The White Stripes might be responsible for the best-known song to never reach the Billboard Top 40. ‘Seven Nation Army,’ released in 2003, peaked at #76 and yet it’s instantly recognizable to anybody who’s been in a sports arena or political rally. Its opening riff is one of the most famous ever recorded.

‘Seven Nation Army’ alone should probably earn The White Stripes admission into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but they do have a strong overall case. So much so that they made it in not in their first year of eligibility — 2023 — but just two years later.

Jack and Meg White, a once-married couple who pretended to be siblings through the early part of their career, released six albums between 1999 and 2007. Their blend of blues and indie rock kicked off a garage rock revival in the early 2000s alongside The Strokes.

But The White Stripes didn’t spend too much time in any one genre. Their albums skipped around stylistically, with Jack White often challenging himself to utilize or forego certain instruments. That ‘Seven Nation Army’ riff, for example, sounds a lot like a bass guitar but was actually created with a pitch-shifted acoustic guitar because the album Elephant was recorded without the use of a bass.

The band’s next album, 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan, introduced piano, mandolin, and marimba to the mix, while Meg White tried her hand at the bongos.

This penchant for creative experimentation earned the band much critical acclaim and decent commercial success. While they never had a radio hit, every one of their albums went Gold, Platinum, or multi-Platinum. They have won six Grammys, including three for Best Alternative Music Album.

This is a case where raw talent, decent success, and a discernible influence on future bands all combined to earn The White Stripes a spot in the Rock Hall. That, plus a song every marching back in America can play at the drop of a dime.