By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:30am PDT, Mar 30, 2023
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Join us as we take a look back at what some of our all-time favorite rock stars looked like during their early years in the music business, starting with this musician, who turns 78 on March 30, 2023…
That hair! Eric Clapton was in his early 20s when he was snapped with a female companion during a photo shoot with his band, Cream, sometime in the late '60s. (He was just 23 when the band's final album, "Goodbye," dropped in early 1969!)
Now keep reading to see more rock stars when they were young…
MORE: The most iconic rock couples through the years
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In 1986, Metallica suffered a tragedy when bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident in Sweden while the band was touring to promote their acclaimed third album, "Master of Puppets." Musician Jason Newsted (second from left) replaced him on bass and is seen here at 23 with bandmates James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett during a photo session in Tokyo in November 1986. Jason left Metallica in 2001 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the heavy metal band in 2009.
MORE: Stars react to the death of David Crosby
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Cheap Trick singer and rhythm guitarist Robin Zander is seen here in 1980, a year after his band shot to fame with their live album "Cheap Trick at Budokan" and the hit 1979 singles "I Want You to Want Me" and "Ain't That a Shame." Robin and his bandmates later topped the charts with 1988's "The Flame" and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
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Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi was in his early 20s when this photo of him performing in England with his band was snapped in 1985 — one year before their third album, "Slippery When Wet," was released and spent weeks at No. 1.
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The Who frontman Roger Daltrey (pastel shirt) is seen here with bandmates (from left) Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle in a portrait taken circa 1967. It was a busy decade for the British rock band: They released five albums including 1965's "My Generation" and 1967's "The Who Sell Out."
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English singer Kate Bush was 19 when she topped the U.K. singles chart for the first time in 1978 — the same year she posed for this photo — with her debut single, "Wuthering Heights." She went on to release two dozen more U.K. Top 40 singles as well as hits like 1985's "Running Up That Hill," which became her first Top 40 song in America (and enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 when it was featured on the show "Stranger Things").
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Late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby is seen here as a young man in his 20s in an undated portrait taken during the 1960s — the decade he joined the Byrds before co-founding the band Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1968.
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Your eyes are not deceiving you — that's Bono! The U2 frontman, seen here performing at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1985 — about nine years after his band formed in their native Ireland — once rocked a wild mullet. U2 was just two years shy of releasing their Grammy-winning 1987 album, "Joshua Tree," at the time.
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Genesis drummer Phil Collins is pictured here in 1977 when he was in his mid-20s — two years after Peter Gabriel left the band, leading Phil to take over as Genesis's lead vocalist. Though Phil went on to great success as a solo artist, releasing hits like "In the Air Tonight" in 1981, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Genesis in 2010.
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He was just a baby! In mid-1982 — a few years before he joined Guns N' Roses — a 16-year-old Slash was photographed playing with his very first band, Tidus Sloan, during a lunch break at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
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Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose is the hard rock band's only original member these days. He's seen here looking particularly baby-faced early in his career, which kicked off in the mid-'80s.
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Joan Jett sported her signature shag 'do and a whole lot of attitude in this portrait taken in September 1975 — the same month she turned 17. Less than a year later, her all-female band, The Runaways, released their self-titled debut album featuring hits like "Cherry Bomb."
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Drummer Mick Fleetwood is seen here at 20 or 21 circa 1968 — a year after he co-founded the initial incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and the same year his band released their first album.
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Stevie Nicks is seen here circa 1975 — the year she joined Fleetwood Mac after starting her career as a duo with future ex-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham.
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Join us as we take a look back at what some of our all-time favorite rock stars looked like during their early years in the music business, starting with this musician, who turns 60 on March 15, 2023…
Bret Michaels without a bandana?! Yep! The Poison frontman was without his now-signature accessory while performing with his band in 1988 — the same year they released their hit sophomore album, "Open Up and Say… Ahh!" He was 25 at the time.
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Alice Cooper dropped his shock-rock persona for this portrait taken in 1973, the same year his band released their hit song "No More Mr. Nice Guy." He was in his mid-20s at the time.
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Jane Wiedlin, seen here in 1981 in her early 20s, was the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist in the all-female band The Go-Go's — a pioneering force in new wave pop music that delivered hits like "Vacation," "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed" — before she went solo.
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In 1994, a 27-year-old Billy Corgan performed on stage with his rock band the Smashing Pumpkins in his hometown of Chicago.
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These days, Ronnie Wood is best known for his work as a guitarist in the Rolling Stones, which he joined in 1975. But he actually began his career nearly a decade earlier, joining the Birds on guitar in 1964, the Jeff Beck Group on bass in 1967 and Faces as a guitarist (alongside frontman Rod Stewart) in 1969 — the same year this photo of a 22-year-old Ron was snapped.
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Aww! Nirvana drummer, Foo Fighters founder and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Grohl was still in his 20s when he posed for this portrait sometime in the early '90s. (Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died in April 1994, a few months after Dave turned 25.)
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Unforgettable! The late, great Eddie Van Halen — who died at 65 in 2020 — rocked long hair and a piercing stare in this portrait from late 1978, the same year his band, Van Halen, dropped their self-titled debut studio album. He was 23 at the time.
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Drummer Tommy Lee was just 19 in this photo, which was taken backstage at a Mötley Crüe concert in San Francisco in 1982 — a year after he, Nikki Sixx, Mick Marks and Vince Neil founded the heavy metal band in Los Angeles and before he acquired all his trademark tattoos.
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We see now where all those Harry Styles comparisons come from! Mick Jagger is a dead ringer for the former One Direction singer in this snap taken outside an airport in London in 1964 — the same year his band released their debut studio album. The Rolling Stones frontman was just 20 at the time.
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Rod Stewart is seen here at 24 in 1969, the same year the rocker — who during the '60s was a member of the Dimensions, Steampacket, Shotgun Express and the Jeff Beck Group — released "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down," his first solo studio album. He also started fronting the band Faces in 1969.
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We'd recognize the late, great David Bowie anywhere and at any time! Ziggy Stardust was still a teenager in this portrait from 1964. It would be three more years before his self-titled debut studio album dropped.
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The Prince of Darkness didn't look so dark while posing in London in 1975. Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne was in his late 20s in this baby-faced snap.
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Billy Idol was about 22 and still in the band Generation X when he posed for this photo in New York City's East Village in early 1978. Three years later, the British rocker born William Broad had a big hit on his hands with the single "Dancing With Myself," which he followed with "White Wedding," after he went solo.
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Here's a quick reminder that Jimmy Page hasn't always had white hair! In 1966 — two years before he founded Led Zeppelin — the guitarist rocked a mop of brunette locks during a portrait session with his first band, The Yardbirds, in the Detroit area. He was just 22 at the time.
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Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry posed for a portrait in his mansion in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in September 1979 when he was in his late 20s. Two months later, the band dropped their "Night in the Ruts" album. Joe only recorded half of it, though: He left the group earlier that year amid a feud with his bandmates. (He ultimately returned five years later.)
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Keith Richards posed for this portrait in 1964 — the year the Rolling Stones guitarist turned 21 and his band released their debut studio album.
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Bassist Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe was just 25 in this photo taken at a party celebrating the band's second album, "Shout at the Devil," being certified gold in early 1984. Its success established the group as one of the top-selling heavy metal acts of the '80s.
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Patti Smith, is that you?! The music star is seen here at 29 in 1976, a year after she released her debut album, the punk classic "Horses."
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In this photo from 2001, Travis Barker is a few tattoos and a shaved head short of the music artist we know and love today! The blink-182 drummer was just 25 at the time. Three months earlier, the trio released their hit "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" album.
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Who's that girl? It's Debbie Harry! The "Heart of Glass" singer and Blondie frontwoman looked appropriately blonde and beautiful following a 1978 concert in New York.
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Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hame of Fame member Carlos Santana is seen backstage at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California, in 1969 when he was 22 — just a few months after his fame exploded with the release of his band's hit debut album, "Santana," in the wake of their electrifying performance at the Woodstock music festival.
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David Lee Roth was all hair in this portrait taken in October 1978, the same month the former Van Halen frontman turned 24. Earlier that year, his band dropped their self-titled debut studio album.
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"Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett is seen here circa 1970 when he was in his mid-20s.
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Thom Yorke was just 25 when he posed for this portrait in 1993 the same year his band, Radiohead — which he formed as a teen at boarding school in Oxford, England — released their debut album, "Pablo Honey," featuring the hit single "Creep."
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Liam Gallagher — who's seen performing in London in 1994, the year he turned 22 — fronted the band Oasis from 1991 to 2009. After they broke up and his relationship with bandmate and brother Noel Gallagher imploded, Liam fronted another rock band, Beady Eye, which stayed together until 2014.
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Behold: An extremely rare photo of Gene Simmons without his iconic KISS makeup from early in his career! The Demon was in his early 30s when he was snapped looking fresh-faced in Munich, Germany.
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Who could forget the iconic all-female rock group The Runaways? The band's lead guitarist, Lita Ford (seen here performing in 1977), wasn't even 20 when this photo was taken!
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Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is seen here in 1970 when he was 25. That same year, he released his debut self-titled solo studio album.
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Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins (front) had a total baby face in his mid-20s when he was photographed alongside bandmates Zac Lind, Rick Burch and Tom Linton in 2001 — the year their iconic album "Bleed American," which featured the then-ubiquitous hit "The Middle," was released.
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Chrissie Hynde, who formed the British American rock group the Pretenders in 1978 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 — is seen here performing on a British TV show in 1980.
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Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was a 22-year-old bleached-blonde babe when this photograph was taken in 1994 — the same year his band's Grammy-winning third studio album, "Dookie," was released.
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Belinda Carlisle — the lead singer of the Go-Go's — posed for this portrait in 1986 when she was in her 20s.
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Courtney Love formed the alt-rock band Hole in 1989 and came to fame as a force in the grunge scene in the '90s with albums like "Pretty on the Inside" and "Live Through This." She's seen here with her bandmates — guitarist Eric Erlandson, late bassist Kristen Pfaff and drummer Patty Schemel — early that decade.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (born Michael Balzary) and frontman Anthony Kiedis were in their early 20s when they were photographed before a sold-out show in New York City in December 1986. They'd formed their group — which remains the most successful alternative rock band ever with 14 No. 1 singles and more than 120 million records sold worldwide — three years earlier. It would be another five years before they scored their first mainstream commercial hit with the 1991 album "Blood Sugar Sex Magik."
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Just look at how young he was! The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is seen here during the band's Christmas concert in 1963 when he was in his early 20s. They released two albums that year: "Please Please Me" and "With the Beatles."
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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, pictured here at 26 performing on a Lollapalooza tour stop in 1991 — two years after he released the influential debut album "Pretty Hate Machine" — has found even more success making music for films and TV shows in recent years. He's won best original score Academy Awards for his work on "The Social Network" and "Soul" and an Emmy for his "Watchmen" score on top of four Grammys.
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The Beatles singer, songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney turned 21 the year this photo was snapped — 1963 — just a few years after he, John Lennon and George Harrison formed their band (Ringo Starr joined in 1962).
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Is it any wonder he won Gwen Stefani's heart (before breaking it into a million pieces)?! Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale smoldered in this snapshot from 1996, the year his band dropped their sophomore album, "Razorblade Suitcase."
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Goo Goo Dolls singer-guitarist John Rzeznik posed outside CBGB in New York City in January 1993 when he was 27 — two years before he and bandmates Robby Takac and George Tutuska released their breakthrough single, "Name," and five years before their fame skyrocketed with the release of the hit track "Iris."
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Lenny Kravitz was 25, married to actress Lisa Bonet and a new father to future actress Zoe Kravitz when he posed for this portrait in 1990 months after the release of his debut studio album, "Let Love Rule."
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Morrissey fronted the English rock band The Smiths from 1982 to 1987. He's seen here, when he was in his early 20s, with bandmate Johnny Marr in 1982 — two years before their self-titled debut album was released.
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Scotland-born, America-raised musician David Byrne is seen here performing in Atlanta in 1978 at 26 — three years after starting Talking Heads with drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth. Five years later, the band, which by then also included Jerry Harrison on keyboard and guitar, released their mainstream hit "Burning Down the House."
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Robert, is that you?! A 20-year-old Robert Smith — the frontman for The Cure — posed for this portrait in 1979, the same year the band released their debut studio album, "Three Imaginary Boys."
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Look at that baby face! Mark Hoppus, blink-182's bassist, co-lead singer and co-founder was 29 when this photo was taken in 2001 — the same year his band released their hit album "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket."
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Singer-songwriter Grace Slick — who turned 83 on Oct. 30 — is best known for being a vocalist and pianist in the San Francisco-bred rock band Jefferson Airplane. She's seen here in 1970 when she was fronting the group, which lost and gained members and later transformed into Jefferson Starship.
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Tom DeLonge was a total pop-punk heartthrob in the '90s when he was in blink-182. The band's co-founder, former lead guitarist and co-lead singer was three days shy of his 25th birthday in this photo snapped in 1999 — the same year his band released their first mainstream hit album, "Enema of the State."
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Siouxsie Sioux famously fronted the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The English singer-songwriter is seen rocking her signature eye makeup in this 1977 photo taken the year she turned 20 — a year after she started the band behind hits like "Kiss Them For Me" and "Peek-a-Boo."
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Bruce Springsteen, is that you?! The Boss was just a baby when he posed for this portrait circa 1970. He would've been in his early 20s at the time. (He dropped his debut studio album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.," in 1973.)
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My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way was 27 when this photograph was taken! He's seen here performing during the Nintendo Fusion Tour in 2004 — four months after the band's second studio album, the triple-platinum "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge," debuted.
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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died in August 2021 at 80. The legend is seen here in a snapshot from 1963, early in his career with the band.
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The world lost Prince far too soon, and yet the iconic artist appeared practically immune to aging. He looked nearly the same performing in New York City in 1981 as he did when he died at 57 in 2016.
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Paul Westerberg, the lead singer of The Replacements, is seen here during a performance in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1989. That year marked the release of "Don't Tell a Soul," the band's sixth studio album.
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Pat Benatar rocked a spectacularly late-'70s ensemble during a portrait session in Los Angeles in late 1979. She was 26 at the time and had just dropped her debut studio album, "In the Heat of the Night," a few months earlier.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is seen here at the premiere of Oliver Stone's "JFK" in late 1991 — three months after his band's hit song "Give It Away" dropped.
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A baby-faced Shirley Manson looked ready to rock in this portrait from 1996. The Garbage frontwoman was about 30 at the time. Her band had just released their self-titled debut album the previous year.
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Matt Bellamy sure has grown up since this portrait from 2000! The Muse frontman was in his early 20s at the time and his band was fresh off dropping their debut studio album, "Showbiz," the previous year.
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Chris Barron — who's fronted the Spin Doctors since 1998 — was in his mid-20s when this portrait was taken in 1993.
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The influential indie band Sonic Youth was fronted by Thurston Moore, who's seen here in 1996. A year later, he released his debut solo album, "Psychic Hearts."
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Be still our hearts! The late, great Chris Cornell looked too cute during a portrait session in New York City in late 1989, the year his band Soundgarden released their sophomore album, "Louder Than Love." The singer, who was 25 at the time, later fronted an equally popular group: Audioslave.
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The Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser were in their early 20s when they posed for this pic in 1983. The Scottish alternative rock band released their debut studio album, "Garlands," one year earlier.
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Kim Thayil, who was in his early 30s when this photo was taken at Lollapalooza in 1992, was the lead guitarist and co-founder (alongside the late Chris Cornell) of the iconic Seattle rock band Soundgarden.
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Gordon Gano, the lead singer and guitarist for the Violent Femmes, is seen here during a performance in Minneapolis in 1984 when he was 21.
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Stephen Malkmus fronted the indie rock band Pavement from 1989 until their breakup in 1999. The Los Angeles native is pictured here performing on stage in 1992 when he was 26.
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Which rock star was front and center during a funeral-themed photoshoot with one of his earliest bands, The Hentchmen, in Detroit in 1998? Jack White, who was in his early 20s at the time. The following year, he and Meg White released their debut self-titled studio album as The White Stripes.
