Who Was Jack Russell? All You Need To Know About Co-Founder And Lead Vocalist Of Rock Band Great White As He Passes Away At 63
Jack Russell, the legendary singer who led the popular 1980s hard rock band Great White has passed away at 63.
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Jack Russell, the Great White founding member has passed away at 63
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Jack announced his Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy diagnosis last month
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to an individual's death.
Jack Russell, a music legend, the Great White founding member and lead singer of the band has died at 63. Ms. Doty confirmed Mr. Russell's passing, which was first revealed in a post on his official Instagram profile on Thursday.
According to K.L. Doty, who wrote Mr. Russell's memoirs, the cause of death was multiple system atrophy with lewy body dementia. The singer had revealed about his battles with multiple system atrophy and Lewy body dementia was released in July.
Jack sang for Great White from 1981 to 1996, when he made an effort at a solo career. Following the release of his first solo album, he rejoined Great White, and the band broke up in 2001.
On December 5, 1960, Russell was born in Montebello, California. Growing up, he was influenced by artists like Steven Tyler and Robert Plant. In high school and beyond, he played lead vocals for numerous bands. After seeing Mark Kendall perform live, Mr. Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall co-founded Great White.
In the early 1980s, the band—originally known as Dante Fox—started performing in tiny Southern California bars. In 1984, it changed to Great White. In 1987, Rock Me, the group's breakthrough single, peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart.
Great White's third album, which had their biggest song, Once Bitten Twice Shy, helped the band find success. The band was nominated for a Grammy in 1990 after the song peaked at No. 5 in 1989. Mr. Russell left Great White for a short time in 1996 to launch a solo career, but he came back in 1999. However, Great White was disbanded by 2001.
After a brief attempt at solo touring under his own name, he renamed the band as Jack Russell's Great White and proceeded to tour under that name from 2002 to 2005. In the same year, he released his second solo album, For You.
Medusa, Russell's joint album with L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns, was released in January 2024. Russell recorded this song in a studio before he retired and passed away.
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