{"id":50932,"date":"2025-11-05T15:11:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/05\/why-meg-white-belongs-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:11:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:11:32","slug":"why-meg-white-belongs-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/05\/why-meg-white-belongs-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Meg White Belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThere\u2019s a scene in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/tv-movie-features\/school-of-rock-anniversary-oral-history-jack-black-1234822127\/\"><em>School of Rock<\/em><\/a> where drummer Freddy Jones asks Katie, the bassist, to name two great \u201cchick drummers.\u201d Katie (played by Rivkah Reyes) quickly replies, \u201cSheila E? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/meg-white\/\" id=\"auto-tag_meg-white\" data-tag=\"meg-white\">Meg White<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/the-white-stripes\/\" id=\"auto-tag_the-white-stripes\" data-tag=\"the-white-stripes\">the White Stripes<\/a>?\u201d Jones (played by the late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/tv-movies\/tv-movie-news\/school-of-rock-drummer-kevin-clark-dead-1175055\/\">Kevin Clark<\/a>), looks aghast. \u201cShe can\u2019t drum!\u201d he tells her. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cShe\u2019s a better drummer than you!\u201d Katie quips in response. \u201cAt least she has<em> rhythm<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>School of Rock<\/em> was released in October 2003, six months after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/white-stripes\/\" id=\"auto-tag_white-stripes\" data-tag=\"white-stripes\">White Stripes<\/a> released <em>Elephant<\/em>, the explosive garage-rock masterpiece that won Jack and Meg White several Grammys and turned the peppermint-candy-themed duo into household names. Those households loved to discuss the band\u2019s quirkiness (\u201cWhy are they always in those matching outfits?\u201d) and their mystery (\u201cAre they siblings or ex-spouses?\u201d It was the latter).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The White Stripes - The Hardest Button To Button (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K4dx42YzQCE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBut many, if not most, of those conversations back then resembled Freddy and Katie\u2019s, arguing over Meg and whether or not she deserved to be there. This week, that debate will hopefully be laid to rest, when the White Stripes are inducted into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/outkast-white-stripes-cyndi-lauper-soundgarden-hall-of-fame-1235325022\/\">Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame<\/a> \u2014 and Meg will finally get her due.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe White Stripes broke up almost 15 years ago, but discussions of Meg\u2019s drumming are still taking place. Just two years ago, a viral tweet calling the drummer \u201cterrible\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/jack-white-meg-white-drumming-controversy-1234697679\/\">sparked outrage<\/a> online, with everyone from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/jack-white\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jack-white\" data-tag=\"jack-white\">Jack White<\/a> himself to Questlove coming to her defense. (Jack\u2019s other ex-wife, musician and model Karen Elson, said it best: \u201cKeep my ex husband\u2019s ex wife\u2019s name out of your f-cking mouth.\u201d)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tBut you\u2019ll never find Meg, one of the most famously private and reclusive musicians in rock, speaking about any of this herself. Even during the White Stripes\u2019 run from 1997 to 2011, she rarely gave interviews, usually nodding along and smiling while Jack did the talking. In 2007, the White Stripes released their final album,<em> Icky Thump<\/em>, and cancelled their tour for the album due to \u201chealth issues.\u201d In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/white-stripes-cancel-fall-tour-citing-meg-whites-acute-anxiety-116373\/\">letter to fans<\/a>, they explained that Meg was \u201csuffering from acute anxiety and is unable to travel at this time.\u201d At the time, this explanation raised eyebrows; it\u2019s now a common reason to postpone or cancel tours, with artists like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/universal-music-group-music-health-alliance-mental-health-fund-1235266155\/\">Chappell Roan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/shawn-mendes-cancels-wonder-world-tour-mental-health-1388776\/\">Shawn Mendes<\/a> prioritizing their mental health, another way that Meg was ahead of her time.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tMeg\u2019s mystery only grew after the White Stripes officially called it quits, and she retreated from the public eye and became every music journalist\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elle.com\/culture\/music\/a43846386\/meg-white-interview-2023\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">white whale<\/a> interview, alongside artists like the Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 D\u2019arcy Wretzky and Rage Against the Machine\u2019s Zack de la Rocha. In 2014, Jack <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/jack-white-white-stripes-2014-cover-story-95341\/\">admitted to us<\/a> that he was barely in touch with her. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone talks to Meg,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s always been a hermit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tMeg\u2019s 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 (see the recent TikTok drama with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/sombr-tiktok-drama-25-year-old-fan-explained.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Sombr<\/a>). She knows the power of not speaking. \u201cMeg always says, \u2018The more you talk, the less people listen,\u2019\u201d Jack told <em>Rolling Stone\u2019<\/em>s David Fricke in the band\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/the-mysterious-case-of-the-white-stripes-75345\/\">2005 cover story.<\/a> \u201cShe\u2019s right. She doesn\u2019t open her mouth very much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tMeg did, however, talk about her approach to her instrument in 2002, when she gave a rare interview to <em>Modern Drummer<\/em>. \u201cI get [criticism] sometimes, and I go through periods where it really bothers me,\u201d she said. \u201cBut then I think about it, and I realize that this is what is really needed for this band. And I just try to have as much fun with it as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat fun is felt all over the White Stripes\u2019 six albums, with Meg\u2019s raw, deceptively simple technique serving as the linchpin of the band. Her brilliance shines on songs like \u201cLittle Room\u201d (<em>White Blood Cells<\/em>), \u201cThe Hardest Button to Button\u201d (<em>Elephant<\/em>), and \u201cMy Doorbell\u201d (<em>Get Behind Me Satan<\/em>), and that\u2019s just when she\u2019s drumming. She provides backing vocals on several songs, too, like on<em> Icky Thump<\/em>\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m Slowly Turning Into You\u201d and <em>White Blood Cells<\/em>\u2019 \u201cThis Protector.\u201d But her singing highlight will always be \u201cIn the Cold Cold Night,\u201d her deliciously haunting moment from <em>Elephant<\/em>. It\u2019s a sparse cut, with little else besides Jack\u2019s guitar and Meg\u2019s voice, begging for a lover to return. It\u2019s the magic of the White Stripes bottled into one track: profound beauty in the minimalism, and Meg White.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The White Stripes - In The Cold, Cold Night (Under Great Northern Lights)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nU3aO3AcMoc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tMeg is only the third female drummer to be inducted into the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame, after the Velvet Underground\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/maureen-tucker-velvet-underground-documentary-interview-1239960\/\">Maureen Tucker<\/a> in 1996 and the Go-Gos\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/go-gos-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-interview-1168381\/\">Gina Schock<\/a> in 2021. She is most likely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/meg-white-rock-hall-of-fame-1235325234\/\">not attending<\/a> the ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, but thankfully Jack will be there to stand up for her, as he always has been.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI never thought, \u2018God, I wish Neil Peart was in this band,\u2019\u201d he told us in 2005, referencing Rush\u2019s famously virtuosic drummer. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of funny: When people critique hip-hop, they\u2019re scared to open up, for fear of being called racist. But they\u2019re not scared to open up on female musicians, out of pure sexism \u2026 Meg is the best part of this band. It never would have worked with anybody else, because it would have been too complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/meg-white-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-1235456975\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a scene in School of Rock where drummer Freddy Jones asks Katie, the bassist, to name two great \u201cchick drummers.\u201d Katie (played by&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":50933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}