The band was formed in 1989 by Rick Eddy and Tim Drumheller, an American duo of multi-instrumentalists who handle keyboards, guitars, percussions, flute and trumpet, although they regularly enlist the contribution of talented guest musicians on drums and percussion. Heavily keyboard based (especially the piano), their style is a curious mixture of jazz, rock and classical (symphonic) music with dark, mysterious overtones without being sinister - more like suspenseful. Even when the guys kick into high gear the atmosphere remains tension-filled. As far as comparisons go, names such as Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator or ELP have surfaced but none truly convey the originality of this twosome, whose sublime interplay and strong emphasis on counterpoint cleverly blends all of these bands' styles and more, resulting in a unique contemporary sound of its own.
With …Twice Shy, Great White followed through on the promise of Once Bitten…, turning in a tight, hard-rocking album that featured well-chosen covers (Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten Twice Shy") and impressive originals that replicated the classic arena rock sound of the '70s ("House of Broken Love," "Mistah Bone"). The result was the band's best album and its most popular – the album broke into the Top Ten and sold over two million copies.