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 naturally 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. concert halls such as Perkins Palace in Pasadena, The Palace in Hollywood and the Country Club in Reseda. As an unsigned act, Great White headlined at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia playing to 6,250 people. Near the end of 1983, EMI America signed the band and subsequently released Great White's eponymous debut album ('Great White') in early 1984. The band immediately toured the UK supporting Whitesnake's Slide It In tour and the entire US and Canada opening for Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith tour. 'Shot in the Dark', their follow-up independent release, marked the arrival of drummer Audie Desbrow. By the time Capitol Records signed the band and reissued Shot in the Dark, keyboardist-guitarist Michael Lardie had come aboard. After the release of Shot in the Dark, Great White hit the road with Dokken and was on the verge of even bigger success.
The band hit the mainstream in 1987 when they released 'Once Bitten', which featured the hits "Rock Me" and "Save Your Love". Once Bitten... was certified platinum in April 1988.
The band followed up with '...Twice Shy' in 1989. The album included their biggest hit, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", a cover of a UK hit single by Ian Hunter. They received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified platinum in July 1989 and then double platinum in September of that same year. The model Bobbie Brown (also known for being in Warrant's "Cherry Pie" video) appeared in the video for "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". They finished off the 80s touring in support of ...Twice Shy as headliners and with some best known bands, such as Bon Jovi.
In 1990, the band featured in the heavy metal video series Hard 'N' Heavy containing music, concert footage and interviews. The video included Slash and Duff from Guns N' Roses appearing with the band at a Children of the Night Benefit concert in L.A., the performance helping to raise money for housing abused homeless children. Both bands shared the same manager, Alan Niven at the time.
The band continued into the next decade performing the song "House of Broken Love" at the American Music Awards in January 1990. In March, Great White embarked on their first tour of Japan. They returned to the United States for the Memorial Day weekend festival dubbed The World Series of Rock, which featured Whitesnake, Skid Row, Bad English, and Hericane Alice. Great White recorded two more albums for Capitol Records, 'Hooked', which was certified gold, and 'Psycho City'. In support of Hooked, Great White did a tour as headliner tour, had a guest slot with German metal band Scorpions and travelled to Europe and Japan. Psycho City was followed by a US tour with Kiss.
Capitol issued the compilation 'The Best of Great White 1986-1992' in 1993, when Great White had already departed the label to begin work on their next studio release, 'Sail Away'. Before the release of the album, Great White spent seven months on the road headlining clubs. According to Lardie, it was "the longest stint we ever did without a break." Great White kept up the pace once Sail Away was released on Zoo Records in 1994, touring the US several times over the following year and a half. Their next release, Let It Rock, was released in 1996 through yet another label, Imago Records.
In 1999, the band released 'Can't Get There from Here' and embarked on a tour with Ratt, Poison, and L.A. Guns. The album featured the single "Rollin' Stoned", which managed to chart at No. 8 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
In a memo dated 20 January 2000 Mark Kendall announced he was leaving Great White, shortly thereafter both Audie Desbrow and Sean McNabb left Great White. Kendall was replaced by guitarist Matthew Johnson. Desbrow, clearly very unhappy with the financial state of the band posted a tirade on his website lambasting Jack Russell and Michael Lardie, while claiming to have been "fired" from Great White. Meanwhile, it was rumored that Sean McNabb was fired for going to management and asking to see the accounting books. Despite only having one original member left, the band announced plans to begin work on a new album in late 2000. Early in the process, some of the new songs were played for John Kalodner at Columbia Records. It was mutually agreed that the "magic was gone" and the band decided their heart was not in the recording process. They subsequently left Columbia Records and discontinued work on the new album. On 5 November 2001 Jack Russell announced the end of Great White, stating that he was moving on, and that Great White would play one final farewell show on 31 December 2001 at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, CA. Both Kendall and McNabb rejoined the band for the farewell show, recorded for a live CD entitled 'Thank You...Goodnight!' released by Knight Records. The live album includes two new tracks, "Back to the Rhythm" and "Play On" from their discontinued studio sessions, both of which would ultimately wind up on their reunion album 'Back to the Rhythm' in 2007.
In late 2002, in part due to his failure to attract good audiences while on the road with his solo band, Jack Russell contacted Kendall, who himself was struggling to gain an audience on his own. Kendall agreed to play some dates with Russell's band, allowing Russell to use the name Great White once again. Billed as "Jack Russell's Great White," the tour was to consist primarily of classic songs from the Great White catalog with some of Russell's solo work mixed in. Eventually, more dates were added and the tour extended through the early months of 2003.
The band returned to the national spotlight on 20 February 2003. At the beginning of a Great White performance at The Station night club in Rhode Island, pyrotechnics used by the band's crew created a spray of sparks that ignited the foam soundproofing material in the ceiling around the stage. One hundred people including the band's guitarist Ty Longley, died in the fire that followed. In 2008 the band agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and victims' relatives of the fire while admitting to no wrongdoing. This amount also covers former tour manager Daniel Biechele along with the band members, record label, and management as it existed at the time of the fire. The settlement was the maximum allowed under the band's insurance plan. Victims had previously received $3.8 million raised by United Way of America.
Though the media referred to the band as "Great White" following the tragedy in Rhode Island, the band was officially performing under the moniker of "Jack Russell's Great White" at the time of the incident. In fact, prior to the fire, the band's official website posted a message stating that Great White had not re-formed. It's unclear when the band began officially going by "Great White" again.
Great White played their first full show following the Rhode Island tragedy on 22 July, starting a benefit tour for the survivors and victims of the fire. The band toured until 2005 to raise funds for the Station Family Fund, which had been set up to help the victims of the tragedy. In late 2005, citing "medical reasons", the band canceled the second half of their summer tour. The "medical reasons" turned out to be Jack Russell's addictions to alcohol and cocaine. This was the end of this version of Great White, as Jack Russell entered rehabilitation and did not perform again until 2007. Russell used the year of 2006 to get sober and get a facelift that was detailed on ExtraTV. Russell later referred to this incarnation of Great White as "Fake White", saying "It still sounded like Great White, but not – almost like we were doing a cover of ourselves."
Talk of a reunion of Great White began in a 2004 interview. Later in 2006, guitarist Mark Kendall officially announced that Great White had re-formed its classic lineup. The re-formed lineup of Russell, Kendall, Lardie, McNabb and Desbrow played their first date together in more than 5 years on 27 January 2007 at the Keyclub in Hollywood performing in the Harpseals.org Benefit Concert for the Seals 2007. In 2008, bassist Sean McNabb left Great White to concentrate on a career in theater and acting. McNabb was promptly replaced with Scott Snyder (Ramos, Accomplice). McNabb went on to join Dokken.
Great White released their album, 'Rising', on 13 March 2009 in Europe via Frontiers Records and on 21 April in the US.
In 2010, Jani Lane of Warrant filled in for Jack Russell, while Russell recuperated from surgery after suffering a perforated bowel. Terry Ilous (XYZ) replaced Jack Russell at the Coach House during the summer of 2010, and Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot, King Kobra) filled in for Russell when Great White performed at Stockholm Rock Out Festival in September. In December 2011, Russell formed a new incarnation of Great White with a brand-new lineup under the name of "Jack Russell's Great White".
On 18 March 2012 Great White announced their first new album with Ilous, 'Elation' , to be released in May that year, along with a live album ('30 Years: Live From The Sunset Strip') and a concert DVD of the band's 30th-anniversary show at the Key Club in Hollywood on 22 March.
Lorne Black, Great White's original bassist, who performed and recorded with the group up through the Once Bitten album, died on September 27, 2013. He was 50 years old.
On June 2, 2017, Great White released their most recent studio effort, 'Full Circle', on Bluez Tone Records, with Wagener as the producer. The song "Big Time" was released as the first single and video. On July 9, 2018, Great White announced that they had parted ways with Terry Illous as their singer and he was replaced by Mitch Malloy.
On May 31, 2022, Great White announced vocalist Andrew Freeman of Last In Line replaced Malloy as the band's lead singer and frontman.
Bad Boys
Great White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Live fast to play both sides. I'm out to win
I'm no loser. I have nothing to lose
My life ain't easy, but it's mine to use
Raised on the streets I know
To get what you want you gotta take control"
I'm on the run, bad boys
I'm on the loose, bad boys
Pull of the trigger, time starts to crawl
Two lives have ended when the hammer falls
Raised on the streets I know
To get what you want you gotta take control
The lost years were long each night was cold
The way I felt? Feel the snow
I've done my time, paid what I owed
Don't want those walls of steel and stone
I put myself behind the wall
Now that I'm back
Ain't gonna fall
The lyrics of Great White's song Bad Boys talk about a young boy who loves the fast life and seeks to win both sides of life. The boy is out to win and has nothing to lose. He understands that getting what one wants requires taking control, and he has been raised on the streets, so he knows how to take control. He's a bad boy, always on the run and on the loose. He has paid his dues and knows that pulling the trigger can be a life-altering experience.
The lyrics imply that this boy has been through a lot and has had to survive rough street life to make it to where he is. He has been behind walls of steel and stone but has made it out and is not going to fall. Perhaps he has been in prison or has been through some tough times that caused him to be a bad boy. His experiences have toughened him up, and he is ready to take on whatever life throws at him.
The song's message is about survival and taking control. It talks about the importance of being strong and not giving up. People who have been through tough times can relate to the lyrics and find solace in knowing that they are not alone. The song's driving melody and powerful lyrics make it a classic rock anthem that has stood the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Young boy. A hard, gin, ride. On the loose again
I'm young and wild, living life on the edge. I enjoy taking risks and I'm back to my old ways
Live fast to play both sides. I'm out to win
I believe that one should live an exciting and risky life because it brings out the best in you. I'm determined to be successful and will stop at nothing to achieve it
I'm no loser. I have nothing to lose
I'm not someone who backs down or fails. I don't have anything to lose, so I'm going all-in
My life ain't easy, but it's mine to use
I know that my life is not simple, but I have control over it and I will live it the way I want to
Raised on the streets I know, To get what you want you gotta take control
I grew up on the tough streets and I learned early on that if you want something, you have to go after it and take charge
I'm on the run, bad boys, I'm on the loose, bad boys, I'm on my way. I've paid my dues
I'm a wanted man and I'm constantly on the move, but I don't care because I've worked hard and paid for my mistakes
Pull of the trigger, time starts to crawl, Two lives have ended when the hammer falls, Raised on the streets I know, To get what you want you gotta take control
I am not afraid to use violence to get what I want, but I know that there are consequences to my actions. I was raised to be tough and take charge
The lost years were long each night was cold, The way I felt? Feel the snow, I've done my time, paid what I owed, Don't want those walls of steel and stone
I've spent many years locked up in prison, enduring cold nights and feeling alone. I've paid for my past mistakes and have no desire to be locked up again
I put myself behind the wall, Now that I'm back, Ain't gonna fall
I'm the one who put myself in prison, but now that I'm out, I won't make the same mistakes again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARK S. KENDALL, JACK RUSSELL, LORNE BLACK, GARY J. HOLLAND, ALAN NIVEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Barry Hines
Rock n Roll Legends !! I grew up with these Bad Boys. Then I met them all backstage at Metro Center & talked to lead
singer Jack for awhile before they were up to jam. And jam they did!! Wow!! They will always be one of my top10!!
Rebelinparadise 71
This album and Icon's self-titled debut album were the two best albums. There were the mainstream bands like W.A.S.P. but those two were not out in the public eye much, though their music killed.
Mike Reese
Rebelinparadise 71 honstley the first great white might be one of the top 10 "metal up your abs" albums of all time. Don't mistake what I'm saying here. I'm talking real heavy metal albums not technically great, but metal
Mean Dean
This was when Great White was a BAD-ASS HEAVY METAL BAND, before they started wimping out later in the 80's.
No_Stick_Drummer
@Andrew Chase I actually think that this album is heavier than Def Leppard high and dry but as far as melodic rock goes I think Def Leppard wins that by far
Andrew Chase
"before they started wimping out later in the 80's."
I'm guessing their producer and/or label put them up to wimping out, much like Def Leppard after "Pyromania".
FreakEating
Underrated song!
Brian Keightly
I've been rocking a long time , my first car was a Ford Gran Torino ,. I remember blasting this song, great white , there first album was a heavy record . Then they went bluesy
sheryl foreman
Favorite song from great white
brian keightly
this album kicked ass , then they went more bluesy .