Trivia

He wrote several hit songs with Mark Spiro, including Zadora's "Let's Dance Tonight" (1984) and Hazell Dean's "Who's Leaving Who" (1988), and he also worked with Anne Murray, producing tracks on her 1986 album Something to Talk About and all tracks on her 1987 album Harmony.

Among the songs he produced or co-produced for the international market were Laura Branigan's "Gloria" (1982), "Solitaire" (1983), "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" (1983), "Self Control" (1984) and "The Lucky One" (1984), as well as Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora's "When the Rain Begins to Fall" (1984).

White developed an interest in both football and music in his childhood, but initially chose footballing as a career. He played professionally for six years, then chose to play at an amateur level while pursuing a career in music.

As a producer, White worked with many international pop artists, especially the subgenre of synth-pop that was very popular in the 1980s. The development of synthesisers and music production software influenced White's music, as the majority of early producers in the 1980s developed the foundations of electronic dance music.

His international fame resulted in his own work becoming successful in German speaking nations. White is credited on 2513 records over his career and has created 25 of his own.

Before getting into music, White began playing professional football at the age of 20 for FC Viktoria Köln. He finished his professional career at PSV Eindhoven, coming eighth in the 1965-66 season. He then continued an amateur career at Tennis Borussia Berlin for 10 years while furthering his music career. From 1992 to 1995, White served as their club president.

On 18 December 2015, he married his fourth wife, the Russian-German Rafaella, 44 years his junior. At the age of 78, White became a father to their son Maximilian Noah in March 2019. At the age of 83, White became a father to their daughter Angelina Melody on 30 October 2023. On 16 October 2025, White's body was discovered in Berlin. He was 85.

White began as a singer in his native Germany in the late 1960s, and found local success performing at bars. At the same time, White also began to produce and write music for other German musicians, and had his first hit, "Schöne Maid", sung by Tony Marshall, in 1971.

He also worked with Paul Anka, Barry Manilow ("You're Looking Hot Tonight"), Engelbert Humperdinck and Audrey Landers.

Jack White was a German composer, producer and footballer.

No one has combined the charts and Hollywood in their life like Jack White. His real name was Horst Nussbaum. But because his producer also had Roy Black under contract, he became Jack White. Under this name, he had an unprecedented career.

At 83, he became a father for the seventh time in 2023. White and his wife Rafaella, 44 years his junior, had been married since 2015. For White, it was her fourth marriage. Recently (2025), there were reports that the couple had separated. Rafaella Nussbaum told the magazine "Bunte": "It's a separation full of respect and deep friendship." They had been living separately under the same roof for several months, she said.

His passion was music. His first single ("Ein paar Tränen") in 1967 was followed by 14 more attempts - all without success. His breakthrough came when he switched sides and won the German Schlager Festival in 1969 as a composer with Roberto Blanco for the song "Heute so, morgen so.".

White has sold more than a billion records and written over a thousand songs. "From beggar boy to global star" - that's how he liked to describe his life.

He told the German Press Agency on the occasion of his 80th birthday: "After my father ran away, we lived with our mother for 15 months in a six-square-meter space in a so-called air-raid shelter. No one needs to explain to me how life can be different.".

During the 1970s, he wrote approximately 1,000 songs. White received more than 400 gold and platinum awards, and in 1976, he received a diamond record for selling 100 million records.

His longtime wife, Rafaella Nussbaum, announced on October 8 that she had separated from Jack White. Since then, the media has written a great deal about the hit producer's marriage and family. Just eight days later, the news of his death caused a stir.

He composed countless evergreens, including for Jürgen Marcus, Roland Kaiser, Lena Valaitis, and Vicky Leandros. He also enjoyed international success. The previously unknown Laura Branigan landed two number one hits with his songs "Gloria" and "Self Control." David Hasselhoff owes millions of sales to the worldwide hit "Looking For Freedom," written by White. Other international stars such as Paul Anka, Jermaine Jackson, Tony Christie, and Engelbert Humperdinck also entrusted their productions to Berlin-based White.

The last months of the composer's life were turbulent. At the end of December 2024, he fell in his Berlin office. His wife, Rafaella, found him unconscious on the floor after he slipped and hit his head on the edge of a table. His wife called an ambulance. "Without her, I wouldn't be alive anymore," he told "Bunte" at the time. White had to be placed in an artificial coma and put on a ventilator. A lengthy hospital stay followed. He was hospitalized for about four weeks. During his recovery, he suffered a stroke in early 2025 and required further intensive care and subsequent medical attention.

He was born in Cologne, the son of a butcher. As a boy, he delivered bread rolls and newspapers to support his mother. He trained as a foreign trade clerk, earned several interpreting diplomas, and eventually embarked on his first career as a professional footballer.