Inside Jack White’s Surprise Album ‘No Name’

In mid-July, Jack White surprised everyone by giving his new, unmarked solo album away for free with all purchases at Third Man Records. In the following weeks, No Name has maintained a solid spot in the best-selling albums of the week at Discogs.

The buzz is real. Besides showcasing a novel approach to new releases, White’s No Name album marks a return to his stripped-down blues and garage roots from the more maximalist Fear of the Dawn. Since the release, the auteur’s latest record continues to gain momentum.

Here, Discogs looks back at the late summer of No Name.

On July 19, 2024, Third Man Records included a free 12-inch vinyl record with all purchases at their store locations in Detroit, Nashville, and London. Employees included the album with every purchase made. The white sleeve had no information except the cryptic words ‘No Name’ stamped onto it. Soon enough, customers realized it was Jack White’s new solo album. Third Man encouraged those who received the album to rip it and share it. The original copies distributed in-store at Third Man have since shot up in value.

“Today you have proven that the quiet rumblings of something mysterious can grow into the beautiful experience of a community sharing the excitement and energy of music & art,” said Third Man via Instagram.

Coincidentally, the original free 12-inch vinyl release date happened on the same day as the CrowdStrike outage, a historic info technology outage that crashed roughly 8.5 million systems. White’s physical-media-first approach wasn’t affected by the outage.

“On a Friday when a devastating technological snafu brought computers around the globe to their knees, White smacked a homer with an old-fashioned analog swing,” the Detroit Free Press wrote.

On August 2, 2024, a blue transparent with black smoke vinyl version was released and has been a consistent best-seller on Discogs ever since. A black version of No Name will ship in early September.

After copies with liner notes were released, fans noticed that No Name is a bit of a family affair: Jack White’s daughter, Scarlett White, plays bass on the songs “Archbishop Harold Holmes” and “Underground.” She also contributed to the cover artwork. Scarlett also appeared on White’s 2022 solo album Fear of The Dawn and has performed live with him. Meanwhile, White’s wife, Olivia Jean, plays bass and drums on the album.

Since the official release date, No Name has been added to 5,000 Collections on Discogs. It is White’s Most Collected solo release on the site.