khoji parkCelebrities · Detroit · 2014
Jack White Hid Records Inside Furniture. Two Were Found Years Later.
Two copies of the second single recorded by Jack White's early punk band are found inside upholstery.
Read in slides1. Early Apprenticeship in Detroit
As a teenager in Detroit, Jack White worked as an upholstering apprentice under family friend Brian Muldoon. The trade exposed him to the internal structures of custom couches and chairs during daily restoration projects. During their working hours, the pair discussed various creative ideas and shared inside jokes. This foundational experience in furniture craftsmanship directly influenced their later artistic collaborations.
White eventually opened his own upholstery shop named Third Man Upholstery.
2. Formation of The Upholsterers
By 1993, White and Muldoon began jamming together in a studio as a two-piece garage punk band called The Upholsterers. Muldoon played drums while White contributed guitar tracks and created unconventional sounds with tools. They recorded their initial material locally while continuing their respective manual trades. Their shared background in furniture repair provided a distinct identity for the musical duo.
The pair recorded their first official single for commercial release.
3. First Single Release
In 2000, the band released their debut seven-inch single titled Makers of High Grade Suites on an independent record label. The release featured tracks recorded at Third Man Studio and mixed at a Detroit recording facility. Physical copies included various inserts such as business cards and fabric samples. This limited release became a sought-after collectible among fans of garage punk music.
The initial record established the band within the independent music scene.
4. Concealed Second Pressing
For their second single, the duo pressed one hundred copies onto clear vinyl with artwork printed on plastic transparencies. Rather than selling the records through standard retail channels, they decided to conceal all copies inside furniture. They sliced open the foam padding of chairs and sofas they were working on and slid the records inside. The unconventional distribution method ensured that the music remained completely hidden from the public.
Clients received the finished furniture unaware of the records concealed inside.
5. Intentional Secrecy
White later explained that clear vinyl was chosen to prevent the hidden records from being detected by X-ray machines. The project was designed as a private joke between upholsterers who accessed the hidden spaces of furniture. The band made no public announcement regarding the locations of the concealed items for many years. White publicly predicted that the records would likely remain undiscovered until future generations dismantled the upholstery.
Most observers treated the hidden record story as an unverified urban legend.
6. Rise to Global Fame
While the hidden records remained undisturbed, White achieved worldwide commercial success with his subsequent musical project, The White Stripes. He collected multiple Grammy Awards and established a prominent career in the international music industry. Muldoon continued working in Detroit as a photographer and musician. Despite their musical prominence, the whereabouts of the hundred hidden Upholsterers singles remained unknown.
Public interest in the obscure punk recordings persisted among collectors.
7. Third Man Records Announcement
In December 2014, Third Man Records publicly announced that the hidden records had finally been located. The label revealed that two separate individuals had independently discovered copies of the 2004 single inside their furniture. Neither finder had initially realized the monetary or collectible value of the unusual item. The announcement provided official confirmation of the decades-old upholstery project.
The label also revealed the original cover art for the first time.
8. Verification of Artwork
Accompanying the discovery announcement, Third Man Records published details concerning the unique packaging of the recovered singles. The artwork had been created by Detroit artist Gordon Newton using transparent plastic materials. The transparent design matched the clear vinyl used for the physical record pressing. Collectors and music journalists examined the newly revealed details of the rare release.
The disclosures confirmed specific production choices made by the band.
9. Preservation of Artifacts
Following the discovery, neither of the two found copies was immediately offered for public sale or commercial exchange. The fortunate furniture owners retained possession of the rare punk singles they had uncovered. The discoveries validated White's early career eccentricity and generated considerable media coverage. Music historians documented the unusual distribution method as a unique footnote in vinyl record history.
The remaining ninety-eight copies of the single stayed hidden in furniture.
10. Ongoing Legacy of the Band
Third Man Records announced in 2014 that two copies of the hidden Upholsterers single had been found. The record was Your Furniture Was Always Dead … I Was Just Afraid to Tell You, of which the duo had hidden a hundred copies in upholstery. The announcement concerned recovered copies of that second single, distinct from the band’s earlier commercially released record and its unusual packaging.
Two copies emerged from the furniture hiding places.