Original Great White Vocalist Jack Russell Dead at 63
Only about one month after retiring from touring due to his recent diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy, original Great White vocalist Jack Russell has died at the age of 63.
Russell’s death was first announced yesterday in a post made to the Facebook account for Jack Russell’s Great White, stating the following:
“With tremendous sadness, we announce the loss of our beloved Hack 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 h is 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.
“At the request of Jack and his family, please refer to K.L. Doty at [email protected] as a further point of contact on his behalf.”
Russell originally joined Great White back in 1981 when the band was still operating under the name Dante Fox. He fronted the band for the following 15 years, rising to prominence with some hit songs including “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” “The Angel Song,” and “Rock Me”.
After leaving the band in 1996, Russell rejoined three years later in 1999. Eventually, Great White called it quits for good in 2001, but Russell would return to front a new band called Jack Russell’s Great White.
Of course when mentioning Jack Russell or Great White, it’s impossible to avoid talking about the tragic 2003 nightclub fire where an indoor pyrotechnics accident at The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island caused one of the deadliest nightclub fires ever, killing 100 and injuring 230 others.
Well, as a member of the Rhode Island rock community that grew up within a mile of the Station Nightclub, as someone who saw that community struggle to heal and resort to anger and vengeance, I think a lot of the response to that incident has been unfair. I’m not saying that the members of the band don’t hold some level of responsibility for what happened, but it was clearly a mistake. I don’t think, in the moment of a man’s death from a debilitating and devastating illness, we should let that mistake overshadow the rest of his life so much that we can’t even find sympathy for him in death.
In that spirit, we would like to extend our condolences to all of Russell’s friends, family, bandmates, and fans in this time of mourning.
