Great White

This article is about the American rock band. For the shark, see Great white shark. For other uses, see Great White (disambiguation).
"Dante Fox" redirects here. For the professional wrestler, see AR Fox.
Great White
Great White at Moondance Jam 2008
Great White at Moondance Jam 2008
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1977–2001
  • 2006–present
Labels
MembersMark Kendall
Audie Desbrow
Michael Lardie
Scott Snyder
Brett Carlisle
Past membersTerry Ilous
Tony Montana
Ty Longley
Jack Russell
Lorne Black
Mitch Malloy
Gary Holland
Andrew Freeman
Websiteofficialgreatwhite.com

Great White is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records Once Bitten (1987) and ...Twice Shy (1989),[3] and those albums' singles "Rock Me" and "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" received considerable airplay through radio and MTV.[4][5][6] They charted two Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song."[7] They continued to release new material into the 1990s. The band is named after both the shark with the same name, and guitarist Mark Kendall's former stage nickname.

Great White disbanded in 2001, with several members releasing solo material; by the following year, however, Mark Kendall had joined up with lead singer Jack Russell's solo touring band, and the group began performing as Jack Russell's Great White,[8] which also made headlines when, in 2003, their show pyrotechnics set a Rhode Island nightclub on fire, leading to the deaths of 100 people, including band member Ty Longley.[9] In 2006, following a brief hiatus, the official Great White reformed with other members of the classic lineup joining Russell and Kendall. After more than three decades as their singer, Russell left the band in 2011 and again began touring with a backing band under the name Jack Russell's Great White, until Russell's retirement and death in 2024. Great White has since continued on without Russell, who was first replaced by XYZ vocalist Terry Ilous, who stayed in the band until 2018 when Mitch Malloy replaced him. Malloy left in 2022 and was replaced by Andrew Freeman, later followed by Brett Carlisle the same year.

As of August 2008, Great White estimated they had sold around eight million records worldwide.[10]

  1. ^ Phillips, William (2009). Encyclopedia of heavy metal music. Brian Cogan. Westport, Connecticut. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-313-34801-3. OCLC 475534546.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Rock Champions – Great White | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved June 21, 2021
  3. ^ "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". riaa.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "KNAC A to Z Listing". March 5, 2000. Archived from the original on March 5, 2000. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990)". rocklists.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "Headbangers Ball- The Unofficial Tribute Site – Episode Database". headbangersballunofficialtributesite.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "Great White: Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference jwgw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Jeffries, David. "Great White Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  10. ^ "Interview of Great White (Mark Kendall) for the "Back To The Rhythm" release". Auxportesdumetal.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2013.