Over the weekend, Jack White succeeded in his attempt to break the speed record for recording and releasing a single.
White announced his plan earlier this month, declaring that "Lazaretto" would be "the world's fastest-released record ... in the history of mankind."
At 10 a.m. Saturday — better known as Record Store Day — White and his band recorded two tracks live from the Blue Room at Third Man Records' Nashville HQ, including "Lazaretto," the title track from his upcoming solo album, and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Power of My Love."
The songs were cut directly to acetate, and the masters were rushed from the Blue Room to United Record Pressing, where the 45s were made.
"Originally, we were just gonna do this record and go back to sleep," White told the crowd after a live video screen showed the acetate taken off its machine. Instead, they played a complete hour-long set that included new songs and White Stripes faves. You can see a recap of Saturday's festivities in the bottom video below.
By recording, pressing and releasing the live version of "Lazaretto" in less than four hours, White broke the Guinness World Record that was set by Swiss polka trio Vollgas Kompanie, who released their album Live on August 16, 2008, the day after they recorded it.
In the TOP video below, you can hear the studio version of "Lazaretto," which will be featured on White's upcoming album of the same name. The BOTTOM video is a recap of White's record-setting recording and release of the live version of "Lazaretto."
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
