Great White is a hard rock band which formed in 1978 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band was popular during the late 1980's when their cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" became a Top 5 hit in the United States. The band's only constant members have been Jack Russell (vocals) and Mark Kendall (guitar), with the exception of a period between 2000 and 2001 in which Kendall did not perform with the band. The band continued to release new material into the 1990s, although none of their material charted in the United States. ...show more

Great White is a hard rock band which formed in 1978 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band was popular during the late 1980's when their cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" became a Top 5 hit in the United States. The band's only constant members have been Jack Russell (vocals) and Mark Kendall (guitar), with the exception of a period between 2000 and 2001 in which Kendall did not perform with the band. The band continued to release new material into the 1990s, although none of their material charted in the United States.

In 2003, the band made headlines when The Station nightclub fire led to the deaths of 100 people in West Warwick, Rhode Island, including the band's guitarist Ty Longley, who had been a member of the band for three years. Great White made a comeback in 2007 with the release of a new album and an accompanying tour Great White started their career as Dante Fox, playing their first gig in 1981 at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California. After recording several demos, the band chose as manager Alan Niven, who had worked for the independent distributor Greenworld in Torrance, California and had dealt with Mötley Crüe's debut self-release. Niven suggested the name change from Dante Fox after seeing singer Jack Russell introduce Mark Kendall (guitarist) during his solo as "Mark Kendall, the Great White", due to his natually white-blonde hair, white Fender Telecaster guitar, white jumpsuit, and white Capezio shoes.

In 1982, founding members Mark Kendall, Jack Russell, drummer Gary Holland, and bassist Lorne Black recorded and released a 5-song EP, Out of the Night, on the independent label Aegean formed by Niven. Niven then convinced the Los Angeles radio station KMET to begin adding songs from the EP to its playlist in heavy rotation. KLOS-FM soon did the same. The band suddenly went from drawing 100 people to a local club to drawing thousands in L.A. ...show less