An Ode to Jack White by Spencer Blohm

I was recently approached by entertainment blogger Spencer Blohm, who asked to write a guest post in honor of Jack White's 38th birthday, which is today.  I happily obliged, and below is Spencer's guest post, with a short bio at the end.  Enjoy.

Detroit native Jack White is best known as the frontman of The White Stripes, but these days White is also a record producer, occasional actor, singer-songwriter, and a musician in multiple other bands. In addition to his work with The White Stripes, White is well known for working with The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. White formed The White Stripes in 1997 with his then-wife Meg White under the original name The Red and White Stripes. Sadly, on February 2, 2011 The White Stripes disbanded, but that hasn’t slowed White down.

White started producing with the The White Stripes’ self-titled debut album in 1999. Since then White has had the opportunity to collaborate and work with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys, Electric Six, and Insane Clown Posse. In 2004, White produced and performed on Loretta Lynn’s award winning album, Van Lear Rose. At the time Lynn was 72 and White was 28. The blending of the two vastly different musicians proved to be a success when the album won best country album at the 2005 Grammys. The song “Portland, Oregon”, a duet between Lynn and White also won a Grammy for best country collaboration with vocals.

White founded Third Man Records in 2001 in Detroit, Michigan. Eight years later the first physical location was established in Nashville, Tennessee as a combination record store, performance venue, and a headquarters for the label. On March 9, 2011, Third Man Records announced its newest addition, the Third Man Rolling Record Store. The rolling record store is a yellow step van outfitted with a sound system and Third Man Records inventory. It made its first appearance in Austin, Texas at SXSW 2011 and since then has been at concerts, festivals, and other events.

The 38 year old White has had a hugely successful music career spanning almost two decades now. The White Stripes won a total of 6 Grammys and White’s solo career is also off to a good start with his album Blunderbuss, which picked up two Grammy nominations for album of the year and best rock album of the year in 2013. Although now White is a well known and respected musician, things could have turned out very differently. White was raised in a large, middle-class, Catholic family and at one point he considered going to a seminary in Wisconsin. White ultimately decided against it, and the music industry and his millions of fans thank him for that decision!

Author Bio: Spencer Blohm is an entertainment blogger for DTV. A longtime fan of rock music, he has followed Jack’s career since the beginning. He currently lives in Chicago with his cat who doesn’t seem to share the same love of rock music as his owner.