to make a blues explosion".[20] It became a sleeper hit, after the White Stripes gained popularity in 2002.[21] White also played drums for Soledad Brothers on their self-titled debut album (2000).[4]
Mainstream breakthrough and solo career (2001–2006)
The White Stripes rose to widespread recognition in 2001 with the release of their album White Blood Cells. Meg shared vocals with Jack on the tracks "Hotel Yorba" and "This Protector", and also on the Loretta Lynn cover "Rated X", featured as the B-side to "Hotel Yorba".[22] It was their last album to be released with the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. White Blood Cells was given a major label re-release with V2 Records in 2002, which brought them to the forefront of the garage rock revival and made them one of the most acclaimed bands of the year.[23] Chris Deville of Stereogum praised White for bashing "the bejesus out of her drums" and called the pair "too compelling for the rest of the world to ignore".[24] The album included the groundbreaking single "Fell in Love with a Girl", which won them three awards at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.[25] Also in 2002, the band performed at the MTV Movie Awards and on Saturday Night Live.[26][27]
The band's fourth studio album, Elephant, was released in 2003 through V2 Records and XL Recordings. It was critically acclaimed at the time, and has been retrospectively described by Heather Phares of AllMusic as their strongest work.[16][28] Their continued success helped establish Meg and Jack as key figures of 2000s rock, and Elephant, along with White Blood Cells, were included on numerous editions of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.[29][30] Phares described White's drumming on Elephant as "hypnotic" and "explosively minimal", and Bram Teltelman of Billboard characterized it as "simple but effective".[28][31]Elephant's first single, "Seven Nation Army", became the band's signature song and a sports anthem.[16] The album's third single, "The Hardest Button to Button", features what journalist Alexis Petridis considered to be some of Meg's best drumming.[32] Additionally, the track "In the Cold, Cold Night" features Meg singing lead for the first time.[33] Tom Breihan of Stereogum described her voice as "magnetic",[34] and Andrew Katchen with Billboard wrote that she sounded "delicate and sweet".[35]The Guardian deemed the songs "In the Cold, Cold Night" and "Seven Nation Army" to be among the greatest songs made by the band.[32] The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and "Seven Nation Army" won the Grammy for Best Rock Song.[36] That same year, she appeared on the song "I'm So Glad" for Soledad Brothers.[4]
White made her film debut appearing with Jack in Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes.[37][38] They star as fictionalized versions of themselves in the segment "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil", which expands on Nikola Tesla and White Stripes motifs such as childhood innocence.[39] She described her acting debut as "easier than I thought it was gonna be," and said she became "more confident than I used to be, but not much."[40] Jarmusch believed that "she could have been a huge silent-movie star, just from her face."[37] That same year, White began appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien as a recurring performer.[41] In 2004, she starred in the band's first music film Under Blackpool Lights, which was shot entirely on super 8 film.[42] Jamie Russell of BBC described her performance as "orgasmically pounding the drums" and "exhilarating".[43] White appears on the cover of Whirlwind Heat's single "Pink" (2004) wearing a bunny costume; the photo was taken while the White Stripes and Whirlwind Heat toured together in Japan.[44] Also in 2004, White appeared in an episode of Pancake Mountain and played Little Red Riding Hood in the music video for "Cha Cha Twist" by the Detroit Cobras.[45][46]
The band experimented with their sound on their fifth album, 2005's Get Behind Me Satan with White using percussion bells, maracas, and tambourines. The album was critically acclaimed and won the band their second Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.[47] White performed lead vocals on "Passive Manipulation", for which Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described her vocals as "chilling" while Matthew Murphy of Pitchfork thought that the song "begs the gentle suggestion that Meg not be allowed to sing lead".[48][49] She appears in the documentary The Fearless Freaks (2005), which chronicles the rock band the Flaming Lips.[50] She also performed with the White Stripes in the 2005 pilot episode of From the Basement.[51]
White modeled for Marc Jacobs' 2006 Spring line and the March 2006 issue of ELLE.[52] She was chosen to compose a drum theme for the film Let's Go to Prison (2006) by director Bob Odenkirk; however, it was removed.[53][54] The White Stripes guest starred on The Simpsons in an episode titled "Jazzy and the Pussycats", which first aired on September 17, 2006.[55] White had previously expressed interest in a Simpsons role, saying: "A guest appearance would be amazing. I wouldn't want to be in a Lisa episode. They're kind of boring. Maybe a Homer one would be better."[56]
The White Stripes released their sixth and final album, Icky Thump, in 2007. Winning the Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Song,[57][58] the album was praised as the band returned to styles present on the band's first two albums.[59] In addition to drumming, White played a 1959 Univox synth, spoke on the bagpipe-heavy track "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" and provided backing vocals across the album.[60] She was greatly praised by Alexis Petridis for her drumming while "St. Andrew" was ambivalently received by critics.[61]NME dubbed her spoken performance "frantic" and "the weirdest thing" the band ever recorded,[62] and Spin's Brian Raftery called it "a waste of hard-drive space."[63]
In the summer of 2007, before a show in Southaven, Mississippi, Ben Blackwell (Jack's nephew and the group's archivist) recalls that Meg approached him and said: "This is the last White Stripes show". He asked if she meant of the tour, but she responded: "No. I think this is the last show, period."[64] On September 11, 2007, the White Stripes announced via their website that they were canceling 18 tour dates due to White's acute anxiety.[65][66] The following day, the duo canceled the remainder of their 2007 UK tour dates as well.[67] Jack worked with other artists in the meantime, but Meg remained largely out of the public eye, though she participated in releasing limited-edition Holga cameras stylized around the White Stripes in February 2008,[68] and appeared briefly onstage during an encore set of a Detroit show with one of Jack's bands, the Raconteurs, in June 2008.[69] In an interview with Music Radar, Jack explained that Meg's acute anxiety had been due to the combination of a very short pre-tour rehearsal time—that was further reduced by the birth of his son—and a hectic, multi-continental touring schedule. He explained: "I just came from a Raconteurs tour and went right into that, so I was already full-speed. Meg had come from a dead-halt for a year and went right back into that madness."[70]
On February 20, 2009—and on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien—the band performed the song "We're Going to Be Friends".[71] In May 2009, Jack revealed the band's plan to release a seventh album, which never came to fruition.[72] A documentary about their Canadian tour—titled The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights—premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 2009.[73] Directed by Emmett Malloy, the film documents the band's summer 2007 tour across Canada and contains live concert and off-stage footage.[74] Bill Bradley for Vanity Fair opined that it was "impossible" not to see her as "road-weary and worn-out" at the end of the film.[75] Meg appeared with Jack in the 2009 documentaries It Might Get Loud, which explores the careers of Jack, Jimmy Page and the Edge,[76] and It Came From Detroit, which explores the 2000s Detroit rock scene.[77]
On February 2, 2011, the band reported on their official website that they were disbanding. Their statement said it was not due to health issues or artistic differences, but "mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band".[78] White has not been active in the music industry since.[79]
Artistry
Equipment
White performed with a signature peppermint-themed kit (left), and adapted it for specific album eras such as Icky Thump (right). She used Ludwig drums and Paiste cymbals.
Throughout her time with the White Stripes, White extensively used the Ludwig Classic Maple kit with Paiste cymbals.[80][81] From their early years to Get Behind Me Satan, the heads of the toms and bass drum almost exclusively featured peppermint swirls.[82][83] The idea came from Jack, when they noticed a bag of peppermint candy in a drugstore and Jack said "That should be painted on your bass drum because you've been drumming like a little kid".[84] Her love of the candy inspired many of the White Stripes' artistic schemes, becoming signature in her kit and appearing in several live shows and music videos.[81]
While recording From the Basement: The White Stripes, the image on the bass drum was switched to an image of her hand holding the apple from the Get Behind Me Satan cover. From 2006 White used a pair of Paiste 14" Signature Medium Hi-Hats, a 19" Signature Power Crash, and a 22" 2002 Ride.[82] The bass drum head design was switched during the Icky Thump tour to a button inspired by the Pearlies clothing the band wore for the album cover.[85] She also used Remo and Ludwig drumheads, and Vater drumsticks.[86]
Influences
"I don't want to know about my biggest idols. I don't want to read their autobiographies, I don't want to find out what they're really like."
White's pre-show warm up included "whiskey and Red Bull."[82] She has described her "primal" approach to drumming as "[my] strength. A lot of drummers would feel weird about being that simplistic."[12] She said she respects other techniques but that her style was best for the White Stripes. When some criticisms "really bother[s] her", she said that she reminds herself that her technique is important for the band and tries to take enjoyment from her work.[82] Jack lauded her style as the band's best element.[9] Meg did not write lyrics, but she co-wrote the band's music.[91]
White's drum beats and technique have been analyzed by many critics and musicians. In "Seven Nation Army", White plays a driving quarter note groove meant to mimic a heartbeat and punctuate the guitar. The intro makes extensive use of the bass drum, hi-hat, and floor tom. The snare drum is introduced before the chorus and carries into the chorus itself with a crash cymbal.[83] In "Fell in Love With a Girl", White plays a "hyper, stuttering rock beat" with a skipped snare drum and prominent crash cymbals.[92]
As a singer, White usually performed backing vocals but occasionally enjoyed singing lead for the White Stripes.[19] However, she preferred not to listen to her own voice and was confused by the audience's cheers when she sang live.[40] White performed lead on the following songs: "In the Cold, Cold Night" (2003), "Who's a Big Baby?" (2005), "Passive Manipulation" (2005), and "St. Andrew (This Battle is in the Air)" (2007). She shared lead with Jack on "It's True That We Love One Another" (2003), "Little Ghost" (2005), "Rag and Bone" (2007) and "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" (2007).[93]
Public image
Early reviews of White's minimalistic approach to drumming were positive.[19] Dan Kilian and Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork said in 2001 that "Meg White's kit is bashed with such force you'd imagine her as some kind of incredible hulk[sic], though in photos, she appears the prototypical indie girl—waifish, with pigtails and a nasty smirk. Yet she whips all of her 98 pounds into a tornadic fury like E. Honda's hundred-hand slap."[94] In 2002, The Washington Post described White's drumming as "a surprisingly full sound, loud and raucous—like the Carpenters on steroids".[84] Of a 2002 concert in Cleveland, Ohio, Chuck Klosterman said: "[Meg] never grimaced and didn't appear to sweat; yet somehow her drums sounded like a herd of Clydesdales falling out of the sky, one after another. Clearly this is a band at the apex of its power".[95] She and Jack were also named Rolling Stone's "2002 People of the Year".[96] She appeared on NME's Cool List at sixth place in 2002 and third place in 2003.[97][98]The New York Times'sKelefa Sanneh called her drumming "more sophisticated" than people realize in 2007. "She refuses to imitate a metronome, refuses to flatten the songs by making them conform to a steady pulse. Instead she seems to hear the music the way Mr. White does: as a series of phrases, each with its own shape and tempo."[99]
White's performances were often criticized by contemporary journalists.[100] While Kilian and Schreiber at Pitchfork praised her drumming, in 2003 Brent DiCrescenzo called it "pancake-handed" and "sloppy".[101] In a review of their 2007 Madison Square Garden performance, a writer for Vulture said of her singing: "Oh, God, it was awful [...] Meg, great as she looks onstage, is pure amateur hour".[102] In March 2023, journalist Lachlan Markay wrote on Twitter: "I'm sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having shitty percussion."[103] The tweet went viral, and Jack, along with several musicians and critics, came to her defense;[104] Markay later deleted his comments and apologized.[105] In response to the negative press, Jack described her drumming as the "best part of this band" and calling her a "strong female presence in rock and roll", dismissed the negative reviews as sexist.[9]
Since then White is often praised for her "primal" style,[106] and David Renshaw of The Guardian admitted she "got a raw deal during her White Stripes days."[107] In a 2024 Euronews article, Jonny Walfisz likened White to Ringo Starr of the Beatles, calling her a "sheer genius of a drummer" who, like Starr, had a deceptively simple style which showed creativity through minimalism to best support each song.[108] Erica Banas at WRAT called her "Rock's Favorite Recluse" in 2024, quipping that "No other drummer can rattle a rearview mirror quite like Meg White".[109] Also in 2024, writers at Consequence of Sound concluded her "minimalistic style was the perfect counter to Jack's shredding, a primal dynamic that gave their tunes that definitive garage stomp. [...] Meg provided the feel."[110] In 2025, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wrote that "Meg's drumming is raw, powerful, and perfectly suited to the band's sound – embracing a primal, minimalist approach that gives the music its pulse and urgency, her pounding beats are the backbone of the band’s signature style."[111]
Legacy
White was a key figure in the 2000s indie and garage rock revivals.[112][113] She is one of the most discussed drummers in rock music, and her style continues to be evaluated after her retirement. Chris Willman of Variety magazine observed that, in the aftermath of her departure from the music industry, White "seems to have been absorbed into rock orthodoxy as a great drummer by near-acclamation" and is more recognized compared to her active years.[103]MusicRadar's Stuart Williams declared "Nothing starts an argument faster than questioning Meg White's drumming abilities."[114]The New York Times's Lindsay Zoladz titled her style "quintessentially rock 'n' roll" and said that "She excels at withholding, creating negative space and subverting expectation."[115] The School of Rock company studied female drummers of several decades and, while acknowledging White's contemporary criticism, praised her abilities and called her "iconic".[116] Brandon Toews of Drumeo wrote that her drum beats were "full of choices most drummers wouldn't make, and that's why she's such a unique player."[83] Denis Loncaric of Drum! magazine says that every drummer should know White.[117]
White's reclusive nature and strict maintenance of her privacy has also been the subject of significant commentary;[118] as of 2025, she has not made any public appearances since 2009.[119] Talia Shlanger of NPR dubbed her the "21st century's loudest introvert".[19] Zoladz championed her as a "feminist hero" and an "icon for introverts".[115]Ben Sisario, also of The New York Times, said she "has become one the great recluses of 21st-century pop".[120] Andy Greene of Rolling Stone observed White "was a reluctant star even in the early days of the White Stripes." He also believes that White likely has no interest in returning to the public eye, even for a potential White Stripes reunion, and emphasized that "Meg White doesn't owe us anything."[119] For the same publication, Angie Mortoccio believed "Meg's decision not to weigh in on ridiculous arguments about her talent only make her more awesome, especially in the age of social media, when younger artists regularly reply to criticism in sometimes ill-advised ways."[121] Her life and career have been further analyzed by multiple publications.[122][123][124]
Musicians such as Dave Grohl (left) and Tré Cool (right) have praised White's drumming style.
Several musicians have praised her technique.[104]Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and previously Nirvana stated in an interview that she is "one of my favorite fucking drummers of all time. Like, nobody fucking plays the drums like that."[125]Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine wrote in an Instagram post that White "has style and swag and personality and oomph and taste and awesomeness that's off the charts and a vibe that's untouchable".[126]Nandi Bushell has written that the White Stripes "moved me at 5 years old to want to play the drums and still move me today!"[127]Tré Cool of Green Day called Meg one of his favorite drummers.[128]Olivia Rodrigo and Margo Price have also been influenced by her.[115]
In the film School of Rock (2003), the character Freddy Jones (Kevin Clark) declares that White "can't drum!" The claim is refuted by bass player Katie (Rivkah Reyes) who says "At least she has rhythm."[129] She was portrayed by Drew Barrymore—whom White is a fan of[130]—in a 2004 Saturday Night Live skit, in which she performs "Seven Nation Army" with Jimmy Fallon.[131] On his album Gossip in the Grain (2008), Ray LaMontagne wrote and recorded a song named after White.[132] Musicians Tracey Thorn and Wanda Jackson each covered "In the Cold, Cold Night" in 2012 and 2013, respectively, as tributes.[133][134]
White's Pearl Export bass drum—complete with the original peppermint-painted bass drum that she used with the band's first show—and the Pearly Queen outfit she wore in the photos for the Icky Thump album, were featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Women Who Rock" exhibition in 2011.[135] The outfit was again featured in the class of 2025 exhibit after her induction that year.[136]
Personal life
White married Jack White in September 1996, and they divorced in February 2000.[18][137] She briefly dated musician Oliver Henry in the early 2000s, a member of Soledad Brothers, with whom she had previously collaborated.[138] In May 2009, she married guitarist Jackson Smith, the son of musicians Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith, in a small ceremony in Jack's backyard in Nashville, Tennessee. They divorced in July 2013.[139][140]
White suffers from acute anxiety and low self-esteem, describing herself as "very shy".[9][40] She told Rolling Stone in 2005 that "the more you talk, the fewer people listen".[141] She said in 2006 that she "always kind of lived in her own world" and "never really cared about all the things that other people cared about", for example public recognition.[142] She told Nylon in 2007 that for her, being recognized in public "is like if your boss came every morning and tapped you on the head to wake you up, it's like, not now."[143] Jack said in a 2025 interview with Mojo that "For her to sit down behind the drum kit is insane. But then to get on stage and sing into a microphone? Are you kidding me? It was unbelievable, a miracle, a blessing from above, just a beautiful, beautiful thing."[90]
In March 2003, one month before the release of Elephant, White broke her wrist while in New York. As a result, the band postponed their promotional work for the album. She returned to performing in April 2003.[144] In January 2009, White donated her last Ludwig kit to the Jim Shaw Rock 'N' Roll Benefit, an auction to raise money for the Detroit musician who was suffering from cancer.[81]
With the White Stripes, White sold over 5 million albums.[148] She received several accolades with the band, which includes winning one Brit Award from six nominations, winning six Grammy Awards from eleven nominations.The White Stripes were nominated in 2023 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,[149] and inducted in 2025 (the third female drummer to be honored).[150][151] Meg declined to attend the ceremony, with Jack accepting the award and delivering a speech written by the duo.[152]
White has appeared on several listicles of influential drummers.[122] She was placed 81st on VH1's "Top 100 Greatest Women in Music" (2012),[153] 94th on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time" (2016),[154] 12th on NME's "32 of the Best Drummers to Grace Rock 'n' Roll" (2018),[155] 97th on Universal Music Group's "100 Best Drummers" (2022),[156] and 88th on Consequence of Sound's "100 Best Drummers of All Time" (2024).[110]
12345Fricke, David (September 8, 2005). "White on White". Rolling Stone. No.982. pp.66–72. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
↑"Let's Go To Prison". WorstPreviews. 2006. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
↑Rude, Justin (November 12, 2006). "Untitled". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 19, 2026. Meg White even stepped in to provide soundtrack assistance, giving Shepard's character saucy personal theme music.
Blue Orchid (US maxi-CD single liner notes). The White Stripes. V2 Records, Third Man Records. 2005. 63881-27833-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
↑Powers, Ann (February 27, 2001). "Pop review; Intellectualizing the music or simply experiencing it". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2023. Meg White is his opposite on the drums, a dispassionate assailant on a stripped-down kit. [...] His (Jack's) playing was ingenious but constrained by Ms. White's deliberately undeveloped approach.
↑Luerssen, John D. (November 12, 2013). "Wanda Jackson covers the White Stripes - Song premiere". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024. Wanda Jackson's enticing and mysterious take on the White Stripes' "In the Cold, Cold Night," which premieres here, is the first single from Rockin' Legends Pay Tribute to Jack White, a new collection due on November 19th.
↑Center, Marc (June 13, 2009). "Weather Report"(PDF). Billboard. p.22. Archived(PDF) from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2020– via American Radio History.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
