“He’s not from here”: Jack White on the artist that had the holy spirit around him
“You don’t think Jack White is hard?” I once saw Alex Turner ask an interviewer who questioned the toughness of the legendary White Stripes frontman. In defence of the journalist, Jack White isn’t necessarily the symbol of playground robustness that undoubtedly feeds all of our preconceived notions. But the reality is he has a steely gaze that looks down at you from over six feet above, and he has the relentless ability to squeeze every inch of noise out of the guitar that nods to an ancient of chaos who will never back down.
As such, it’s hard to imagine him ever being intimidated by anyone backstage. Not only does he have the blessing of Turner calling him “hard”, but he’s a legendary musician who has earned the right to have the ground upon which he walks worshipped by onlookers.
But White is a big chapter in a much wider story of rock and roll, and the path of this modern rock legend is merely a continuation of the road the forefathers built before him. Despite his artistic fearlessness, White has never been shy about sharing his adoration for yesteryear stars. He described Iggy Pop and The Stooges’ album Funhouse as “what rock ‘n’ roll is really about”, while elsewhere he claimed Gene Vincent songs changed the course of music forever.
But one artist has always reigned supreme when it comes to carrying aura. The man who makes Jack White’s uncompromising ways appear like a warm hug is Bob Dylan. When asked about the iconic songwriter, White said, “I can’t claim to be friends with Bob [Dylan], and maybe that’s an impossibility,” before continuing to explain why his presence is elusive to even rock royalty like himself, adding, “Or maybe that is the case but it’s hard to define. He has the holy spirit around him. He’s sort of not from here, but if people would just talk about music with him, he’d be a lot more receptive because he is an encyclopedia. He knows exactly what’s happening in music at any given time.”
In fact, Dylan had his finger on the pulse so much in the mid-noughties that he used to soundcheck with White Stripes songs during his tour. When the band was breaking through the crowded indie sleaze scene with clean-cut heavy rock, Dylan took note of their music and quietly became a fan.
White revealed, “He said to me, ‘We’ve been playing one of your songs lately at sound checks.’ I thought, ‘Wow.’ I was afraid to ask which one. I didn’t even ask. It was just such an honour to hear that.”
But to White’s delight, Dylan took his admiration for his work one step further during a Detroit show for his ‘Never Ending Tour’ in 2004. During the encore, no less, Dylan abandoned die-hard fans’ hopes of stripping back to an acoustic guitar and belting out some early classics and instead reappeared with White in tow before ripping into a suitably gruff rendition of The White Stripes’ ‘Ball and Biscuit’. Take a listen below:
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