The Dead Weather
Encyclopedia
The Dead Weather is an American
alternative rock
supergroup
, formed in Nashville
, Tennessee
in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart
(of The Kills
and Discount
), Jack White
(of The White Stripes
and The Raconteurs
), Dean Fertita
(of Queens of the Stone Age
) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes
), The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records
' Nashville headquarters on March 11, 2009. The band performed live for the first time at the event, immediately before releasing their debut single "Hang You from the Heavens
."
The band's second studio album, Sea of Cowards
, was released first in Ireland on May 7, 2010, then on May 10 and 11 in the United Kingdom
and the United States, respectively. The first single off the album, "Die by the Drop
", was released March 30.
were performing in Memphis, Tennessee
, Jack White lost his voice and the band asked Alison Mosshart of The Kills (who were warming up) to fill in on some songs. She sang lead vocals on "Steady as She Goes" and "Salute Your Solution." White later asked her if she would record a song with him and Jack Lawrence. They met Dean Fertita at the studio and they ended up performing more than one song that night.
Ultimately they decided to form a band with Mosshart as their lead singer, Lawrence on bass, Fertita on guitar and keyboard and White on drums. White claims he wanted to play the drums in the band, having rediscovered drumming after playing on a kit on "Another Way to Die
" with Alicia Keys
. He had played drums as a child, and for Goober & the Peas before forming the White Stripes. White said he felt that playing lead guitar in another band would be too repetitive and saw it as an opportunity to do something different.
In January 2009, Mosshart, Fertita, Lawrence and White got together for an impromptu jam at White's Third Man
studio. The session was followed by two and a half weeks of song writing and recording, during which The Dead Weather formed. "Things just started to happen," said White. "We didn't have a direction. We just went a song a day, two songs a day, whatever we could do and recorded them on the fly... There was no time to think about what it was. It just was."
The Dead Weather's debut album, Horehound, was released on July 14, 2009 in North America
, and July 13 in Europe
. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Charts at #6 and the UK Album Charts at #14. Three tracks from Horehound ("No Hassle Night," "Hang You from the Heavens
" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother
") were made available as downloadable content
for the Rock Band video game series on the same day as the North American release.
Jack White co-directed a short documentary about The Dead Weather called "Full Flash Blank." It contains exclusive interviews of the band members and performances of "60 Feet Tall," "I Cut Like A Buffalo" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother." "Full Flash Blank" aired on Channel 4
straight after the showing of "Later . . . With Jools Holland" which featured The Dead Weather performing their first three singles.
White later announced that the first single from the new album would be called "Die By The Drop," for which he would sing lead vocals. He commented that it was "bluesier and heavier than we ever thought we could be."
Sea of Cowards was first released on May 7, 2010 in Ireland, and then released on May 10 and May 11 in the US and the UK respectively. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200
, and was placed at number eleven on Rolling Stones thirty greatest albums of 2010 list.
The song "Rolling in on a Burning Tire" is featured on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie soundtrack
.
The members of The Dead Weather have currently gone back to their other projects; however, Lawrence predicts that by the end of 2011, the band "will either be recording or doing some more shows. I don't think we can stop; even if someone was too busy, nothing seems like it's going to be getting in the way of this," he says. "Our other bands are still alive, obviously, but this one is right up there. It doesn't feel like a side project or anything to us. It feels like a real band. And I think it's just getting better the more we get to play."
and have made several tributes to him in a few songs, similarly to how they covered Beefheart songs in their previous bands. The Dead Weather usually open their acts with an intro of "Sure Nuff 'N' Yes I Do". On the track "Hussle and Cuss", the first line Mosshart sings is "knock on the door and the door knocks back", a clear reference to the Beefheart song "The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back".
Other influences come from the range of artists that Mosshart listened to when she was growing up. Her own frontwomanship is the result of watching videos of Janis Joplin
and Patti Smith
. However one of Mossharts favourite bands, Sonic Youth
, have a clear influence on the sound of The Dead Weather.
Jack White's own drumming style is heavily based on that of Led Zeppelin
's drummer, John Bonham
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
, formed in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart
Alison Mosshart
Alison Nicole Mosshart is an American singer, songwriter and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for the indie rock band The Kills and blues rock band The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock band Discount which disbanded in 2000...
(of The Kills
The Kills
The Kills is a rock band formed by American singer Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince . Their first three albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom, have garnered much critical praise...
and Discount
Discount (band)
Discount was a punk rock band that formed in Vero Beach, Florida, in 1995 and disbanded in 2000. Before disbanding, the group's members relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where they performed their last show in August 2000. They released three full length albums, several EPs, and two b-side...
), Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
(of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
and The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
), Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
(of Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
) and Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes
The Greenhornes
The Greenhornes are an American garage rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Craig Fox, bass guitarist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler. They released their debut album Gun For You in 1999, followed by a self-titled album in 2001. A third studio album, Dual...
), The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
' Nashville headquarters on March 11, 2009. The band performed live for the first time at the event, immediately before releasing their debut single "Hang You from the Heavens
Hang You from the Heavens
-Music video:A low budget music video was made in promotion of the single. The video was shot entirely in black and white and features the band members sitting inside of a photo booth in various sequence and combination. The band are all wearing black leather jackets and bring in various objects...
."
The band's second studio album, Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom....
, was released first in Ireland on May 7, 2010, then on May 10 and 11 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States, respectively. The first single off the album, "Die by the Drop
Die by the Drop
"Die by the Drop" is the first single from The Dead Weather's second album Sea of Cowards. It was released on March 30, 2010 in the United States and April 25 in the UK...
", was released March 30.
Formation and Horehound
When The RaconteursThe Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
were performing in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Jack White lost his voice and the band asked Alison Mosshart of The Kills (who were warming up) to fill in on some songs. She sang lead vocals on "Steady as She Goes" and "Salute Your Solution." White later asked her if she would record a song with him and Jack Lawrence. They met Dean Fertita at the studio and they ended up performing more than one song that night.
Ultimately they decided to form a band with Mosshart as their lead singer, Lawrence on bass, Fertita on guitar and keyboard and White on drums. White claims he wanted to play the drums in the band, having rediscovered drumming after playing on a kit on "Another Way to Die
Another Way to Die
"Another Way to Die" is a song by American rock musician and singer Jack White and American R&B/soul singer Alicia Keys. Written and produced by White as the theme song to the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, it was released as a single in the United States on September 30, 2008 and in...
" with Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
. He had played drums as a child, and for Goober & the Peas before forming the White Stripes. White said he felt that playing lead guitar in another band would be too repetitive and saw it as an opportunity to do something different.
In January 2009, Mosshart, Fertita, Lawrence and White got together for an impromptu jam at White's Third Man
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
studio. The session was followed by two and a half weeks of song writing and recording, during which The Dead Weather formed. "Things just started to happen," said White. "We didn't have a direction. We just went a song a day, two songs a day, whatever we could do and recorded them on the fly... There was no time to think about what it was. It just was."
The Dead Weather's debut album, Horehound, was released on July 14, 2009 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and July 13 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Charts at #6 and the UK Album Charts at #14. Three tracks from Horehound ("No Hassle Night," "Hang You from the Heavens
Hang You from the Heavens
-Music video:A low budget music video was made in promotion of the single. The video was shot entirely in black and white and features the band members sitting inside of a photo booth in various sequence and combination. The band are all wearing black leather jackets and bring in various objects...
" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother
Treat Me Like Your Mother
"Treat Me Like Your Mother" is a single released by the alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It is the second single released off of the band's debut album Horehound . The single was released on May 25, 2009, and released with the album on July 14, 2009.The song was co-written by every member of...
") were made available as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for the Rock Band video game series on the same day as the North American release.
Jack White co-directed a short documentary about The Dead Weather called "Full Flash Blank." It contains exclusive interviews of the band members and performances of "60 Feet Tall," "I Cut Like A Buffalo" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother." "Full Flash Blank" aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
straight after the showing of "Later . . . With Jools Holland" which featured The Dead Weather performing their first three singles.
Sea of Cowards and future
On October 16, 2009, Mosshart confirmed that a second album was "halfway done".White later announced that the first single from the new album would be called "Die By The Drop," for which he would sing lead vocals. He commented that it was "bluesier and heavier than we ever thought we could be."
Sea of Cowards was first released on May 7, 2010 in Ireland, and then released on May 10 and May 11 in the US and the UK respectively. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and was placed at number eleven on Rolling Stones thirty greatest albums of 2010 list.
The song "Rolling in on a Burning Tire" is featured on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie soundtrack
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack)
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is the soundtrack album to the film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It is the third soundtrack in the film's chronology, and was released on June 8, 2010. The soundtrack was once again co-produced by Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor for the previous two films...
.
The members of The Dead Weather have currently gone back to their other projects; however, Lawrence predicts that by the end of 2011, the band "will either be recording or doing some more shows. I don't think we can stop; even if someone was too busy, nothing seems like it's going to be getting in the way of this," he says. "Our other bands are still alive, obviously, but this one is right up there. It doesn't feel like a side project or anything to us. It feels like a real band. And I think it's just getting better the more we get to play."
Influences and sound
Both Alison Mosshart and Jack White are heavily influenced by Captain BeefheartCaptain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
and have made several tributes to him in a few songs, similarly to how they covered Beefheart songs in their previous bands. The Dead Weather usually open their acts with an intro of "Sure Nuff 'N' Yes I Do". On the track "Hussle and Cuss", the first line Mosshart sings is "knock on the door and the door knocks back", a clear reference to the Beefheart song "The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back".
Other influences come from the range of artists that Mosshart listened to when she was growing up. Her own frontwomanship is the result of watching videos of Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
and Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
. However one of Mossharts favourite bands, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, have a clear influence on the sound of The Dead Weather.
Jack White's own drumming style is heavily based on that of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's drummer, John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
.
Band members
- Alison MosshartAlison MosshartAlison Nicole Mosshart is an American singer, songwriter and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for the indie rock band The Kills and blues rock band The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock band Discount which disbanded in 2000...
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, keyboard, synthesizer - Jack WhiteJack White (musician)Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
- drums, lead vocals, guitar - Dean FertitaDean FertitaDean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
- lead guitar, organ, piano, bass, synthesizer, backing vocals - Jack Lawrence - bass, guitar, drums, backing vocals
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
AUT |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| Horehound Horehound (album) -Bonus Tracks:-Charts:-Personnel:*Alison Mosshart – vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion*Jack White – drums, vocals, guitar, production*Dean Fertita – lead guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer, bass, backing vocals... |
|
6 | 7 | 48 | 24 | 26 | 43 | 14 | 19 | 63 | 14 |
| Sea of Cowards Sea of Cowards Sea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom.... |
|
5 | 6 | 28 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 19 | 30 | 76 | 32 |
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live at Third Man Records West |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Sales | US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
US Alt | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2009 | "Hang You from the Heavens Hang You from the Heavens -Music video:A low budget music video was made in promotion of the single. The video was shot entirely in black and white and features the band members sitting inside of a photo booth in various sequence and combination. The band are all wearing black leather jackets and bring in various objects... " |
8 | — | — | — | Horehound |
| "Treat Me Like Your Mother Treat Me Like Your Mother "Treat Me Like Your Mother" is a single released by the alternative rock band The Dead Weather. It is the second single released off of the band's debut album Horehound . The single was released on May 25, 2009, and released with the album on July 14, 2009.The song was co-written by every member of... " |
— | — | 40 | 168 | ||
| "I Cut Like A Buffalo I Cut Like a Buffalo "I Cut Like a Buffalo" is the third track from the album Horehound, by the alternative rock group The Dead Weather in 2009. It was also released as the third single from the album .... " |
— | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Die by the Drop Die by the Drop "Die by the Drop" is the first single from The Dead Weather's second album Sea of Cowards. It was released on March 30, 2010 in the United States and April 25 in the UK... " |
— | 36 | 20 | 154 | Sea of Cowards |
| "Blue Blood Blues Blue Blood Blues "Blue Blood Blues" is the second single to be taken from the album Sea of Cowards by the alternative rock group The Dead Weather. It was released digitally on 25 June 2010.-Music video:... " |
— | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Treat Me Like Your Mother" | Jonathan Glazer |