10 Popular Guitar Riffs Invented Accidentally
1. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Some of the greatest ever riffs have been composed by accident while at soundcheck or at band rehearsal. For the White Stripes, things were no different.
Jack White stumbled upon the riff while messing around with his guitar during soundcheck at a show in Melbourne, Australia. The band consisted of just White (on guitar), and ex-wife, Meg (on drums). White quickly showed Meg his creation along with an employee named Ben Swank. The two acknowledge the riff but said nothing more, leading White to put it away for another day.
White went back to the song not long after and named the lyricless tune, "Seven Nation Army" after what he thought was the name of the Salvation Army as a child.
These days, the tune is considered to be one of the simplest yet raucous riffs of all time. In fact, the song was so simple that many people were sure that they had heard it before.