A Jack White Biography

John Anthony Gillis, also known as Jack White, was born on July 9th 1975. He came from a large family in Detroit where he was the youngest of 10 children. Jack Whites first instrument was not the guitar like most would believe, he actually took up the drums first at age 5. As a teenager, Jack was heavily influenced by old blues artists and 60's rock; Son House and Blind Willie McTell being two of his favorite blues artists. When Jack was 15 he apprenticed as an upholsterer and it lasted for 3 years. He started his own upholstering shop where he based everything around two colors, black and yellow. Jack White married Meg White in 1996 and took her last name, the two started a band and had their first show in 1997. Jack and Meg White formed The White Stripes and reached international success by 2001.

Jack White doesn't follow the crowd when it comes to guitars, he doesn't have a strat or a tele, and he doesn't have a les paul. Jack uses two 1965 Montgomery Airline guitars, both red and white in color to match The White Stripes color scheme that revolves around red, black, and white. He also plays a Gretsch White Penguin, and a 50's style K Hollowbody. White plugs his guitars into a 1970's Fender Twin Reverb and two 100 watt Sears Silvertone. White also incorporates a Digitech Wammy pedal in his setup to get a lot of the unique sounds that he is recognised for.