Great White is an American Glam metal band known primarily for their hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", a cover version of a song written by Mott the Hoople's Ian Hunter. Great White formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Their songs were derivative of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Mott the Hoople, and lead singer Jack Russell had Robert Plant's wail down almost perfectly, which later showed well when in 1999, the band released Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin.
Great White has been churning out songs since the early 80's, when Russell and Mark Kendall joined forces and adopted the blues-based sound that went against the era's glam rock grain. Great White quickly attracted attention on the L.A. club scene. Their independently released EP Out of the Night sold 20,000 copies and got local airplay. Great White was snapped up by EMI America, which issued the eponymous "Great White" in 1984. That year, the band embarked on their first European tour with Whitesnake, and segued to a five month U.S. arena run with Judas Priest.
Shot in the Dark, their follow-up independent release, marked the arrival of drummer Audie Desbrow. By the time Capitol Records signed the band and reissued Shot in the Dark, keyboardist-guitarist Michael Lardie had come aboard. 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.... "Once Bitten..." was certified platinum in April of 1988. The album featured some relatively successfull hit songs - "Rock Me", "Lady Red Light", and "Save Your Love".