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Great White is a blues-rock band which came out of Southern California in 1984. They received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song, Once Bitten, Twice Shy.

A pyrotechnic accompaniment to their performance at a nightclub in Rhode Island caused a disastrous fire that took the lives of 97 people, including Great White's guitarist, Ty Longley.

Last updated: June 15, 2004.

• Genre: Rock
• Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
• Major Members: Jack Russell, Mark Kendall, Michael Lardie, Audie Desbrow

Biography

While one infamous nightclub show eclipses their previous achievements, the hard rock/heavy metal band Great White would much rather you remember their Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, the over six million records they sold, and their double platinum album ...Twice Shy.

Formed in the early '80s by vocalist Jack Russell and guitarist Mark Kendall, Great White were regulars of the L.A. club scene, playing their Led Zeppelin- and AC/DC-influenced metal to a quickly growing fan base. Local radio play and more gigging helped sell 20,000 copies of their independent releases, the Out of the Night EP and the full-length Shot in the Dark, both released in 1983.

The EMI label took notice, signed the band, and released its self-titled, major-label debut a year later. Shot in the Dark would be reissued by the label in 1987, the same year as the new album Once Bitten... appeared with the hit single "Rock Me." The album went platinum, but 1989's ...Twice Shy took things even further thanks in no small part to the massive success of the single "Once Bitten Twice Shy," a cover of a Mott the Hoople song written by Mott member Ian Hunter.

Long tours with Ratt and a co-headlined tour with Tesla kept the band out of the studio until 1991 when the polished Hooked appeared with two different album covers, one a provocative side shot of a mermaid hanging off an anchor in mid-air and one less scandalous with the mermaid still submerged. Hooked went gold while their 1992 follow-up, Psycho City, sold less, leading to EMI saying goodbye to the band with the 1993 compilation The Best of Great White.

Sail Away from 1994 found the band on Zoo, while 1996's Let It Rock was released by Imago. A live set of cover tunes featuring the work of their favorite band appeared as Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin, released by Cleopatra in 1999. That same year, Can't Get There from Here on the Portrait label gave fans their first taste of Russell's new writing partnership with longtime friend and former Night Ranger member Jack Blades. Another set of covers formed the 2002 Cleopatra album Recover, but this time the choices were surprising, with the Cult's "Love Removal Machine" and X's "Burning House of Love" getting the Great White treatment.

Forgotten by the mainstream, they were brought back into the limelight when pyrotechnics used by the band sparked a fire in a Rhode Island nightclub on February 20, 2003, killing 100 people, including the band's guitarist, Ty Longley. The 2004 reissue of Recover drew some media attention, since the Horizon label had given it a new and now morbid title, Burning House of Love. Trials concerning the fire continued on into 2006 as questions concerning who authorized the pyrotechnics were being investigated. The band spent the rest of the year touring and playing some benefit concerts for victims of the fire. In early 2007 they began celebrating their 25th Anniversary with some West Coast shows that were tied to the release of VH1 Classic Presents: Metal Mania - Stripped, Vol. 3. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Rock Me: The Best of Great White Buy this CD	Once Bitten, Twice Live Buy this CD	Best of Great White [Platinum Disc] Buy this CD	Great White Greatest Hits Buy this CD	Rock Champions Buy this CD
The Best of Great White [EMI] Buy this CD	Latest & Greatest Buy this CD	Back to Back Hits: Great White/April Wine [1996] Buy this CD	Let It Rock Buy this CD	Sail Away Buy this CD

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• Genre: Nature
• Movie Type: Animals
• Release Year: 1992
• Run Time: 90 minutes

Plot

This program offers information about the most feared predator on Earth: the great white shark. Like most creatures with a hold on the darker side of human imaginations, the great white has suffered from many misconceptions about its motives and habits. This program seeks to overturn some of those myths. Some discussion is given to the rising incidence of shark attacks worldwide, and experts offer tips to avoid such attacks. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide

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