The White Stripes were an American rock duo formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful and critically acclaimed albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew attention from a large variety of media outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the single "Seven Nation Army" and its bass line becoming their signature song.
Early history
As a senior in high school, Jack Gillis (as he was then known), met Meg White at the Memphis Smoke--the restaurant where she worked and where he would read his poetry at "open mic" nights. The two became friends, and began to frequent the coffee shops, local music venues, and record stores of the area. By this time, Gillis was already playing drums with musician friends, including his upholstery apprenticeship mentors, Brian Muldoon and Justin Stockton. In 1994, he got his first professional job as the drummer for the Detroit cowpunk band Goober & the Peas.  After a courtship, Gillis and White got married on September 21, 1996; contrary to convention, he took his wife's surname. Shortly after, Goober and the Peas broke up, but Jack continued to play in other bands, such as the garage punk band The Go (he played lead guitar on their 1999 album Whatcha Doin'), The Hentchmen, and Two-Star Tabernacle. In 1997--allegedly on Bastille Day--Meg first began to learn to play the drums. In Jack's words, "When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up." The couple then became a band and, while they considered calling themselves "Bazooka" and "Soda Powder", they settled on the name "The White Stripes". Jack explained the band name's origin this way:  Meg loves peppermints, and we were going to call ourselves The Peppermints. But since our last name was White, we decided to call it "The White Stripes". It revolved around this childish idea, the ideas kids have--because they are so much better than adult ideas, right?"  From the beginning, they established certain motifs: publicly presenting themselves as brother and sister, outfitting their production in only black, red, and white, and heavily using the number "three". White has explained that they used these colors to distract from the fact that they were young, white musicians playing "black music". They were also noted for their lack of a bass player, and their general refusal to be interviewed separately.  The White Stripes had their first live performance on August 14, 1997, at the Gold Dollar bar in Detroit. They began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene, playing with local bands such as The Hentchmen, The Dirtbombs, The Gories, and Rocket 455. In 1998, Dave Buick--owner of an independent, Detroit-based, garage-punk label called Italy Records--approached the band at a bar and asked if they would like to record a single. Jack initially declined, believing it would be too expensive, but he eventually reconsidered when he realized that Buick was offering to pay for it. Their debut single, "Let's Shake Hands," was released on vinyl in February 1998 with an initial pressing of 1,000 copies. This was followed in October 1998 by the single "Lafayette Blues" which, again, was only released on vinyl with 1,000 copies.

Q: When were they formed?
A: August 14, 1997,

Q: Who were the band members?
A: Dave Buick

Q: Was he the only member?
A: unknown

Q: When were they first formed?
A: The couple then became a band and, while they considered calling themselves "Bazooka" and "Soda Powder", they settled on the name "The White Stripes".
Why did they settle on this name?
unknown
unknown