Rocker Jack Russell (Great White) died on August 15, shortly after announcing that he had Lewy body disease. He was 63. In 1979 Russell formed the band Dante Fox (soon to become Great White), but he had to take a sabbatical when he was jailed for 11 months after shooting someone in a botched robbery. He rejoined Great White from 1981-96; the band reformed through the years, though Russell also did solo work. In 2003, Great White was playing at The Station in Warwick, Rhode Island, when their fireworks caught the club on fire—100 people died, including band member Ty Longley. Among the hard-rock band’s more mainstream hits were “Rock Me,” “Save Your Love,” “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” “Desert Moon,” and “Lady Red Light.” This past February, Russell said, “I still love making music; I still love to perform. Even when I’m not having a great night, I still love doing it. It gets into my soul, and I just want to express myself through music. I’ve found no other outlet that is as good at doing that for me as music. I’m so blessed and fortunate—and any other words that mean the same thing—that I do this and I always have done, and I still can do it. Even if I’m not as good as I was when I was 25, who cares? You’re bound to get older someday.”
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