Jack Russell, Great White

[GuitarAttack Forum]

All - I found out over the weekend that Jack Russell, the lead singer for the band "Great White", had passed away at age 63.

Great White was one of my favorite bands from the 80s, and their music, though based in Southern California, was different and more blues-based compared to the garden variety "Hair Metal" of the day.

One recommendation - Great White's Led Zep tribute (shown below) is one for the ages. They could have kept playing as a tribute band based on this set. You don't have to buy a CD - it is available at a number of different places, including YouTube, but if you like Led Zep, this is for you.

John

[antares]

Sad news about Jack Russell but that's a great heads-up about Great White. I'd never heard of them John.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Steve - Not to assume, but I am sure you've heard of Led Zeppelin! lol

I did enjoy them - worth a listen. Their guitarist, Mark Kendall, had more in common with Jimmy Page than the everyday shredder. Very bluesy.

John

[antares]

A lot of folk don't recognise that LZ were fundamentally a blues band, probably because of the in yer face nature of their performances. Another thing that passes them by for much the same reason is just how good Pagey is (was?) at identifying and exploiting melodies within the riffing framework.

Factoid#1 : LZ never released a 7" single / 45 RPM over here, but I believe they may have done in The USA? That was probably Peter Grant's decision.

Factoid #2 : The original vinyl pressing of LZ IV had nothing on the gatefold sleeve nor on the labels on the disks that identified it as LZ- there was simply no need. It didn't even have a title. Unfortunately that significant characteristic wasn't carried over to the CD when it was released.

Go for it Swifties, there's a distinction between lemming like mass hysteria and what was going on when LZ were in their prime. The first band to have their own liveried jet airliner? Five nights of five and a half hour gigs across two consecutive weekends at Earls Court Arena and it was genuinely awesome.

Heady times indeed.

[antares]

Well I (we) have just listened through the tribute on YouTube. That was astonishing John. Thanks again for the prompt.

[dnic]

Thanks John, I'll check it out. 63 years old is to young!