Fell in Love with a Girl#Joss Stone version

Before writing and composing "Fell in Love with a Girl", Jack and Meg had sought success within the Detroit music scene releasing two albums between 1999 and 2000.Fox, Darrin, "White Heat", Guitar Player, June 2003, p. 66 The song was then was written and composed for the White Stripes' third studio album, White Blood Cells.{{cite web |last=Maerz |first=Jennifer |date=June 5, 2001 |title=Sister? Lover? An Interview with The White Stripes |url=http://www.whitestripes.net/articles-show.php?id=04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611223108/http://www.whitestripes.net/articles-show.php?id=04 |archive-date=June 11, 2010 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=whitestripes.net}} Though some lyrics on the album consisted of material Jack White had written in the band's early years,{{harvnb|Handyside|2004|p=84}}{{cite news |last=Giannini |first=Melissa |date=May 29, 2001 |title=The Sweet Twist of Success |url=http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=1856 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |newspaper=Metro Times |publisher=Times-Shamrock Communications}} "Fell in Love with a Girl" was a new song penned for the record in early 2001.{{cite journal |last=Maerz |first=Jennifer |date=June 5, 2001 |title=Sister? Lover? An Interview with The White Stripes |url=http://www.whitestripes.net/articles-show.php?id=04 |journal=Spin |issn=0886-3032 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611223108/http://www.whitestripes.net/articles-show.php?id=04 |archive-date=June 11, 2010 |access-date=February 4, 2011}} It was recorded and mastered at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee during the album's three production days;{{cite news |last=McCollum |first=Brian |date=April 13, 2003 |title=A Definitive Oral History: Revealing The White Stripes |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/ENT04/110202052/A-definitive-oral-history-Revealing-White-Stripes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219143052/http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/ENT04/110202052/A-definitive-oral-history-Revealing-White-Stripes |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |publisher=Gannett |issn=1055-2758}} Meg White was initially hesitant about rushing the recording process, believing the songs needed more practice.{{cite news |last=McCollum |first=Brian |date=April 13, 2003 |title=A Definitive Oral History: Revealing The White Stripes |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/ENT04/110202052/A-definitive-oral-history-Revealing-White-Stripes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219143052/http://www.freep.com/article/20110202/ENT04/110202052/A-definitive-oral-history-Revealing-White-Stripes |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |publisher=Gannett |issn=1055-2758}}

{{Listen

| filename = The White Stripes - Fell in Love With a Girl.ogg

| title = Fell in Love with a Girl

| description = Sample of "Fell in Love with a Girl"

}}

"Fell in Love with a Girl" is an up-tempo alternative rock and garage punk song and runs for a duration of one minute and fifty seconds. The song is built on a slashing rhythm guitar groove played by Jack, which is set to a high-speed, stuttering beat played by Meg White with thrashing crash cymbals and skipped snare drum patterns. It is written in the time signature of common time, with a fast tempo of 192 beats per minute.{{Cite web |last=White |first=Jack |date=August 11, 2003 |title=The White Stripes "Fell in Love with a Girl" Guitar Tab in D Major – Download & Print |url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0044891 |work=Musicnotes.com |publisher=Universal Music Publishing Group}}

The song opens with Jack singing his lines with a manic vocal delivery at loud volume. His breathless performance exudes visceral intensity and quirky, exaggerated inflections. White's lyricism contains a dense slew of words laced with anxious banter and snappy humor. The musical arrangement comes to an abrupt halt at the last line of each verse. In substitution of a chorus, "Fell In Love with a Girl" features an infectious backing vocal line. After each verse, Jack and Meg incessantly belt a wordless sing-along composed of "ah-ah-ah-ah" harmonizing.{{cite web |author=Maginnis, Tom|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/fell-in-love-with-a-girl-mt0030311594|title=The White Stripes – Fell in Love With a Girl Song Review by Tom Maginnis |website=AllMusic |access-date=July 4, 2010}}

It is composed in the key of B major, while Jack White's vocal range spans from a low of B₃ to a high of A₄. The song has a basic sequence of B–A–D–E during the introduction and verses and follows F{{music|sharp}}–A–D–E–F{{music|sharp}}–A–F{{music|sharp}} at the refrain as its chord progression.

White Blood Cells was released through the Sympathy for the Record Industry label in mid 2001,{{Citation |title=White Blood Cells - The White Stripes {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/white-blood-cells-mw0000228307 |access-date=May 12, 2024 |language=en}} but "Fell in Love with a Girl" would not receive a single release until January 21, 2002, instead by XL Recordings.{{Cite web |last=Hochman |first=Steve |date=2001-11-18 |title=The White Stripes Take a Unique Major-Label Road |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-18-ca-5471-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128063058/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-18-ca-5471-story.html |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} The track was reissued as a 7-inch vinyl record for Black Friday Record Store Day 2012 on opaque red vinyl by Third Man Records, and later issued on standard black vinyl.

The record peaked at number 21 on both the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and the UK Singles Chart. It was also the band's first single to enter the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 12. "Fell in Love with a Girl" was met with widespread critical acclaim. Comparing it to that of the Ramones, Tom Maginnis from AllMusic called it "an attention-grabbing chunk of primal punk rock confection that flames out in a breathless one minute and 50 seconds. ... Surrendering is the only option; to fight against the infectious brutal and relentless energy of "Fell in Love With a Girl" is an exercise in futility."

The May 3, 2007, issue of Rolling Stone magazine listed the song as one of the forty songs that changed the world.{{cite web |title=Redirecting |url=http://archive.rollingstone.com//desktop/#/20070503/84 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813010736/http://archive.rollingstone.com//desktop/#/20070503/84 |archive-date=August 13, 2011 |access-date=January 17, 2022 |website=archive.rollingstone.com}} In 2011, NME placed it at number 6 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".{{Cite web |date=October 6, 2011 |title=150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years |url=https://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years-1257 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Nme.com}} The Times said that the track "mixes the blues with the Pixies."Connolly, Paul (December 15, 2001). "Rock", The Times. The Village Voice{{'}}s "Pazz & Jop critics' poll named "Fell in Love with a Girl" the sixth-best song of 2002. Paste, The Guardian, and Stereogum ranked the song number six, number three, and number two, respectively, on their lists of the greatest White Stripes songs.{{cite web |last=Williott |first=Carl |date=February 26, 2014 |title=The 10 Best White Stripes Songs |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1665824/the-10-best-white-stripes-songs/lists/ |accessdate=May 27, 2023 |website=Stereogum}}{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=December 5, 2024 |title=Tall tales, campfire singalongs and Oldham slang: the White Stripes’ 20 best songs – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/dec/05/tall-tales-campfire-singalongs-and-oldham-slang-the-white-stripes-20-best-songs-ranked |access-date=June 27, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Bo |date=February 4, 2011 |title=The 10 Best White Stripes Songs |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-white-stripes/the-white-stripes-10-best-songs |accessdate=May 27, 2023 |website=Paste}} Paste also included it on their list of "The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine |last=Stiernberg |first=Bonnie |title=The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801001515/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |access-date=September 9, 2016 |magazine=Paste}} Staff at Billboard ranked it one of the best rock love songs.{{Cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Katie Bain,Eric Renner Brown,Anna Chan,Frank DiGiacomo,Thom Duffy,Jason Lipshutz,Joe Lynch,Rebecca Milzoff,Glenn Peoples,Isabela Raygoza,Andrew |date=February 11, 2025 |title=Staff Picks: 50 Best Rock Love Songs |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/rock-love-songs-best/babasonicos-rubi-2001/ |access-date=February 12, 2025 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}}

The music video is a Lego animation directed by Michel Gondry. Gondry's son was featured at the beginning of the video, building Lego blocks. It was shot frame by frame with each frame having the Lego bricks rebuilt, sometimes in a complex manner to seem as if it were an actual shot, and then formed together to give the illusion of motion. The video mostly consists of red, white, and black color. The White Stripes couldn't strike a deal with Lego, so they had to buy a large amount of Lego boxes for the video.{{Cite web |title=Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-white-stripes/fell-in-love-with-a-girl |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Songfacts.com}}

In The Work of Director Michel Gondry interview, Jack also said that the White Stripes contacted the Lego Group in hopes of having a small Lego set packaged with each single of the record, with which one could build a LEGO version of Jack and Meg. The Lego Group refused, saying: "We don't market our product to people over the age of twelve."{{Cite web |date=November 12, 2006 |title=White Stripes - Fell in Love With a Girl (making) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzebYFxuB-A |accessdate=February 25, 2024 |via=www.youtube.com}}

The music video bolstered the success of the single, and received four nominations for Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video, Best Visual Effects, Best Editing at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, winning the latter three. Entertainment Weekly said that "the images enhance the lyrics...You can take the metaphor even deeper. As with Legos, love and sex can ultimately take whatever form your imagination desires."Farber, Jim April 12, 2002). "FILE UNDER...VIDEOS." Entertainment Weekly (648):77 Entertainment Weekly included it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "An idea so simple it's a wonder no one thought of it before 2002: rock & roll Legos!"Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84 Pitchfork deemed it the best video of the decade.{{cite web |title=Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7695-the-top-50-music-videos-of-the-2000s/5/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901194440/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7695-the-top-50-music-videos-of-the-2000s/5/ |archive-date=September 1, 2009 |access-date=January 17, 2022 |website=pitchfork.com}}

{{Track listing

| headline = UK CD single

| title1 = Fell in Love with a Girl

| note1 =

| length1 = 1:50

| title2 = Let's Shake Hands

| note2 =

| length2 = 2:01

| title3 = Lafayette Blues

| note3 =

| length3 = 2:10

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 7-inch single

| title1 = Fell in Love with a Girl

| note1 =

| length1 = 1:50

| title2 = I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself (Live at BBC Radio-1 Evening Session)

| note2 =

| length2 = 2:46

}}

Personnel are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes.{{cite AV media notes |title=Fell in Love with a Girl |year=2002 |type=UK CD1 liner notes |publisher=XL Recordings |id=XLS 142CD}}

• Jack White – guitar, lead vocal
• Meg White – drums, cardboard box, backing vocal

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|title=Fell in Love with a Girl|artist=White Stripes|award=Gold|relyear=2002|certyear=2024|id=16352-1985-1|access-date=July 26, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Fell in Love with a Boy

| cover = Joss Stone - Fell in Love with a Boy.png

| alt =

| border = yes

| type = single

| artist = Joss Stone

| album = The Soul Sessions

| B-side = {{ubl|"Victim of a Foolish Heart" (live)|"Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me?) Part 1"}}

| released = {{start date|2004|1|12}}

| recorded = May 5, 2003

| studio = The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

| genre =

| length = {{duration|m=3|s=38}}

| label = {{hlist|Relentless|Virgin|S-Curve}}

| writer = Jack White

| producer = {{hlist|Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson|Betty Wright|Steve Greenberg|Michael Mangini}}

| next_title = Super Duper Love

| next_year = 2004

}}

In 2003, English singer Joss Stone covered the song, retitled "Fell in Love with a Boy", for her debut studio album, The Soul Sessions (2003). It was released in the United States on January 12, 2004, as the album's lead single.

In the United Kingdom, a limited-edition 7-inch single and CD single were issued on January 26, 2004. "Fell in Love with a Boy" debuted and peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at number 23 in New Zealand and number 36 in Italy.

The single received mostly positive reviews from critics. Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian raved that "Fell in Love with a Boy" is the best track from The Soul Sessions as well as "the freshest and most deliciously inauthentic."{{cite web |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/jan/16/popandrock.shopping6 |title=CD: Joss Stone, The Soul Sessions – Music – The Guardian |location=UK|work=The Guardian |date=January 16, 2004 |access-date=July 21, 2009}} PopMatters reviewer Jason MacNeil commented that Stone gives the song "a groove-riddled, funky hip-shaker that never loses momentum."{{cite web |last=MacNeil |first=Jason |url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/s/stonejoss-soulsessions.shtml |title=Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions – PopMatters Music Review |work=PopMatters |date=January 14, 2003 |access-date=July 21, 2009}} Rolling Stone said the tune sounded like "a lost Memphis-soul classic."(March 18, 2004). "CHARTS", Rolling Stone. (Issue 944):84 However, Jim Greer of Entertainment Weekly viewed her version as "the only misguided ploy" on the album.{{cite magazine |last=Greer |first=Jim |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,492393,00.html |title=The Soul Sessions – Music Review – Entertainment Weekly |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=October 10, 2003 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425164327/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,492393,00.html |url-status=dead }} Andrew McGregor wrote for BBC Music that it "blends so well into the funky soul landscape that those less familiar with contemporary rock might miss the ironic juxtaposition altogether."{{cite web |last=McGregor |first=Andrew |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8z63/ |title=BBC – Music – Review of Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions |publisher=BBC Music |date=February 23, 2004 |access-date=July 21, 2009}}

• UK and European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fell in Love with a Boy|others=Joss Stone|year=2004|type=UK & European CD single liner notes|publisher=Relentless Records, Virgin Records|id=RELCD3, 0724355394224}}

1. "Fell in Love with a Boy" {{small|(radio version)}}
2. "Victim of a Foolish Heart" {{small|(live at Ronnie Scott's, London, November 25, 2003)}}

• UK limited-edition 7-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fell in Love with a Boy|others=Joss Stone|year=2004|type=UK limited 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=Relentless Records, Virgin Records|id=REL 3, 0724355378576}}

:A. "Fell in Love with a Boy" {{small|(album version)}}

:B. "Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me?) Part 1"

• European maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Fell in Love with a Boy|others=Joss Stone|year=2004|type=European maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Relentless Records, Virgin Records|id=724354810824}}

1. "Fell in Love with a Boy" {{small|(radio version)}}
2. "Victim of a Foolish Heart" {{small|(live at Ronnie Scott's, London, November 25, 2003)}}
3. "Fell in Love with a Boy" {{small|(acoustic version)}}

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Soul Sessions.{{cite AV media notes|title=The Soul Sessions|title-link=The Soul Sessions|others=Joss Stone|year=2003|type=UK CD album liner notes|publisher=Relentless Records|id=CDREL2, 7243 5 96835 2 2}}

Studios

• Recorded on May 5, 2003, at The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel

{{div col}}

• Jack White – writing
• Joss Stone – lead vocals
• Angie Stone – background vocals
• Betty Wright – background vocals, production
• Kirk Douglas – guitar
• Adam Blackstone – bass
• James Poyser – keyboards
• Kamal – keyboards
• Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – drums, production
• Steve Greenberg – production
• Steve Greenwell – engineering, mixing
• Michael Mangini – production
• Chris Gehringer – mastering

{{div col end}}

• The song was covered as a parody lounge song by Richard Cheese for their 2002 album Tuxicity.
• It was included on a polka medley by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Angry White Boy Polka", from his 2003 album Poodle Hat.
• The Acoustic Album (2006, Virgin)
• The song was included in the 2009 play Punk Rock.
• The song was released as downloadable content for the music video game series Rock Band on March 9, 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.rockband.com/news/more-white-stripes-dlc |title=The White Stripes Add Three More Tracks To Rock Band! |date=March 5, 2010 |access-date=October 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310025258/http://www.rockband.com/news/more-white-stripes-dlc |archive-date=March 10, 2010 }}
• American rock band of Montreal performed a version of the song in May 2011 for The A.V. Club{{'s}} A.V. Undercover series.{{cite web|title=Of Montreal covers The White Stripes|website=The A.V. Club|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/of-montreal-covers-the-white-stripes,53048/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410131249/http://www.avclub.com/articles/of-montreal-covers-the-white-stripes,53048/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 10, 2013|access-date=March 23, 2013}}
• In the Academy Award-winning film Silver Linings Playbook, this song is incorporated into the dance routine that Pat (Bradley Cooper) and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) perform at the dance competition.
• The song was used in a UK television advert for radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. The advert depicted the first dance at a wedding, with the DJ choosing to play The White Stripes as opposed to the chosen song, much to the consternation of the family.
• "Fell in Love with a Girl" was the final song played on the airwaves of the influential Providence, Rhode Island radio station WBRU on August 31, 2017. After the song played, the DJs signed off and the radio fell silent. WBRU now operates exclusively as an internet radio station.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Wikiquote|White Blood Cells (album)}}

{{The White Stripes}}

{{Joss Stone}}

{{MTV Video Music Award – Breakthrough Video}}

{{MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fell In Love With A Girl}}

Category:2001 songs

Category:2002 singles

Fell in Love with a Boy

Fell in Love with a Boy

Category:Lego films

Category:Animated music videos

Category:Music videos directed by Michel Gondry

Category:Relentless Records singles

Category:Stop-motion animated music videos

Category:Third Man Records singles

Category:Virgin Records singles

Category:The White Stripes songs

Category:XL Recordings singles