Prior to finding fame with the White Stripes, Jack White supported himself by working as an upholsterer in his native Detroit, Michigan. Later, White teamed up with his upholstering mentor and fellow musician, Brian Muldoon, to record and release two singles as a band called, The Upholsterers. Getting creative, the men hid the second single – “Your Furniture Was Always Dead … I Was Just Afraid To Tell You” – inside furniture cushions that Muldoon was reupholstering, according to Paste Magazine. Now over a decade later, two long lost copies have been found.
While, “Your Furniture Was Always Dead … I Was Just Afraid To Tell You” was long thought to be something of an urban legend with only 100 copies out there somewhere in the cushions of suburban Detroit, according to Consequence of Sound, the Upholsterers other single was “Apple of My Eye”, and the imprint Sympathy released it for the Record Industry in 2000.
However, two people recently came forward telling the Third Man Records that they’re in possession of the elusive second single. The other 98 copies are still out there waiting to be found, and while we don’t want to condone destructive behavior, if you live in Detroit and are doing away with furniture, you may want to take a second look, before parting with that couch or chair.
The discovery prompted White’s label Third Man Records to issue the following statement, which reads:
“Recently Third Man Records has been made aware of the discovery of two different copies found by two separate individuals of the second single by the Upholsterers. This duo, comprising of actual upholsterers Jack White and Brian Muldoon, pressed 100 copies of this single and proceeded to hide them in furniture being reupholstered by Muldoon in 2004, in celebration of his 25th year in the business. In celebration of these discoveries, Third Man would like to share with everyone the cover art for this single, done by noted Detroit artist Gordon Newton.”
Check out the artwork and the packaging of the release, below.
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