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.
Was It the Night?
Great White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh no here comes another empty day
I Still see the leaves of October
A winter of Heartache on way
And looking back
seems like yesterday
My world was so bright
[Chorus]
(Was it)
Was it the night
Was it something in her eyes
Got me to thinking
thinking bout you
Always the same
And you know who's to the blame
Thought I was over
Over this pain
No conversation over dinner
Too much room
Oh so cold inside my bed
Froze in a long, long, lonely winter
With no change of seasons up ahead
Thought I was over you
And there you are on every street every boulevard
Anyway I turn leads me to you
[Chorus]
And that life was such a long time ago
But I got these blues once again
I cover my eyes so the pain doesn't show
Looks like ill never
Never let you go- yeah
[Chorus: x2]
Thought I was over
Over this pain
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Was it the night?
The Great White song "Was It the Night?" is a poignant reflection on lost love, heartache, and the haunting memories of a past relationship. The first verse sets the tone, with the singer lamenting that it's hard to believe the relationship is over and that the upcoming days will only be empty. The reference to the leaves of October sets the scene of autumn, typically a symbol of transition and change, but here it only serves to foreshadow a long, cold winter of heartache. The chorus then asks the crucial question: what was the trigger that got the singer thinking about his lost love once again? Was it something in her eyes, or was it the night they spent together? The haunting melody serves to reinforce the emotions of regret and loss that the lyrics express.
The second verse suggests that the singer had perhaps believed he was over his former lover, but the pain of the breakup proves too much to bear. The imagery of an empty bed and a long, lonely winter with no seasons to come reinforces the theme of transition gone awry. The final verse suggests that despite the intervening years, the singer is still haunted by memories of his lost love, and the pain will not go away. The line "looks like I'll never let you go" is a sad acceptance that the singer may never fully move on from his heartache.
Line by Line Meaning
Hard to believe that it's over
It's difficult to accept that the relationship has ended.
Oh no here comes another empty day
The singer feels sadness and emptiness anticipating a future without their lover.
I still see the leaves of October
The singer triggers memories of falling for someone during a specific month.
A winter of Heartache on way
The singer anticipates a difficult, sad season ahead.
And looking back seems like yesterday
Reflecting on the past, it feels like the love was recent.
My world was so bright with the light of your love shinin' through
They describe their strong relationship as a light shining brightly in their life.
Was it the night? Was it something in her eyes?
The singer is unsure what happened to make them fall in love. They wonder if it was a particular night or something they saw in their lover's eyes.
Got me to thinking thinking bout you
Whatever it was that made them fall in love, they think about it often.
Always the same and you know who's to the blame
The singer places the blame on themselves for continually thinking about their old lover.
Thought I was over over this pain
The singer thought they had moved on and left the pain of heartbreak behind, but they were wrong.
No conversation over dinner too much room
The singer has found themselves alone and doesn't have anyone to talk to over dinner. They feel like they are in a large room and that their loneliness is all-encompassing.
Oh so cold inside my bed froze in a long long lonely winter
The singer describes their bed as cold, and they feel trapped in a long, lonely winter of sadness.
With no change of seasons up ahead
There is no foreseeable change or improvement in their future.
And there you are on every street every boulevard anyway I turn leads me to you
The singer is haunted by memories of their old lover. They feel like they see them everywhere they go.
And that life was such a long time ago but I got these blues once again
The singer feels like their past is a distant memory, but they are still struggling with the same old pain and heartache.
I cover my eyes so the pain doesn't show
The singer tries to hide their sadness and pain from others by hiding their eyes.
Looks like I'll never, never let you go - Yeah
The singer doubts they will ever move on completely from their old lover.
Thought I was over over this pain, oh yeah, oh yeah
The singer repeats that they thought they had moved on from their pain, but they feel it again now.
Was it the night?
The singer is still left wondering and asking themselves what it was that made them fall in love.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrew Peralez
Greatest band that ever was
Pamela Welch
Awesome song I love it!
thomas stanley
after following great white their whole career i quit listening in 99 do to no internet or radio moved from the city i just worked my way backward from the newest one and i have to chime in on this one talks about the pain the pain was always their in your music thats who you were thats why you made it big this song brought that back for me
mitchell smiley
probably my favorite song by Great White
Ken Bliss
Agreed. Really a great Great White Song...
Charles W. Morgan Jr
Fucking great song
Brian Lee
Mark Kendall= Guitar God!
Jim Lewandowski
Hell yeah
Keith G
Hell yeah
Jim Lewandowski
I made a tab for the intro online :)