signed to Italy Records

In 1998, the White Stripes were signed to Italy Records —a small and independent Detroit-based garage punk label—by Dave Buick. The band released its eponymous debut album in 1999, and a year later the album was followed up by the cult classic De Stijl . The album eventually peaked at number 38 on Billboard ‘ s Independent Albums chart. In 2001, the band released White Blood Cells . The album’s stripped-down garage rock sound drew critical acclaim in the US and beyond, making the White Stripes one of the more acclaimed bands of 2002; it also made the White Stripes forefront figures in the garage band revival of the time. John Peel , an influential DJ and the band’s early advocate in the UK, said they were the most exciting thing he had heard since Jimi Hendrix . The New York Times said of White, “beneath the arty facade lies one of the most cagey, darkly original rockers to come along since Kurt Cobain .”