It's a little hard to believe, but on this day, June 27, two most legendary and influential bassists passed away.
(Photo: www.thewho.com)
The first, Chris Squire from "Yes", and the second meteor - the legendary John Entwistle, the bassist of "The Who" who is considered one of the most important and influential bassists in Rock, who was known for his wild and powerful playing and therefore received the nickname "Thunderfingers".
So let's tell you 20 important facts about John Entwistle:
1. He was born on October 9, 1944, in a western suburb of London named John Alec Entwistle.
2. His musical career began when he was 7 years old, then began to learn to play the piano.
3. At the age of 11, John moved to play the trumpet and from there to French horn.
4. His playing skills led him to become part of the school orchestra.
5. He met Pete Townshend in his sophomore year and the two formed their first jazz ensemble "the Confederates".
6. After one show together their band switched from jazz to rock and roll.
7. At one point John decided to switch to playing the guitar, but because he had thick and big fingers he finally chose a bass guitar.
8. He built his first guitar on his own at home.
9. Roger Daltrey later asked Entwistle to join his band "the Detours". He was a year older than Entwistle and attended the same school.
10. After joining Daltrey's band, Entwistle did his best to get Pete Townsend to join the band as well. Indeed, in 1963 Daltrey fired all the band members except Entwistle and joined Townsend as a guitarist, while giving up playing the guitar and switching only to singing.
11. Later Keith Moon also joined the band as a drummer and in 1964 the band changed its name to "The Who".
12. Entwistle will release ten albums along with "The Who", from 1965 to 1982.
13. He was also the first of the band members to release a solo album in 1971, releasing a total of 7 albums during his solo career.
14. Over the years, Entwistle has managed to have another nickname - "The Ox". The nickname "The Bull", came to John because of his tremendous eating abilities as well as the way he performed on stage in a frozen position.
15. During his membership in the band, John co-wrote well-known songs, including "The Ox" (his nickname).
(Photo: www.thewho.com)
16. He developed a very unique playing on the bass and took full advantage of the potential inherent in the instrument as he turned it into a leading instrument.
17. He called his unique playing technique on the bass the "typewriter." The technique places the right hand over the strings so that all four fingers can tap the strings rhythmically. This way of playing allowed him to play faster and more dominantly.
18. He was among the first to use "double amplification", with the high and low tones being sent in separate signals to different amplifiers. This caused a load of amplification and much equipment and speakers designed for him on stage, in what became known as "Little Manhattan."
19. Entwistle was among the first to make use of steel bass strings, which were developed especially for him.
20. John Entwistle passed away on June 27, 2002, at the "Hard Rock Hotel" in Las Vegas. The cause of death was determined to be a heart attack that apparently resulted from drug use. It happened just one day before the start of the planned "Who's" tour in the United States.