Meg White Becomes Third Female Drummer in Rock Hall
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Meg White was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025 as only the third female drummer honored, following Gina Schock of the Go-Go's and Velvet Underground's Moe Tucker.
- Jack White kept his 2005 promise never to replace Meg and declined to perform at the induction without her; Twenty One Pilots covered "Seven Nation Army" while Olivia Rodrigo and Feist performed "We're Going To Be Friends."
- Meg White sent a handwritten note that Jack read at the ceremony and helped shape his speech — he joked she made "a lot of punctuation corrections too."
- Meg White endured years of sexist criticism, from Pitchfork's "pancake-handed" drumming review to a Pearl Jam message board thread titled "Official Meg White can't play thread"; a journalist apologized in 2023 for calling her "half-decent."
- Olivia Rodrigo told Elle in 2023 that Meg taught her "the value of simplicity in music," part of a generational shift in how White's unpolished drumming style is received.
- The Daily Mail deleted an article that attempted to find Meg White but instead stalked an unrelated person, highlighting the invasive obsession with the reclusive drummer.
Why it matters: Meg White's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction marks a definitive reappraisal of a minimalist drumming style Pitchfork once mocked as "pancake-handed" — Olivia Rodrigo now cites her as a model of "simplicity in music," and Jack White honored his vow by refusing to perform without her, leaving Twenty One Pilots and Rodrigo to cover the band's signature songs.
Ask SkimNews
