What began as a disagreement over an opening act has turned into a surprisingly lively feud between Charley Crockett and Jack White, with Twin Temple caught at the center of the action.
The trouble dates back to July, when Crockett removed Twin Temple from two scheduled appearances on his Age of the Ram tour. The Los Angeles duo, known for combining vintage doo-wop sounds with deliberately Satanic imagery, said their theatrical presentation was behind the decision.
Crockett initially made comments that appeared to lend weight to that explanation, but he later pushed back against Twin Temple’s version of events. In an August social media post, the country singer said production concerns had surfaced before he took a closer look at the group’s stage presentation. Crockett maintained that he ultimately decided Twin Temple was not the right fit for an all-ages audience.
The story might have ended there if Jack White had not entered the picture.
After Twin Temple’s removal made headlines, White invited the duo to open for him at a Los Angeles concert. The opportunity gave the group another high-profile stage and contributed to a burst of national attention that eventually included a late-night television appearance.
Weeks later, Crockett revived the controversy and directed some of his frustration toward White. He accused the rocker of benefiting from the situation and questioned White’s history of speaking publicly about political issues, particularly during his years with the White Stripes.
White’s response was anything but a standard celebrity statement.
Rather than produce a lengthy point-by-point defense, White turned to an unlikely piece of music history. He used Shawn Brown’s 1980s novelty rap song “Rappin’ Duke” as the centerpiece of a tongue-in-cheek social media response to Crockett.
Crockett wasn’t ready to leave it there. He returned with another lengthy response of his own, escalating the exchange and turning an already unusual music-industry disagreement into a genuine cross-genre feud.
The timing makes the clash particularly interesting. Crockett and White are both busy promoting recent records and touring, while Twin Temple is preparing for the October release of Doomed Lovers.
For now, the dispute has produced an unusual collision of country, garage rock and Satanic doo-wop. Whether the musicians eventually call a truce remains to be seen, but a backstage booking decision has already traveled much further than anyone involved probably expected.
