Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jack White pays tribute to “sister” Meg White during induction ceremony
Iggy Pop inducted The White Stripes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday in Los Angeles, where Jack White honoured their drummer, Meg White.
During his speech, White mentioned that Meg was not in attendance, but that she was “very grateful to all the folks who supported her through all the years” and “it really means a lot to her”.
He also said that Meg helped him to write his speech by checking for punctuation and corrections, and that she also wanted to share a story when they would walk around, and animals would stare at them. “Even at the Detroit Zoo, an elephant did the exact same thing one time. She just wanted me to tell you that,” he said.
White went on to thank a list of names who have influences, helped and supported them along the way, including Loretta Lynn, Fugazi, the Misfits, Jethro Tull, the Troggs, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Arthur Lee and Love, Black Flag, the Breeders, the Cramps, Merle Haggard, the Hives, Them, the Damned, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Captain Beefheart, and more.
He also advised young artists, urging them to “get your hands dirty and drop the screens and get out of your little room and get obsessed”, before concluding with a poetic tribute to Meg that she hadn’t heard or read yet.
“I was gonna send this to Meg, but I didn’t get around to it, so I thought I’d read it to you all tonight,” he began. Addressing the nature of their relationship, he continued, “One time a girl climbed a tree and in that tree was a boy — her brother, she thought — and the tree looked so glorious and beautiful, but it was just an oak tree. And these two so loved the world that they brought forth a parade float, one they built in their garage behind the oak tree with their own bare hands.”
He went on, “And the boy looked at this giant peppermint on the wheels and felt pride. Pride that it was produced in the Motor City, just like in the big factories, but it was just in their garage. He looked at the girl — his sister, he thought — and like the Little Rascals, they said, ‘Let’s put on a show.’”
He recalled how the pair went on to make songs “with their bare hands” before they saw a stranger smiling, who they didn’t know, “But it wasn’t just a stranger, it was God.”
He then ended his speech by thanking the audience, “My sister thanks you and I thank you.”
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