Jack Russell, former lead singer of the band Great White died on August 15, 20124 at 63-years-old. The news was confirmed by his family in an Instagram post. “With tremendous sadness, we announce the loss of our belowed Jack Patrick Russell,” they wrote in the post which mentioned that he died “peacefully” while surrounded by his wife, son, and other family members. According to K.L. Doty, who authored Russell’s memoir, the cause of death was lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy, per WBZ-TV. Just less than a month before his death, Russell announced he was retiring from performing live due to his lewy body dementia diagnosis. “I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve,” he wrote on Facebook in July.
Great White originally rose in popularity in the ’80s and early ’90s with their hit cover of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” Unfortunately, Russell had the ignominious distinction of performing during the Station Nightclub fire in 2003 which killed over 100 people and injured 200 more. In his memoir, which was released just weeks before his death, Russell offered an apology to the families of the fire’s victims. “I’m sorry for every gentle embrace of love no longer possible and that you dread every twentieth of February for more reasons than ice and snow,” he wrote [via WBZ-TV].
Later, the singer left the band and created Jack Russell’s Great White, and had a long-lasting feud with a former bandmate.
Jack Russell’s friction with Mark Kendall
After leaving Great White in 1996, Jack Russell started his own band. A decade later, he rejoined Great White in 2006, but left the group for good in 2011. There was animosity between Russell and the band’s co-founder, guitarist Mark Kendall, as the singer discussed in December 2022. “We were best friends, we were brothers for years. And now it’s like the guy won’t even pick up the phone and speak to me,” Russell said appearing on the “Sonic Boom” radio show [via Blabbermouth.net]. “[H]e’s always talking s*** about me,” Russell added. However, according to Kendall, substance abuse was the reason the band broke up. “The thing that took [Russell] out is the horrible demons of addiction, and it’s really affected his health,” Kendall revealed in an interview with Dr. Music (via Blabbermouth.net).
Late in his career, Russell was able to move past that animosity, and started a band that was not affiliated with either version of Great White. In February 2024, the singer released an album with L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns with their group Medusa. At the time, Russell spoke about having the itch to perform after decades in the industry. “Even if I’m not as good as I was when I was 25, who cares?” he said in a YouTube interview with JoelGausten.com. “You’re bound to get older someday,” Russell added.
Of course, Russell’s time as the Medusa frontman was short lived as health issues caused him to retire months later.
