'''The White Stripes''' are a minimalist blunk (their unique mixture of [[rockblues]] and roll[[punk]]) duo from [[Detroit]], formed in [[1997 in music|1997]]. Billing themselves as [[brother]] and [[sister]], [[guitarist]] and [[singer]] [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]] and his ex-wife, drummer [[Meg White]], released their self-titled debut album in [[1999 in music|1999]]. (Meg is only seven months older than Jack.) They were a struggling local [[musical band|band]] in Detroit for a long time, even after touring with [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]] and [[Sleater-Kinney]]. The second release from the White Stripes, "De Stijl" ([[2000]]), was named after a minimalist [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[painting|art]] movement, which they cited as a source for the approach to their music and image. Their stripped-down, [[garage rock]] sound made them a much hyped-band in [[2002 in music|2002]], as a result of the critical raves given to the major label release of ''[[White Blood Cells (album)|White Blood Cells]]'' in [[2001]]. The White Stripes enjoyed their first significant success in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] in 2001, with the critical acclaim, especially for the band's energetic stage performances, spreading to the US in the following months. The band has no [[bass guitar|bass player]], and several musicians have produced bootlegs of bass-added tracks.
Their follow-up to ''White Blood Cells'', entitled ''[[Elephant (album)|Elephant]]'', was released on [[April 1]], [[2003 in music|2003]], again to widespread critical acclaim. On February 8, 2004 the song "Seven Nation Army" won a [[Grammy]] for best Rock Song, and the album ''Elephant'' won for best Alternative Album.
