Jack Russell ex-Great White singer Death: Earlier today (Thursday, August 15), the following statement was posted on Jack’s social media:
“With great sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved Jack Patrick Russell — father, husband, cousin, uncle, and friend. “Jack died quietly in front of his wife Heather Ann Russell, son Matthew Hucko, cousin Naomi Breshears Barbor, and close friends Billy and Cheryl Pawelcik.
“Details for a public memorial will be announced at a later date. “Jack is loved and remembered for his sense of humor, extraordinary zest for life, and unwavering contribution to rock and roll, where his legacy will live on forever. “His family asks for privacy at this time.”
Jack’s death comes less than a month after he announced his retirement from touring due to a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. “To my fans and friends, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I must announce my retirement from the road,” Russell wrote in a statement on July 17.
“After receiving a recent diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) in May 2024, I am unable to perform at the level I desire and you deserve. Words cannot express how grateful I am for these many years of memories, love, and support. Thank you for allowing me to live my dreams. “You’ve made my life wonderful.”
Lewy body dementia is the second most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia, following Alzheimer’s disease. Lewy body dementia impairs memory, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
It has resulted in motor and muscle weakness and stiffness. It also can cause sleep difficulties and hallucinations. Lewy body dementia is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease due to its early similarity to other neurodegenerative diseases.
After actor and comedian Robin Williams took his own life in August 2014, autopsy results revealed he was suffering from LBD. Russell was performing his version of GREAT WHITE when a pyrotechnics display ignited a nightclub fire at a 2003 concert in Rhode Island, killing 100 people. At the time of the fire, the group on the road was known as JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE. Mark Kendall, who co-founded GREAT WHITE with Russell in 1982, later revealed that he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help increase attendance. Guitarist Ty Longley perished in the blaze.
Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due to a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack mostly blamed his injuries on his booze and medication habits as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.
Russell sued his one-time bandmates in 2012 over their ongoing use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. Russell was later countersued by guitarist Mark Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie, and drummer Audie Desbrow, who claimed the vocalist’s self-destructive behavior was harming the GREAT WHITE name. The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell most recently performing as JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.
In a December 2023 interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, Russell was asked if he still enjoys going out on the road. He responded: “I enjoy the hour and a half of playing. The rest of it you could take it and do what you would with it. It’s not fun. It’s hard. The traveling is just a drag — it’s a real drag. I mean, getting on airplanes and cars and buses and all that stuff is a real drag. We aim to keep this to a minimum. We play maybe two, or three shows a week. We try to play every weekend, ’cause I don’t wanna do a job that I don’t like. So just keep it to where I can function, have a nice time doing it and I’m not complaining about my back.”
Jack elaborated on his recent health setback, saying, “I’ve been experiencing some back troubles [in 2023 and 2022]. So I’ve had to take a little time off. It’s finally getting better. But I had to have my back fused to my neck.”
Asked if this is “just because of the rigors of the road over the years,” Jack said: “Yeah, [just from] pounding the boards for 47 years, just jumping up and down, acting like a fool.” Russell previously discussed his surgery in an interview last October with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station. At the time, he said: “I had a fusion in my neck and my back, so it was a really brutal procedure. That kept me off-stage for a while. I couldn’t even move my neck. Somehow it screwed up my voice a bit and then it finally came back. However, it was quite bizarre. Yes, it is coming back, slowly but surely. People don’t understand me. They say, ‘You sounded just like you did in 1985.’ I am like, ‘No.’ It’s like, “Okay, cool.” Awesome.’”
GREAT WHITE officially announced Brett Carlisle as its new lead singer in October of 2022. Carlisle joined the band as the replacement for Andrew Freeman, who sang for GREAT WHITE for only five months. Carlisle made his live debut with GREAT WHITE on September 24, 2022, at the Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Russell’s autobiography, titled “The True Tale Of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative”, was recently released via Gatekeeper Press. Penned by novelist Katelyn Louise “K.L.” Doty, it has an emotional foreword by Lita Ford, with additional comments from Eric Singer, Eddie Trunk, John Kalodner, Kip Winger, and others. The book, with a cover photo by legendary rock photographer Mark Weiss, is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book form.