The White Stripes Cover 'Sway': Jack White's Open G Nod to Keith Richards

In 2005, The White Stripes released a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Sway” as the B-side to the “Blue Orchid” single. Jack White didn’t just play the song—he rewired his guitar to mimic Keith Richards’ signature open G tuning, stripping the tuning down to five strings (removing the low E) to get that loose, jangly rhythm sound Richards pioneered on tracks like “Brown Sugar” and “Honky Tonk Women.”

The homage runs deeper than the tuning. White’s single-note bends and percussive strumming mirror Richards’ “syncopated chug,” but he also injects his own raw distortion and slide-like bends, turning a relatively obscure Stones album cut into a snarling, countrified garage rock stomp. The cover shows how White internalized Richards’ philosophy: make the guitar sound like it’s about to fall apart, then ride that edge.