Jack Russell, the singer who led the popular 1980s hard rock band Great White as well as a spinoff group, which set off one of the deadliest nightclub fires of all time, died on Aug. 7 at a family member’s home in Southern California. He was 63.
The cause was Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy, said K.L. Doty, who collaborated with Mr. Russell on his autobiography.
Mr. Russell’s death was announced in a post on his official Instagram profile on Thursday and confirmed by Ms. Doty. Great White also paid tribute to his death on its Instagram page.
Mr. Russell founded Great White with the guitarist Mark Kendall. The band, originally called Dante Fox, began playing in small clubs in Southern California in the early 1980s. It changed its name to Great White in 1984 and had its first big hit in 1987, when “Rock Me” reached the No. 60 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Great White found success with its third album, which featured its biggest hit, “Once Bitten Twice Shy.” The song climbed to No. 5 in 1989 and earned the band a Grammy nomination.
Mr. Russell briefly left Great White in 1996 to pursue a solo career. He returned in 1999, but by 2001, Great White had disbanded.
In 2002, Mr. Russell and Mr. Kendall hired three new musicians and began playing in small clubs as Jack Russell’s Great White. In February 2003, while the band was performing at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., its pyrotechnics ignited a deadly fire that killed 100 people, including Great White’s guitarist, Ty Longley, and left 230 injured. It was one of the worst nightclub fires in U.S. history.
The two brothers who owned the club, and who installed the highly flammable soundproofing foam around its stage, were charged in connection with the fire, as was the band’s tour manager, who lit the blaze.
Mr. Russell was not charged, but members of the band agreed to pay a $1 million settlement.
By 2005, Jack Russell’s Great White had disbanded after “the stress from lawsuits, inner band turmoil and Russell’s substance abuse problems had taken its toll,” according to All Music Guide.
In 2013, nearly a decade after the fire, he told The Boston Globe, “It’s been almost 10 years, and no matter what I say it’s never going to make anybody feel any better about it, and sometimes it might make them feel worse, so I really would rather not say too much, you know.”
Great White reunited in 2007, although the reunion was short-lived. Mr. Russell continued making music with Jack Russell’s Great White but announced in an Instagram post in July that he was retiring because of his health problems.
“I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve,” Mr. Russell wrote. “Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love, and support.”
Jack Patrick Russell was born on Dec. 5, 1960, in Montebello, Calif. He grew up in Whittier, Calif., and dropped out of high school to pursue music.
He is survived by his wife, Heather Ann Russell, and his son, Matthew Hucko.
Read More: Jack Russell, 63, Dies; Singer for Great White and Survivor of Nightclub Fire
