The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” b/w “In the Cold, Cold Night” 2003. Promo copy (the commercial single’s b-side is “Good To Me”).  I’ve had The White Stripes’ album Elephant, from which “Seven Nation Army” was the lead single, on my mind since I’ve been participating in a Facebook-land challenge “Standards and Covers” where you find an old standard and post a link to a cover song. Today I responded to the challenge with “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” by the White Stripes (also on Elephant) which was originally written by Burt Bacharach and recorded by Tommy Hunt in 1962. As far as I know we don’t have a copy of that White Stripes single, but we do have this one.

“Seven Nation Army” is probably the best-known White Stripes single, reaching #1 on the Alternative Songs chart in the US, #76 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the UK singles chart and winning a Grammy for Best Rock Song. It is still played relentlessly at sporting events and political events, driven by the pounding bass-like riff, which Jack White wrote in preparation for if he was ever asked to write a James Bond theme (he was! didn’t use the riff though). The riff is not a bass, however, it is White’s Hollowbody guitar run through a whammy pedal set down an octave. The promo’s B-side, “In the Cold, Cold Night” is one of the rare ones with Meg White on vocals. The track provides a stark juxtaposition to the full-bodied intensity of “Seven Nation Army,” with Meg’s clear, cool vocals sliding over the Jack’s sparse guitar chords.