Detroit's Jack White Scores 'The Lone Ranger' With Johnny Depp
By Christy Strawser
CBS Detroit Managing Editor
From twangy country music with Loretta Lynn to edgy alternative rock, Detroit's own Jack White can do a little bit of everything. Or can he do it all?
Walt Disney Studios announced Wednesday White will write, produce and perform the score for the highly anticipated new movie "The Lone Ranger."
It's only fitting a Detroiter would take the helm of the musical score since Detroit historian and WWJ 950 news anchor Joe Donovan said "The Lone Ranger" was born in the Motor City. The show originated in the 1930s as a live radio show in Detroit, written, produced and performed by local talent.
A young Mike Wallace, the famed CBS newsman who died last week, was part of the original cast, Donovan said.
"The Lone Ranger was all made in the Motor City," he added.
White, who released his first solo album "Blunderbuss" Friday to critical acclaim, is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who first achieved success as the lead guitarist and vocalist of The White Stripes with ex-wife Meg White. He later moved on to bands The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. White also starred in the movie "Cold Mountain"
With "The Lone Ranger," he'll be able to combine music and movies. It will mark White's first foray into feature film scoring.
The movie directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as John Reid is described by Disney as a "thrilling adventure infused with action and humor in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes."
It's a "runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption." The Lone Ranger is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and hits theaters May 31, 2013.
If you can't wait until then to experience White's musical talent, there are still tickets available for his intimate May 24 matinee for 1,500 at the Scottish Rite Theater at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Tickets went on sale Tuesday at UHF Record Store in Royal Oak and Street Corner Music in Oak Park.
Hundreds lined up to be the first to grab $48 seats, but UHF said there were still some seats left Wednesday. Buyers have to bring cash and provide identification because only the original buyer and a guest will be allowed inside. UHF is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Washington in downtown Royal Oak.
"I think it's great that he's doing 'The Lone Ranger,' I'm not surprised," said White fan and UHF staffer Mike Trombley, adding his favorite music from White is "the early White Stripes singles."
And the fact a Detroiter is adding to the show created in Detroit more than 80 years ago is icing on the cake. "It means we're closing the circle in a new millennium," Donovan said.
