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 MΓΆtley CrΓΌe'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 β 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.
How Far Is Heaven?
Great White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another tear falls from my eyes.
And in the quiet torrential pain,
I try to reconcile my mind.
She was my love, she was everything,
Oh I never dreamed that she would go.
I know she had to leave,
But only god knows why.
She asked me with a sigh.
[Chorus]
Heaven,
I really need to know,
Is it a long way?
I really need to know,
How far is Heaven?
The candle's burning low
With every moment our lives unwind, each breath more precious than the last.
With every heartbeat each grain of time, the future fades into the past.
Life has a time for everything, oh when it comes and when it goes.
So treasure every moment, follow all your dreams, live a life of love,
It's shorter than it seems.
[Chorus]
Now all the nights are long and cold,
And the world closes in and the pain is so strong,
I pray for the light and dry my tired eyes,
But not for the last time.
[Chorus]
The lyrics of "How Far Is Heaven?" by Great White express the pain and confusion of losing a loved one. The first verse describes the singer's tears and attempts to come to terms with his girlfriend leaving him. He had never expected her to go, and she asked him how far heaven was just before she left.
The chorus repeats the question of how far heaven is, conveying the singer's longing to be reunited with his lost love. The second verse uses the imagery of a burning candle and the passing of time to emphasize the preciousness of life and the importance of following one's dreams.
The final verse describes the ongoing struggle with grief but ends on a hopeful note, as the singer prays for light and the strength to keep going. Overall, the lyrics convey a message of cherishing every moment and living a life of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Standing silent in the pouring rain,
I am standing here alone in the rain, without anyone to comfort me.
Another tear falls from my eyes.
I am crying uncontrollably due to the pain in my heart.
And in the quiet torrential pain,
The pain that I am feeling is unbearable, yet I must endure it in silence.
I try to reconcile my mind.
I am attempting to come to terms with what has happened and make peace with it in my mind.
She was my love, she was everything,
The person who left me was my love, my everything. They meant the world to me.
Oh I never dreamed that she would go.
I never expected that this person would leave me or that I would experience this kind of heartbreak.
I know she had to leave,
I understand that there were circumstances that led to their departure.
But only God knows why.
Despite my understanding, the reason why they had to leave is still unknown to me and only God can answer it.
Just before she left,
Right before they departed from me,
She asked me with a sigh.
They asked me a question with a deep exhale, conveying the depth of their emotions.
Heaven,
In reference to the afterlife, where they believe their loved one has gone.
I really need to know,
I am desperate to understand something and find closure in my heart.
Is it a long way?
I want to know the distance or extent of separation they currently feel from their loved one.
How far is Heaven?
They are asking the ultimate question about how far away from them their loved one truly is, and if they are at peace.
The candle's burning low
A metaphor for time running out, and the urgency of making the most of life while it lasts.
With every moment our lives unwind,
With the passing of every moment, life unfolds and time ticks by.
each breath more precious than the last.
Every breath we take is a gift and should be cherished, as it is not guaranteed that we will have another.
With every heartbeat each grain of time,
Every beat of our hearts is a reminder that time is moving forward and we are constantly aging and growing older.
the future fades into the past.
As each day goes by, the future becomes the past and all we have left is the memories of what we have done with our lives.
Life has a time for everything,
There is a specific time and purpose for every event or stage in life.
oh when it comes and when it goes.
Life is unpredictable and sometimes the good times end too quickly, while the difficult times drag on for what seems like forever.
So treasure every moment, follow all your dreams, live a life of love,
We should live every day as if it were our last, pursuing our dreams and living life to the fullest while spreading love to those around us.
It's shorter than it seems.
Life can be fleeting and we should make the most of every moment, as time passes more quickly than we often realize.
Now all the nights are long and cold,
The time since their loved one left has been difficult and lonely, with nights feeling particularly long and lonely.
And the world closes in and the pain is so strong,
The feeling of sadness and heartbreak is intense and overwhelming, making it difficult to move on or focus on anything else.
I pray for the light and dry my tired eyes,
They are asking for divine help to find their way out of the darkness and make sense of their situation.
But not for the last time.
There is still hope for the future and they will continue to ask for help and guidance when needed.
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Jack Russell
thank you all for your support. Jack Russell
Jim Bob Z17
Jack Russell best voice of all time ππ»
Jasper Cane
Beautiful and Soulful! Prayers for your health.
Kevin Rentz
Jack you are the man. I will always be a true fan
D T
βοΈππΆπ
vsp888
Everyone I meet I tell them you are the best singer ever. All the best from the Czech Republic
MrChevyman161
I love the newer stuff.. They really refined the sound, And Jack Russell just brings everything that he has to every song he sings
Tonya D. Manning
I LOVE GREAT WHITE THANK YOU <3!!!
Tonya D. Manning
it seems not too far now this is a fave thank you so much!!
Frank Ruiz
This is my favorite GW RECORD !!!!