Former GREAT WHITE frontman JACK RUSSELL dead at 63

16 August 2024

Jack Russell, the former frontman of GREAT WHITE, has died at the age of 63. The news comes just a month after Russell announced his retirement from touring, having been diagnosed with two degenerative conditions, Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy.

Confirmation of Russell's passing came in a statement released on social media, which read, "With tremendous sadness, we announce the loss of our beloved Jack Patrick Russell - father, husband, cousin, uncle, and friend.

"Jack passed peacefully in the presence of his wife Heather Ann Russell, son Matthew Hucko, cousin Naomi Breshears Barbor, and dear friends Billy and Cheryl Pawelcik."

Russell was born in Montebello, California, in 1960, and decided he wanted to become a rock star at an early age, inspired by THE BEATLES' Help and Ringo Starr. He joined his first band aged 11, and hooked up with guitarist Mark Kendall to form DANTE FOX after being released from an 11-month spell in prison in 1979.

The band changed their name to GREAT WHITE at the behest of future GUNS N' ROSES manager Alan Niven, and reached a mainstream audience with their third album, the million-selling Once Bitten... in 1987, which contained two hit singles in Rock Me and Save Your Love.

Russell remained GREAT WHITE's frontman until 1996 before leaving to pursue a solo career, but he rejoined three years later and stayed there until the band broke up in 2001.

Two years later, while touring as Jack Russell's GREAT WHITE, Russell's life was changed irrevocably after a devastating fire broke out during a show at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killing 100 people and injuring 230.

In 2006 Russell rejoined GREAT WHITE, but left three years later after seriously injuring his back in a fall at home. In 2011, he started touring again as Jack Russell's Great White, and in 2017 the band released their debut album, He Saw It Comin'. He continued to tour, and played his final show on April 6 this year at the Ground Zero MusicFest in Bandera, Texas.