Former GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell has died at the age of 63.
On August 15th, the following statement was posted on Russell‘s social media, “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.
Details of a public memorial will be announced at a later date.
Jack is loved and remembered for his sense of humor, exceptional zest for life, and unshakeable contribution to rock and roll where his legacy will forever thrive.
His family asks for privacy at this time.”
The news of Russell‘s passing comes less than a month after he announced that he was retiring from touring following a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. Lewy body dementia is the second most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Lewy body dementia is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease due to its early similarity to those other neurodegenerative diseases.
Many musicians have posted expressions of sadness and sympathy of Russell’s passing with most commenting on his singing voice. To read some of their messages, click on their highlighted names : Mark Kendall, Dee Snider, Tom Keifer, Bret Michaels, Mike Portnoy, Fred Coury, Stephen Pearcy and Terry Ilous
Russell co-founded Great White with the guitarist Mark Kendall. The band, originally called Dante Fox, began playing in small clubs in Southern California in the early 1980s. It became Great White in 1984. The group’s first big hit, Rock Me, landed the No. 60 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1987.
Great White found success with its third album, which featured its biggest hit, Once Bitten Twice Shy. The song reached No. 5 in 1989 and earned the band a 1990 Grammy nomination.
Russell briefly left Great White in 1996 to build a solo career but returned in 1999. By 2001, Great White had disbanded. The band reunited in 2007, but it was short-lived, as Russell continued making music with Jack Russell’s Great White. He announced in an Instagram post in July that he was retiring because of his health problems.
3 Responses
By today’s standards, 63, is quite young.
It seems Russell‘s life had been marred with ongoing health problems, due to his long history, of substance abuse.
Tragic, RIP Jack.
Loved seeing him on the Strip in 1983….that first album was killer….
Ramit, I saw him/Great White then, too! Personally, I like the first EP better than their debut album.