Starting as one half of The White Stripes then with his subsequent projects with The Dead Weather, The Saboteurs, and his solo material, Jack White has done an awful lot with his 38 years on this planet.
Not only that, but he’s more than done his part for music outside of just making his own. A major historic enthusiast, he’s single-handedly saved a historic live music venue from financial ruin and become the public face and voice of the National Recording Preservation Foundation (NRPF) while donating US$200,000 to the organisation.
Never mind the great work he does with his personal label, Third Man Records, reissuing rare historic recordings.
All which means that a tribute to the prolific musician and traditionalist is timely, even given his relatively young 38 years of age. American label Cleopatra Records agrees, which is why they’ve gathered a collection of rock and blues icons to record their very own tributes to Jack White in a new compilation album to be released this month.
Aptly titled Rockin’ Legends Pay Tribute To Jack White, the record lives up to its lofty name, with an assortment of 14 cover versions of tracks from across White’s canon, recorded by the very artists and musicians that inspired the prolific musician in the first place, as Rolling Stone reports.
There’s the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson, RnB saxophone legend (and recent Meredith visitor) Big Jay McNeely, along with a formative list of influential rock and punk figures like Gary U.S. Bonds, Sonny Burgess, Johnny Powers, Joe Clay, Rosie Flores, and Bobby Vee.
How many musicians can say that they were able to see the previous generation of artists that inspired them return the favour? And in their own lifetime?
Together the ‘Rockin’ Legends’ variously offer versions of The Saboteurs’ ‘Steady As She Goes’, White Stripes classic ‘Seven Nation Army’, solo turn ‘Blunderbuss’, and even White’s 007 duet with Alicia Keys, ‘Another Way To Die’ (as performed by Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding).
There’s already a first taste of the Jack White tribute record, in Wanda Jackson’s rendition of ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’, re-interpreting the Elephant cut with the help of Shooter Jennings (listen to the Rolling Stone stream below).
“Jack is such a talented songwriter, and a lot of his songs are done in a much different style than my own. But when I heard ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’ for the first time I knew it was a song that I wanted to record some day.” says the 76-year-old musician, who previously worked with White on her 2011 LP, The Party Ain’t Over.
“When the opportunity came around to pay tribute to Jack on this album I thought it was the perfect opportunity to lay it down in the studio,” she adds. “Shooter came in and played piano and later added all of the other instruments. I’m very pleased with how it turned out and I hope Jack approves of the job we did.”
Jackson’s younger accompaniest, American songwriter Shooter Jennings says: “working with Wanda was certainly a highlight of my career just in theory alone… I love Wanda as an artist, as a person and now, as a friend, and feel very luck to have collaborated with her on a collection honoring one of my favorite modern artists.”
Rockin’ Legends Pay Tribute To Jack White is out in the US on the 19th of November via Cleopatra Records. Listen to Wanda Jackson and Shooter Jennings’
Rockin’ Legends Pay Tribute To Jack White Tracklisting:
1. Wanda Jackson & Shooter Jennings – ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’
2. Big Jay McNeely and Nik Turner – ‘I’m Shakin’
3. Gary U.S. Bonds – ‘Salute Your Solution’
4. Sonny Burgess and the Legendary Pacers – ‘Steady As She Goes’
5. Joe Clay and Cranston Clements – ‘Trash Tongue Talker’
6. Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding – ‘Another Way to Die’
7. Knox, Walter Lure and W.S. “Fluke” Holland – ‘Seven Nation Army’
8. Johnny Powers – ‘Fly Farm Blues’
9. Bobby Vee – ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’
10. Rosie Flores – ‘Blunderbuss’
11. The Dirt Daubers – ‘Fell in Love With a Girl’
12. Rejected Youth Nation and Cyril Neville – ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)’
13. Denver Broncos UK – ‘Top Yourself’
14. Los Straitjackets – ‘Icky Thump’
