On the latest episode of The History Channel‘s American Pickers, hosts Mike Wolfe and Danielle Colby pay a visit to Jack White‘s Third Man Records, where they help the White Stripes guitarist restore a vintage box truck that doubles as a mobile recording studio with a surprisingly prestigious pedigree.
After cutting his song “If I Die Tomorrow” to demonstrate the elaborate process of making a vinyl record, White, who is known for his love of all things vintage, gives a tour of the modified 1969 Chevy P30, explaining that it was originally built by a 17-year-old engineer for Metro Audio in 1971.
“This is a mobile recording truck. You can actually take this truck to a live show, the truck pulls up, we wire everything up, you record straight to the truck. You don’t have set up anything inside the venue.”
He goes on to explain that the truck was used to make some very famous recordings, including Bob Seger‘s Live Bullet, KISS‘s Alive!, “one of the most famous live albums of the ’70s,” Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s One More from the Road, and records by the New York Dolls and Sid Vicious. It was also used to record audio for feature films, TV, and the news, as well as President Jimmy Carter‘s inaugural address in 1977.
In addition to restoring the recording studio on wheels, White tasks the American Pickers team with tracking down the trailer that was originally attached to the truck, which contained extra recording gear and a lounge.
Entitled “Jack Is Back”—White first appeared on the show in 2012, when he purchased an antique elephant head statue—the episode is the first of two featuring the eccentric musician. It premiered on The History Channel on Wednesday and is available to stream via Philo, FuboTV, DIRECTV Stream, or The History Channel when you log in through your cable provider.
The second episode of American Pickers featuring Jack White will air on The History Channel on Wednesday, January 25th. Tune in to find out if the American Pickers team succeeds in its mission to locate the trailer and restore the historic recording studio truck.
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