“Their music lasts”: the singer Jack White considered to be underestimated
There are no secrets when it comes to making a timeless song. Sometimes, they’re just so catchy that they sit on the tips of our tongues until the end of time. Other tracks represent a very specific moment in time, to the point that they cement themselves as a moment in history and, therefore, can never be forgotten. Jack White certainly has some experience with timeless songs.
While The White Stripes and Jack White’s subsequent projects might not be revered as highly as some of the rock bands that came before, there is no doubt that he has created a run of timeless music in his time and continues to make high-quality pieces of art. Consider a song like ‘Seven Nation Army’ an anthem for pubs, clubs and football stadiums worldwide, as infectious as it is undeniable and a track that isn’t going anywhere anytime quickly.
What’s interesting is that, generally speaking, lyrics and singalong choruses tend to make a song timeless, as they become something that people enjoy singing to in large groups. The experience is lifted by the makeshift choir that takes hold in venues big and small, but ‘Seven Nation Army’ doesn’t do that. It’s the riff that makes the song timeless more than the lyrics, which most people don’t actually know.
While Jack White isn’t afraid to pen lyrics and has a lot of songs buried in metaphor where he runs wild with words, he also acknowledges that they don’t need to be a pivotal part of every song. He once said that his favourite blues song of all time was ‘Dark Was the Night’ by Blind Willie Johnson, which is a complicated guitar track that doesn’t contain any actual lyrics, just humming.
“It contains no actual lyrics; it’s just playing slide guitar and basically moaning,” he said. “I can’t believe the record label at the time really allowed this record to be released. It starts beautiful, then sort of turns evil sounding, without using any words, and that’s very, very powerful and very, very hard to do.”
That isn’t to say that Jack White can’t connect with singers who rely heavily on their lyrics and the singalong aspect of songs. He enjoys a lot of artists who are renowned vocalists and goes as far to call a lot of them timeless. One of these vocalists is Dolly Parton, who he believes is an underestimated artist.
“I think Dolly Parton […] is one of those artists who has tended to be under-estimated,” he said. “Sometimes it takes the passage of time to appreciate their greatness, but in the end, they win because their music lasts.”
White has a point. Parton is one of the most successful recording artists out there, there is no doubt about that, but she often slips under the radar when people talk about their inspirations or what music they think stands out as the undeniable best. The truth is that Dolly Parton has a unique sound and is responsible for songs that live in the hearts of generations of listeners. Timeless is the only way to describe a singer like that.
