John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle (October 9, 1944 – June 27, 2002) was the bass guitar player for The Who. He is regarded as one of the most influential bassists of all time.

Related Topics:
October 9 - 1944 - June 27 - 2002 - Bass guitar - The Who

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John Alec Entwistle was born in Chiswick, a London suburb, in 1944. He joined Roger Daltrey in a pre-Who band, The Detours, in the early 1960s.

Related Topics:
Chiswick - London - Roger Daltrey - 1960s

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Sometimes known as "Ox", he was generally regarded as the quiet person in The Who. Bill Wyman described him as "the quietest man in private but the loudest man on stage."

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John Entwistle was a talented songwriter and artist. He wrote several well-known Who songs including:

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• Cousin Kevin
• My Wife
• Boris The Spider
• Heaven and Hell

Entwistle also contributed many backing vocals and horn performances to the group.

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In addition to his work with the Who, Entwistle was an accomplished solo artist, releasing a number of solo albums beginning in the 1970s.

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Entwistle's contribution to rock bass playing was to create a driving lead role for the instrument. Rarely captured well in the studio, his style and sound was fully developed by the time of the Who's performance of "A Quick One While He's Away" for the Rolling Stones' 1968 Rock and Roll Circus, as well as the seminal 1970 Live at Leeds concert recording. In concert, Entwistle and guitarist Pete Townshend frequently exchanged roles, with Entwistle providing rapid melodic lines and Townsend anchoring the song with rhythmic chord work. Entwistle also pioneered the use of roundwound steel bass strings, developed for him by the Rotosound company. Indeed, Pete Townshend was often quoted that it was Entwistle who was the lead guitarist in the band, while he, being the rhythmic timekeeping element, was in effect the drummer. Moon, on the other hand, with all his flourishes round the kit, was considered by Townshend to be the equivalent of a keyboard player!

Related Topics:
A Quick One While He's Away - Rolling Stones - 1968 - Rock and Roll Circus - 1970 - Pete Townshend

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Entwistle helped develop the percussive potential of the bass sound, creating an unusual right-hand "typewriter" technique several years before slapping was introduced by funk pioneer Larry Graham. This percussive sound is evident in the bass solo from The Who's 1964 single "My Generation", available on the My Generation album. It is often credited as the first electric bass solo on record.

Related Topics:
Slapping - Larry Graham - 1964 - My Generation

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Entwistle identified his influences as a combination of twangy rock & roll guitarists such as Duane Eddy and Gene Vincent, American soul and R&B bassists such as James Jamerson, and his school training on French horn, trumpet, and piano.

Related Topics:
Duane Eddy - Gene Vincent - James Jamerson - French horn

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In turn, Entwistle has been a massive stylistic influence on a generation of bass players that follow him and continues to top 'best ever bass player' polls in musicians magazines.

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John Entwistle: Death ►