Great White started their career as Dante Fox, playing their first gig in 1981 at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California.
After recording several demos, the band chose as manager Alan Niven, who had worked for the independent distributor Greenworld in Torrance, California and had dealt with Mötley Crüe's debut self-release.
Niven suggested the name change from Dante Fox after seeing singer Jack Russell introduce Mark Kendall (guitarist) during his solo as "Mark Kendall, the Great White", due to his naturally white-blonde hair, white Fender Telecaster guitar, white jumpsuit, and white Capezio shoes.
In 1982, founding members Mark Kendall, Jack Russell, drummer Gary Holland, and bassist Lorne Black recorded and released a 5-song EP, Out of the Night, on the independent label Aegean formed by Niven.
Niven then convinced the Los Angeles radio station KMET to begin adding songs from the EP to its playlist in heavy rotation. KLOS-FM soon did the same. The band suddenly went from drawing 100 people to a local club to drawing thousands in L.A. concert halls such as Perkins Palace in Pasadena, The Palace in Hollywood and the Country Club in Reseda.
As an unsigned act, Great White headlined at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia playing to 6,250 people.
Near the end of 1983, EMI America signed the band and subsequently released Great White's eponymous debut album in early 1984.
The band immediately toured the UK supporting Whitesnake's Slide It In tour and the entire US and Canada opening for Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith tour.
After the release of Shot in the Dark, Great White hit the road with Dokken and was on the verge of even bigger success.
The band hit the mainstream in 1987 when they released Once Bitten..., which featured the hits "Rock Me" and "Save Your Love". Once Bitten... was certified platinum in April 1988.
The band followed up with ...Twice Shy in 1989. The album included their biggest hit, "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", a cover of a UK hit single by Ian Hunter. They received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified platinum in July 1989 and then double platinum in September of that same year.
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Hair Nation A-Z is an easy series of caches along KY 3 between Prestonsburg and Inez honoring those unforgettable(?) 80's heavy metal bands with even more unforgettable hair.
The highway is generally not heavily traveled, but can be very busy at times. There is plenty of parking room near each cache so be sure to get your vehicle completely off the road and use extreme caution when exiting and entering the highway.
If you have children with you, make sure you keep an extra eye on them.
Have fun and Rock on.
FTF - Ratliff_Family and dewayneandcarla !!!
