Jack Russell, a founding member of rock band Great White who has maintained a decades-long career on the road, announced Tuesday that he is retiring from touring.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must announce my retirement from the road,” Russell said in a statement. “After a recent diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy in May 2024, I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve. Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love and support. Thank you for letting me live my dreams.”
Russell was the lead vocalist for multiplatinum band Great White, which rose to prominence in the late ’80s with hit singles “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” and “The Angel Song.” The singer, who is managed by John Domagall of Artist Representation & Management Inc., has been performing as Jack Russell’s Great White the since 2011 performed at events such as Bandera, Texas’ Ground Zero Musicfest at Mansfield Park and The Sands Rocks, a music getaway marketed as the “ultimate Gen X festival” that was held last November in Cancun, Mexico.
Jack Russell’s Great White opened for artists like Lita Ford, Dokken and Brett Michaels, and one of the band’s most successful showings was in 2017 at Cultura Event Center in Tacoma, Washington, where they grossed $32,710 off 841 tickets sold, according to the Pollstar Boxoffice.