Jack White shares parable about God as White Stripes are inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Jack White delivered an emotional speech as The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

His former bandmate in the two-piece group, drummer Meg White, was not in attendance Saturday night. She has rarely appeared in public since the band split almost 15 years ago.

The ceremony at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles featured a mix of tributes, speeches and performances as Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, Salt-N-Pepa, Bad Company, Outkast, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker and Warren Zevon were also inducted.

Session musicians Carole Kaye and Nicky Hopkins were also honored, along with record producers Thom Bell and Lenny Waronker.

There were tributes to a number of musical greats who have died in the past year. Elton John sang “God Only Knows” for Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, who died in June. Stevie Wonder, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck and Questlove of The Roots were among many who joined forces for a tribute to Sly Stone, who died just a few days before Wilson.

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Cyndi Lauper, who was inducted by Chappel Roan, was joined by Avril Lavigne and Salt-N-Pepa for a boisterous version of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

Missy Elliott paid tribute to Salt-N-Pepa for their pioneering work. "This is for every woman who picked up a mic when they told her she couldn't," said Cheryl 'Salt' James later said.

In his speech,Jack White addressed Meg’s absence by saying: “I spoke with Meg White the other day, and she said that she’s very sorry she couldn’t make it here tonight, but she wanted me to tell you that she’s very grateful.”

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He concluded by delivering a lengthy parable about the formation of the garage rock band, that he claimed was originally written as a letter addressed to the drummer.

“One time a girl climbed a tree and in that tree was a boy — her brother, she thought — and the tree looked so glorious and beautiful, but it was just an oak tree. And these two so loved the world that they brought forth a parade float, one they built in their garage behind the oak tree with their own bare hands,” he began.

After detailing the pride he and Meg felt to see the reaction to their music, he concluded: “And the boy and the girl looked at each other and they also smiled and they both felt the sin of pride, but they kept on smiling. Smiling from a new freedom, knowing that they had shared and made another person feel something. And they felt the person smiling at them was a stranger. So they didn’t even know. But it wasn’t just a stranger, it was God.”

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Earlier this year, White became embroiled in a war of words with President Donald Trump.

The musician claimed Trump is “masquerading as a human being” and branded his administration “petty and thin-skinned” in response to the White House calling him a “has-been loser”.