Once Bitten is the third studio album by American glam metal band Great White. It was released on June 17, 1987, by Capitol Records. The album became a commercial success, selling more than one million copies and being certified Platinum in April 1988.[1] The anthem "Rock Me" became a hit single, charting in September 1987,[7] and is one of Great White's best known songs. AllMusic explains in their review that it brought Great White a broader audience.[8] "Save Your Love" also charted, becoming their most famous power ballad at the time, in February 1988.[7] "Lady Red Light" and "All Over Now" would become fan favorites and be included among 15 tracks on their later retrospective, "Absolute Hits".[9] It was the band's last album to feature bassist Lorne Black.
In the UK, the track listing was significantly altered, losing four new tracks and replacing them with songs from 1986 album Shot in the Dark and with a live version of "What Do You Do". Russell would state that this was because of complications surrounding Shot in the Dark's release.[10] The album's opening track, "Lady Red Light", was featured on the NBC show Parks and Recreation in the episode "Tom's Divorce". The model photographed on the cover is Traci Martinson who appeared in four of their videos. [11]
In 2017, Jack Russell's Great White celebrated Once Bitten's anniversary by announcing a tour and an acoustic re-recording of the album.[12] The acoustic version, "Once Bitten Acoustic Bytes", was released in 2020.[13]