Jack White On Receiving Guitar Advice From Prince
Jack White has spoken about meeting Prince in a new interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. White revealed that he met Prince during a show featuring Zoe Kravitz and Karen Elson’s musical project, Citizens Band.
White recalled: “The phrase he had said to me was like, ‘No one is going to tell you how to play your guitar, Jack.’ And he talked about the James Bond song I had just done. And he said, ‘I really like it.’”
“And I said, ‘Oh, that’s great. Because some people, it’s like making a song for Star Wars fans or something. You’re throwing yourself into the sea of… It’s a very divisive track.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I thought it was real strong.’”
White also discussed the thought-processes behind his decision to split up The White Stripes – the band he’d formed with his ex-wife, Meg White – to go solo back back with the release of 2012’s Blunderbuss, “”I had a feeling, maybe it’d be healthier for me and her and for the fans … Because I’m about to release a solo record and if I hear someone say, ‘Well why didn’t you just make a White Stripes record? I don’t want to hear that. So that was one of the reasons for the health part of it.”
It was recently confirmed that Jack White’s label, Third Man Records, has received permission from Prince’s estate to release the late singer’s unreleased album Camille. The fabled 1986 album was originally recorded under the pseudonym Camille, a feminine alter ego portrayed by Prince via pitching his vocals up.
It’s not the first time that Third Man have worked with Prince’s spectacular catalogue, in 2020 they partnered with the Prince Estate to release Sign “O” The Times – The Singles, a 7×7″ box set limited to 1,987 copies. White explained Third Man’s thinking to Mojo, “Handing things off to the next generation is probably a good idea, right?”