R.I.P. Jack Russell

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see Jack live or meet him, but the friends of mine that did, have had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. You could also tell what kind of human being he was in his interviews; he was never self-involved; he was never so into himself or the fame that he was curt or short with the interviewer. Sadly, poor behavior like this still exists, but not Jack, he seemed truly thankful that anyone would still take the time to talk to him and care about his music. I’m sure Jack had his moments way back when so I’m not trying to paint him into a saint, I know he was wild back in the day, but the important thing is he came around and all who met him in these latter years were able to experience the real Jack Russell. By all accounts, Jack appeared to be a musician’s musician – just get him to the show, prop him up, give him the mic and prepare to be amazed. And amazing he was, when he was ousted from Great White, he fought for the use of the name and put a fantastic band together and continued to make records, perform live and give his fans his very best.

While the band Great White is still functioning/performing and releasing albums, they’ve had a revolving door of vocalists who can’t compare to Jack. Personally, I find their feeble attempts to perform as Great White disgraceful and embarrassing. I wouldn’t walk across the street to listen to anything they’ve released, I have zero interest. Sure, I’ve checked out some of the tracks to see if it was legit, it’s not, it’s slack because the real magic of the band is gone to me. A dear friend and I were talking about the news of Jack’s passing right after it was announced and he mentioned that he felt “gutted”. I’m going to agree with his sentiment, the loss of Jack Russell is truly devastating. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t listen to Jack Russell whether it’s his work in Great White, his solo band or some random cover that he sang on for a Cleopatra/Deadline Records Compilation. Do yourself a favor, and look some of those up, my dude SMOKES some Journey, Bad Company, Judas Priest etc. Captain Jack is loved and revered in my home and at this point, he’s family to us. I’ve spent well over half my life with his voice blasting out of the speakers whether it be in the car, the house or the headphones, it makes no difference. Wherever I go, he's a part of who I am, and this will continue onward until I cross over into the great beyond and join him and the rest of the great Rock Warriors that have passed on. R.I.P. Captain Jack – thank you for your dedication to the craft and your fans, our world has been a better place because of you and your golden voice.

~Black Angel